I had a conversation the other day in a study group about whether we should hold artists (including professional comedians) to the same standards as we hold everyone else- and I don’t think that we can.

What makes skilled comedians so funny is that they are able to use their comedy as more than just eliciting laughs from an audience. They use their humor as a social commentary. I think Amy Sedaris actually achieves what every white hipster falling on his or her face making racist jokes and defending themselves with “but it’s ironic” wishes that they could- actual irony.

When I listen to my favorite anti-racist bands, I hear them make similar social commentary by parodying systems of white supremacy and classism. The lyrics alone may sound awful, but taken into the context of, say, the political climate at the time and the band’s vocal stances on what’s going on in the world, or the beat (like a dire subject with an upbeat melody) – actually turn the tables and make it social commentary- making the racists and the far right eat their words.

I’m not incredibly familiar with Amy Sedaris’s work, but from what I’ve seen, especially since having been alerted to her “ching chong” comments, I think she captures *actual* irony around racism pretty well.

What hipsters do with it is a different thing altogether- and having the “Amy Sedaris and Sarah Silverman can say it, so why can’t I” conversation is a more complicated one than “What you just said was fucked up, please never say it again.”

I still think it’s worth the complicated conversation. Racism isn’t simple, either. It’s layered and insidious, and I think it deserves thoughtful dismantling- AND WE CAN ACHIEVE THAT IN MANY FORMS, including art.

I understand the danger of these types of texts–they might be laughed at by someone who does not appreciate the commentary, only the opportunity to laugh at Jews or Asians or Lesbians–but I do not think we can treat them all the same. On Racialicious, Sedaris was torn to pieces by almost exclusively people who had never seen and know nothing about her television show. This is different than Dodgeball. No one is going to learn or have their eyes opened by that film. As a teen, Strangers with Candy helped me hear the hypocrisy and bigotry embedded in even the seemingly benign discourse used by my public school, community organizations–it was one of the texts that trained me to recognize racism today.

It might be the case that Sedaris has left that critical vehicle behind and is now representing herself in society as racist. But that does not change what that show argued, and what its values were. They’re different thing.

After you realized the picture was something completely different- a missile with a “radioactive” label on it- of course you didn’t find that funny either.

I think there are more females doing this sort of comedy than men, and I think they get away with more than men due to being female. Sadly, most of these female comedians are Jewish as well. Oh sure, they dabble in Jewish jokes sometimes, but it’s more of a wink and a nod. It’s the “Obviously, our tribe is the only smart and funny people out there and I’m just doing this to make money off the Gentiles, homophobes, and racists out there so it’s OK. Clever, huh? All I’m saying is they can dish it out, but they can’t take it.

Although not Jewish, Kathy Griffin makes me ill with her amphetamine style of anti-religious, racist, and heterophobic humor. Yeah, heterophobic. It’s not an established word, but it should be. If it’s accepted that homophobia exists, doesn’t it stand to reason that heterophobia does as well? Per capita, there are probably more heterophobes (in the closet) than homophobes.

Here’s am example of heterophobia, Netflix. Netflix has a Gay and Lesbian category. Fine, I’m not sure why they need to have one (Drama is drama, right? Does it really need to be labeled G&L drama?), but they can create whatever category they like. Netlix also allows it’s customers to customize Netflix recommended movies based on the user’s genre preferences. You can customize your viewing preferences using the categories of “I like to watch: Never, Sometimes, or Often. The funny thing is, out of all the genres that Netflix will “let” you categorize, the only one they won’t let you select is Gay and Lesbian. You can’t select I “Never” watch gay and lesbian movies. Netlix doesn’t want the homosexual community coming after them for allowing customers to select “Never”. Homosexual’s fear heterosexuals. It’s the only plausible explanation, because I’m sure that they wouldn’t have a problem “allowing” customers to select “Often”. They’re afraid of allowing their customers to select “Never”. They’re heterophobes.

Funny is funny. I’m not against stereotypical humor if all races, genders, sexual preferences, and religions are fair game, but they’re not.

To those hollering hipster racism, I would ask, what exactly is a hipster? These countless references to Stephen Colbert as one only illustrate to me how broad and undefined that word really is. The hipsters that most people show disdain for shop at American Apparel and don’t have real jobs. Colbert wears a Brooks Brothers suit. And to whoever it was that said he ever parodied Sedaris, you have displayed an ignorance that has at the very least paralyzed your argument.

I think dotdotdot put it best in his/her second paragraph, but I would add that in “I Like You” specifically, Sedaris’s personal mimicry and self-effacement inform a context that shares a mutually exclusive relationship with the spoken words and written images.

Issues of race are and have been inherently sensitive, difficult, and unfair, historically and to this day. It is impossible for a white person to comprehend a life outside of their own skin. But I don’t think that should hinder Sedaris from parodying American WASPs, or their racist attitudes.

Come on!

I would also say that the racism in her Jerri Blank character is a direct mimicry of a very particular type of person. I haven’t seen anything Ms. Sedaris has done in interviews or other media that leads me to believe that it’s an “ironic shtick” as much as it is parodying the past without glossing over the actual ugliness beneath the surface.