Why So Serious, Jerry?

Jerry Seinfeld let drop in a recent interview that he doesn’t play the college circuit because those meanie students cry racism and sexism too much.

Seinfeld said college students don’t understand racism and sexism. “They just want to use these words: ‘That’s racist;’ ‘That’s sexist;’ ‘That’s prejudice.’ They don’t even know what the f—k they’re talking about.”

Well, as a professor, I know that not every student does their homework, but maybe what Seinfeld is seeing is a generation of kids that don’t want to be racist of sexist, so they call out what they see.  Does PC catch some of the wrong fish in its net?  Sometimes.  But to blame the death of comedy on people who don’t think racism and sexism are funny?  Hold on.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFwBH2fb2E0

Chris Rock, Louis C.K. and Margret Cho are all top billed comedians with long careers who do talk about race and sex without dragging out the PC police every time.  Comedy should talk about our most sticky issues–a little humor makes the hard things easier to say and think about–but it takes a comedian who can write a joke AND understands these issues.   If Seinfeld can’t talk about women or people of color without being offensive, then just stick to what he truly does well–jokes about nothing.  As for college students learning about racism and sexism, leave that work to us in the class.

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Author: Susan X Jane

Susan X Jane, Principal of Navigators Consulting, has over 30 years of experience exploring race and representation in both the public and private sectors.  Susan is a transracial adoptee—a Black woman raised in a White family and community—an experience that created an early focus on the way race shapes our concept of ourselves and each other. Susan has worked to address race and racism as a community organizer, nonprofit program developer, professor of communications, and consultant to corporations and impact-focused institutions.  As Principal of Navigators Consulting, she draws on decades of experience to work with organizations in the public and private sectors. To any who seeks to build a better world, she offers her skills as a teacher, coach, and strategic partner to help create diverse and inclusive environments where the humanity of all is respected and protected.

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