Dave Chappelle’s Netflix Special and an Unexpected Blueprint for Doing the Work
As you can probably tell by the title, I recently watched “The Closer” Chappelle’s Netflix comedy show. (And yes, in case you’re wondering, I am pretty much always *at least* two weeks behind news cycles and so I’ve only recently watched it. LEAVE ME ALONE.)
Like Chappelle, this will be my last story on Medium (the comic said his recent comedy special on Netflix would be his last). Also like Chappelle, this will probably not be my last story on Medium.
As I watched my mind was ablaze, as it often is. There is so much going on! So many layers. So much that made me think.
I read a few critiques of it, and I just thought they missed the mark. As a matter of fact, I found a couple of them particularly irritating. I could write on those separately.
For those that don’t know, Chappelle received criticism for his statements about transgender people. After all, he spends a portion of the special making jokes about them and recounting stories not painting the ones that he has met in the best light. (Then again, he spends other portions of the special making fun of Black people, white people, Asians, people with disabilities — basically every group, if you catch my drift.)
Many found this inappropriate. And perhaps rightfully so — I don’t necessarily disagree.
But I wanted to share some points that perhaps put forth a different view. I want to suggest a different way of looking at it that suggests something else is taking place. I want to posit that it’s, actually, an example of someone doing their part to confront (and perhaps eventually overcome) their prejudice.
First, Chappelle admits he is transphobic. If you listen (and actually, not all that closely), he mentions numerous times that he is transphobic.
To me, this was refreshing. To hear someone actually admit they have bias!
I mean, how many times are people caught saying or doing racist words or actions and then become defensive to the point of having a stroke if someone calls them a racist?
I couldn’t help but wonder — how differently would race-based dialogue be if people started from the premise that they were racist? Instead of starting from the premise that they weren’t and then spending the rest of the time mired in confusion about why racism exists?
Instead, we live in a world where people kill black people, fail to promote black people, exploit black people all the while claiming not to be racist.
In a way, Chappelle is doing his part. He’s telling the truth.
Looked at in this way, then, the special represents someone grappling with their own bias. Chappelle is, in a way, engaged in the process of questioning what he doesn’t understand, even if the process is crass and crude.
Here is what I believe: anyone’s real grappling with their bias would be as sloppy and full of face-palm as Chappelle’s. That’s the reality. If you or I were to write out a list of all of the things that made us uncomfortable about “x” group and were committed to being honest about what was in that list, it would not be pretty.
It would reveal blindspots. It would not be pristine and pure and perfect. You are not that enlightened. Trust me. None of us are.
Of course, Chappelle’s status as a famous comedian gives him the privilege of doing that sort of grappling in a public setting and not facing much blowback because of it. He received criticism, yes, but that comes with the territory as a comedian. He’s not going to lose his job or his livelihood because of it. (And if anything, it helps him.)
But I believe that we can all do that sort of grappling in private settings. Hire a coach or talk about it with your therapist. And be honest. Accept that you are a racist or sexist or homophobic, whatever the case may be. And talk about the experiences that lead you to those beliefs. Be honest about what you don’t understand.
For example, maybe you just struggle with accepting that black people experience racism because the country elected a black president and because some black people are really educated. Heck, some of them are even more successful than you! Maybe you think that rich or successful black people ought to not complain about racism because it doesn’t really exist for them in the same way. Be honest about those beliefs and accept that you have them.
I think the more that people keep these sorts of thoughts inside, the worse off we all are. What I’ve seen is that people place a layer of political correctness over their own inner angst about their unexamined bias. And as their inner angst festers, becomes sticky and hot, it leads to the subtle behaviors that create the foundation that keeps our modern form of racism alive and well.
Finally, the special attempts to confront the complicated politics of the white-centric lens of LGBTQ issues. It attempts — albeit clunkily — to question the assumption that LGBTQ is synonymous with whiteness. (To be fair, some have noted that Chappelle reinforces this lens to a degree.)
The critical response misses that point. Much of it makes the tired conflation that what is good for the LGBTQ cause is not good for the black cause and vice versa. Much of it makes the subtle point that when you are talking about LGBTQ issues you are talking about white issues.
This conflation is widespread and problematic. I recall many experiences where, in extolling the so-called diversity of an institution, someone has told me: “we don’t have people of color but we have LGBTQ people!” And I felt uncomfortable because it felt like a type of erasure was taking place.
And herein lies the issue and questions that Chappelle seems to grapple with — if white LGBTQ people — particularly white men — weren’t at the center of those movements, would they have achieved such fast-moving success? And, if white men are in fact the center of those movements then isn’t a conversation about transgender women more complicated than it would seem?
More complicated than simply assigning position on a privilege totem pole. More complicated than asking who is punching up or who is punching down. More complicated, perhaps, for this story on Medium. LOL.
Ultimately, it takes courage to try and grapple with something very complicated, and I’ll commend the writers of the special for doing that.
Takeaways
We all search for easy answers. Our conversations about social groups and society are no different. We want to know what’s OK to say. What groups are in are groups are out. What are the right beliefs to hold. What’s the wrong thing to say. We strive very hard to be “good people,” reading books for the best ways to stay woke, to stay anti-racist, scrolling Twitter for the appropriate hot-take of the moment.
But, what I’ll suggest on this day is, perhaps, that’s not doing the work. It’s an intellectual exercise. It’s solving a crossword puzzle.
The work is grappling with how you really feel. Your true beliefs.
Pretend there is no Twitter. No books telling you how to think. No outside source telling you the right thing to believe.
How do you really feel?
Because once you do that — you’ll know exactly what you need to say. Not from a place of so-called activism. But from a place of becoming aware of your own limitations — first.
Here is what I am not advocating: That is appropriate to use language against groups like Chappelle has. But ultimately, the way Chapelle’s humor works is that he’ll say some things that offend — that’s in some ways the point.
What I am saying is that it’s an example of a type of self-inquiry that, though it creates missteps, can lead to real change. If you look more closely, it’s a blueprint for what it might look like to actually “do the work.”
Michele writes on many topics, including self-awareness, race, and personal development. For more ideas and inspiration, check out her Patreon page here.
