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naraburns  nihil supernum  1yr ago (text post)   Edited 1yr ago   34416 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of November 14, 2022

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Well, I guess it was only a question of time before the ADL condemned Dave Chappelle and SNL more generally for "popularising" anti-Semitism.

Chappelle had a SNL monologue a few days ago where he walked a tightrope between supposedly condemning Kanye and Kyrie before slyly signal-boosting some of their talking points. Kanye comes across as crazy and Kyrie as plain dumb but Chappelle is neither, so this is arguably bigger news. Of course, Chappelle has been courting controversy before, such as his perceived anti-trans comments or complaining about college kids being too sensitive these days.

So I am not sure if this is some kind of cultural shift where black entertainment elites are more willing to criticise Jews or if it is simply Chappelle running towards controversy in order to stay relevant. Maybe it is both. Nevertheless, I think the ADL has by and large been enormously inefficient and self-defeating during these past 6 weeks. It seems even some Jewish publications agree.

On the radio this morning, there was a pop news segment which mentioned the drama. They quoted Chappelle’s joke, something along the lines of:

I denounce this anti Semitic remark and stand firm with my friends in the Jewish community.

See, Kanye, that’s how you buy some time.

I concur with the hosts that the joke is decently funny. It certainly works better than some of Chappelle’s “snowflakes, amirite?” bits. The best part, though perhaps unintentional, is that when quoted it looks like an apology for a different joke until the punchline.

I remain skeptical of claims that this (or random bait on Twitter, as in that other thread) implies some sort of growing black/Jewish tension. Aside from being an obvious opportunity for selection bias, it’s firmly in the “to good to check” category for those who expect to see race warring everywhere. This includes a big chunk of the dissident right as well as, apparently, the ADL.

The most popular black rapper and one of the most popular black basketball players both published anti-semitism, and then were defended by the most popular black comedian. Kyrie was also halfways defended by LeBron. At a certain point, skepticism of noticing patterns is just hiding your head in the sand.

When did lil Baby, Steph Curry, and Kevin Hart get involved?

Black entertainers have a deep bench, they can afford to chuck Kanye, Chappelle, and Kyrie if they need to. Won't affect the culture, just Adidas' bottom line and the nets win loss (and Kevin Durant's legacy).

I get your point, but Chapelle and Kanye were the undisputable godfather-GOAT(generation?) of their respective genres in terms of combining popularity with critical success. Also, I don't think Steph is seen as a 'black' basketball player.

Black entertainers have a deep bench

And you'll find that these sort of opinions are pervasive throughout that bench. The biggest speak out, because they are the most immune (as much as you can be) to repercussions.

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