Shuffle, Shuffle, Dance, Jig Dance

Where is Barack Obama's funny bone?

That's what a blurb on CNN and a recent column by Maureen Dowd asked.

Why doesn't Obama make us laugh, they asked in all seriousness. He's too somber, too circumspect, they complained. Even professional comedians admitted that they have found it hard to find a way to crack jokes about the Senator because he's black, careful and beloved by many.


Hmmmmmm... Do y'all see how this blog is going to basically write itself? I think I smell some bullet points coming.

1. Do we really need more laughs?

Okay, this is an easy one. If I understand correctly, the media are saying that after the bumbling sideshow that our government has become over the past eight years, they think we need more stuff to laugh about?

Really?

Is that their final answer?

Well, I now understand even more why my profession is one of the least respected in the country.


2. Racist jokes are easier

I think it's interesting that so many white comedians feel like they can't come up with acceptable jokes about Obama without offending someone. It really shows how uncomfortable and ignorant most white people are about black people.

After all, good comedy is born from an intimate understanding of the subjects you're lampooning. Richard Pryor, Redd Foxx, Eddie Murphy and Dave Chappelle know what it's like to be a black man in America, which is why their jokes about that life were always so funny. Eddie and Richard clearly understood crazy family members. Foxx understood living a hard life. Chappelle has studied the ins and outs of race and racism in this country.

They all can make funny jokes about controversial subjects because they have taken the time to gain an understanding of those subjects. They aren't practicing drive-by comedy. They aren't settling for the snarkiest comment that makes them and their audiences appear to be the most intelligent people on Earth. Nope, they are sharing their own vulnerabilities and their own loves and hates about difficult topics and because of their connection the material is funny.

The problem for most white comedians is not that Obama doesn't do anything that is funny. It's not that there is nothing humorous about his campaign. The problem is that they lack the skills to find the funny stuff. They don't understand black people and their culture enough to make a joke that doesn't involve rims, grills and gold chains. That's the real problem.

3. That nigger better be funny

And we've arrived at the real reason I wrote this post. It goes beyond the idea that people in this country should have had enough laughs thanks to George Bush. No, it goes to the idea that Obama needs to make white people comfortable with him, and the easiest way for them to get comfortable with a black man is if he's making them laugh.

Serious black men confuse and frustrate white people. Well, unless they are criminals. Serious thugs are easy for white people to understand and deal with. They fit into the proper box. The one with bars.

No, it's the serious brothers who are just regular cats that are enigmas. I've seen it many times in my own life. I can be gregarious and entertaining when I want, but often around strange white people I assume a quiet, subdued pose. It's a defense mechanism that allows me to scope out the scene before I reveal my true self.

But, I can't tell you how many times I have white people or their surrogates tell me "You need to lighten up more. You're too serious. Be more friendly." I remember one woman gave me this spiel and I told her that I was always extremely polite to everyone at work. She said "Well being polite isn't the same thing as being friendly, you need to crack a joke sometimes."

Crack a joke.

Black people are not here to entertain white people. We are not here to make them laugh, we are not here to make them cry, we are not here to make them angry. We are human beings living our lives just like them. We are under no obligation to make them "smile."

Barack Obama is running to be the most powerful politician in America during one of the most unsettled times in this country's history. And white folks are wondering if he is going to lose because he doesn't make them smile?

Shuffle, shuffle... Dance, jig, dance.