Comedians

Here's the thing about comedians...

It's an art form. Which means at the very best, it's going to be controversial. The audience is meant to walk away with new thoughts, maybe a new point of view.

"See this thing? I'm going to show you how ridiculous your current take on it is!"

To me, that's what I see. Especially in a certain comic. The one who uses a line for which I have been banned from Twitter and accused of being a racist.

Because I see the joke. I see something that people fear and have made crazy assumptions about. And I see that turned into something that shows how unrealistic, how far from reality, the audience has become. It isn't meant to be realistic. It's a dummy. And it's mocking the fact that people really think that's a realistic portrayal. The point, in my interpretation, is to show people how ridiculous they've become, how far from reality their perspective has gotten. This gives the audience a chance to realize that change is possible, to wake them up. It's a chance to fight racism at the root -- crazy assumptions about others that have been blown out of proportion over time. It's a chance to start a real conversation.

And that's what makes it art. Anything that starts a conversation, that opens a path to progress, is a type of art. 

Of course, we don't all have the same idea about what progress is. 

And it's probable that not everyone shares my point of view on the jokes. 

I'll probably get attacked in the comments. Or in more private messages later. 

And you want to know a secret? My self-doubt voices don't want me to publish this. So I can see why Twitter still has me banned, because by expressing my opinion here, but pressing publish, I'm gonna crap all over those precious self-doubt voices again. I really am the only threat to their existence. Oddly, if those voices caused MY death, they'd die too. Funny that they need me to survive yet try to take me down.