# Chappelle talks: Why I walked away. **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [April 13, 2006, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chappelle-talks-why-i-walked-away/352540 "2006-04-13T16:38:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![pool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pool/32/4152_2.png) [@pool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pool)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2006, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chappelle-talks-why-i-walked-away/352540/141 "2006-04-16T02:36:23Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally posted by Askia: > Lots of people would have just sucked it in, done the third season, did the dancing Negro act. He didn’t. He said in the letter to white folks that’s “Wayans Brothers territory.” Lochdale, to me, that’s admirable. Chapelle did not author the letter, it was written by Mark Harris… Here is the link again, it has his picture right under Chappelle [http://www.popmatters.com/columns/harris/060411.shtml](http://www.popmatters.com/columns/harris/060411.shtml) ---
**Author:** ![Garfield226](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Garfield226](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Garfield226)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2006, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chappelle-talks-why-i-walked-away/352540/142 "2006-04-16T02:43:10Z")
> [@you with the face](#): > > So what was he supposed to do? Take the money and keep working on the show, even though he didn’t want to anymore? Slavery went out of style back in 1863, last time I checked. I’d just like to point this out: You’re comparing fulfilling contractual obligations, in which one receives $50 million dollars in return, to _slavery_. Now, lest I misinterpret you again, please correct this obviously incorrect reading of your post. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2006, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chappelle-talks-why-i-walked-away/352540/143 "2006-04-16T02:48:50Z")
> [@you with the face](#): > > So what was he supposed to do? Take the money and keep working on the show, even though he didn’t want to anymore? Slavery went out of style back in 1863, last time I checked. Whatever the merits of Chapelle’s decision, the comparison to slavery is nonsense. There is no slavery in honoring a contract into which one has freely entered, (unless you are claiming that Chapelle was mentally deficient and incompetent to sign a contract). It is entirely possible that there had been a change in the situation subsequent to the signing of the contract that provided a legitimate reason to either break or renegotiate it. I certainly have far too little information to judge. However, the only way that you can equate the fullfillment of a contract with slavery is to stipulate that one party was incompetent to enter into the contract to begin with. Is that the impression you _really_ want to present? ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2006, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chappelle-talks-why-i-walked-away/352540/144 "2006-04-16T03:02:21Z")
Yes, honoring a contract is different than slavery. I did not mean to suggest they were the same. But in terms of _personal integrity_, what should one do when faced with a situation in which one’s heart says “I can not do this anymore!” If this revelation came to him after signing the contract, would he be demonstrating integrity by saying “Oh well, I signed on the dotted line; let me be a sell-out and do whatever is contractually expected of me, my conscience be damned.” I don’t think so, IHO. He’d be making himself a slave to a piece of paper. So he made a tough decision and people want to criticize him for siding with his own personal ethics instead of kowtowing to a company that only wants to make money off of him. Wow, he is sooooo horrible. Sorry for bringing up slavery in a thread that’s already racially-charged. I just don’t get why anyone besides the people directly affected by Chappell and Comedy Central should give a good holy damn about his reasons for leaving. It’s as if people can’t just accept that he wasn’t happy anymore and leave it at that. No, they must find a reason to be offended. ---
**Author:** ![Garfield226](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Garfield226](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Garfield226)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2006, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chappelle-talks-why-i-walked-away/352540/145 "2006-04-16T03:07:35Z")
> [@you with the face](#): > > Sorry for bringing up slavery in a thread that’s already racially-charged. I just don’t get why anyone besides the people directly affected by Chappell and Comedy Central should give a good holy damn about his reasons for leaving. It’s as if people can’t just accept that he wasn’t happy anymore and leave it at that. No, they must find a reason to be offended. Ah, but HE HIMSELF didn’t say he wasn’t happy, and leave it at that. If he had, beyond being unhappy in general that he quit, I doubt anyone would care all that much. Fact is, he’s the one who brought the racial angle into it, he brought it up, and so he has to deal with the fallout. You can’t expect to say “White people own everything, a black man can’t be himself anywhere,” etc., and get the same reaction as “I’m not happy anymore, I think I’ll move on.” They’re two completely different statements. ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2006, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chappelle-talks-why-i-walked-away/352540/146 "2006-04-16T03:18:30Z")
> [@Garfield226](#): > > You can’t expect to say “White people own everything, a black man can’t be himself anywhere,” etc., and get the same reaction as “I’m not happy anymore, I think I’ll move on.” They’re two completely different statements. And can you please explain why what he said is so offensive? Maybe it’s because I feel that way a lot of time myself, being a black woman in predominately white environments, but I can not see why his statement is so bothersome to some of you. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2006, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chappelle-talks-why-i-walked-away/352540/147 "2006-04-16T03:26:11Z")
> [@you with the face](#): > > And can you please explain why what he said is so offensive? Maybe it’s because I feel that way a lot of time myself, being a black woman in predominately white environments, but I can not see why his statement is so bothersome to some of you. Well, I think some people feel that he’s accusing EVERY white person of automatically being a racist. I don’t know if I feel that way about what he said, but I do believe it can be interpretted that way. And it automatically puts some people on the defensive. ---
**Author:** ![Askia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Askia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askia)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2006, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chappelle-talks-why-i-walked-away/352540/148 "2006-04-16T03:31:10Z")
**Lochdale.** We may or may not have differing views on what constitutes having integrity. We CLEARLY differ on what we find admirable. > [@pool](#): > > Chapelle did not author the letter, it was written by Mark Harris… Holy shit. I did a little Googling and I think you’re right, **pool.** Man. That’s an amazing job Mark Harris did, assuming Dave’s “voice.” I was totally convinced Dave Chappelle himself wrote that piece. Especially these two bits, cuz they sound just like him: > [@](#): > > Why must you love me so? I’m tired of being so damn likeable! Chris Rock doesn’t have to deal with this clinginess. He’s all sociopolitical and “ranty” enough in an angry black male sort of way that he keeps white people at arm’s length. Me, I’m the happy-go-lucky drinking buddy. If I talk about anything serious, it’s just “drunk talk”. It’s enough to drive a nigga CRAZY! Just kidding. > [@](#): > > I can’t stay in a relationship that’s always challenging my dignity and integrity. That’s Wayans Brothers territory. But I do realize that I’m partly to blame; skits about piss and venereal disease are just begging for a frat boy following. That’s why I’m turning over a new, socially responsible leaf. _Block Party_ was the first step. More conscious material and less fecal material; that’s what Dave Chappelle has in store for 2006. (As you can see, I’m trying to hold back on my swearing and shit.) Okay. Wow. Backing off this as “proof” of Chappelle’s level-headedness… ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2006, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chappelle-talks-why-i-walked-away/352540/149 "2006-04-16T03:34:21Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Well, I think some people feel that he’s accusing EVERY white person of automatically being a racist. I don’t know if I feel that way about what he said, but I do believe it can be interpretted that way. See, that particular interpretation eludes me. What I gather from what he said is that he is tired of having to constantly explain himself and put on an act for people who do not get him because they are white and he is black. Others have put the word “racist” in his mouth when he hasn’t said anything to that effect. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2006, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chappelle-talks-why-i-walked-away/352540/150 "2006-04-16T03:36:47Z")
> [@you with the face](#): > > See, that particular interpretation eludes me. What I gather from what he said is that he is tired of having to constantly explain himself and put on an act for people who do not get him because they are white and he is black. Others have put the word “racist” in his mouth when he hasn’t said anything to that effect. I didn’t say it was a correct assumption, just that’s how some people feel. I think when they hear “white people own everything”, they automatically think, “Well gee, I didn’t necessarily have it so easy!” Because they haven’t experienced racism for themselves, they assume that someone is saying that it’s all sunshine and lollipops if you’re white. Not that hey, you’re white, you most likely haven’t experienced the effects of racism the way I have. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2006, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chappelle-talks-why-i-walked-away/352540/151 "2006-04-16T03:38:14Z")
> [@you with the face](#): > > And can you please explain why what he said is so offensive? Maybe it’s because I feel that way a lot of time myself, being a black woman in predominately white environments, but I can not see why his statement is so bothersome to some of you. I think it’s offensive to the 99% of us white people who don’t have it all. If he’d replace the word “rich” instead of “white” it wouldn’t bug me so much. ---
**Author:** ![Apos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/838e76/32.png) [@Apos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apos)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2006, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chappelle-talks-why-i-walked-away/352540/152 "2006-04-16T04:47:07Z")
> [@Askia](#): > > I agree the way he took his stand wasn’t a well-thought out plan of unassailable integrity, but I still admire the means by which he walked away from the show. I’m also quite sure insiders weren’t exactly surprised by what ultimately went down. According to them, they were. Charlie Murphy obviously didn’t know what the hell happened, and was pretty miffed by it. Dave’s longtime friend and collaborator was quoted above as basically saying “WTH?” Maybe it’ll all work out. But vanishing without a word to the people who seem, by all respects, bend over backwards to accomodate anything, is decidedly erratic behavior. ---
**Author:** ![Euthanasiast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Euthanasiast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euthanasiast)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2006, 7:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chappelle-talks-why-i-walked-away/352540/153 "2006-04-16T07:56:31Z")
> [@Sal Ammoniac](#): > > But you do demonstrate quite nicely the callousness about racism and its aftereffects that conservatives are capable of. Since I am pro choice, anti-creationist (atheist), and for gays in the military and at the alter I find that comment a bit off the mark. Also, since I was raised in a poor black neighborhood and when to a school where blacks were the majority (the whole town actually) and ate many meals at tables in black homes growing up, I’ll take what I learned from those experiences over your critical assessment. ---
**Author:** ![raindog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@raindog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raindog)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2006, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chappelle-talks-why-i-walked-away/352540/154 "2006-04-16T13:52:43Z")
> [@tomndebb](#): > > But you appear to be letting the validity of the second statement (with which I somewhat agree) turn the whole issue into a black and white one (pun intended) in which you simply dismiss the reality of the racism. > > Consider the statistics of young black men in jail. An awful lot of them are there because crimes and convictions tend to show up most among the poorest groups in crowded situations in society. I agree that there is no specific racism in that situation (other than that the racist actions of previous generations created the a fair amount of that poverty). However, when we consider that the huge numbers of people incarcerated over the last 20 years are in for drug related crimes (including possession as well as selling) and that we have the testimony of Federal law enforcement personnel that they devote most of their energies toward the inner city, a different picture emerges of why their numbers are as high as they are. Poverty begets crime, and that perpetuates the cycle of poverty and crime. The reasons for this are very complex–and include misguided urban planning, inept politicians, social cancers (I would submit that much of urban rap is such a cancer) and…racism. Frankly, I don’t know what the answer is to drug use and offenses. I know that there are many people who believe we should give up on the war on drugs. But anybody whos lived in the inner city can tell you that drug use is not benign. It’s ravaging the inner cities—which are largely black. So if you’re suggesting (and I don’t think you are…) that law enforcement is focusing on the inner city because they’re black, I’d have to say you’re wrong. They’re there because that’s where the largest percentage of drug activity can be found. (even among suburbanites going to the city to buy) The numbers are that high because in most cities that’s where the crimes are being committed—as least as it relates to **distribution.** There all kinds of discussions to be had about drugs in America—but the notion that only blacks are being targeted is plain silly. Suburban kids sell drugs. And some of them get caught. Some of them use drugs, and some get caught. There _ **is** _ a disparity in how justice is dispensed, but here too the cry of “racism!” is plain wrong. Justice is not dispensed evenly in any society, but that is a function of wealth, power and privilege, _not race._ If Bill Cosby’s, Michael Jordan’s, Richard Parson’s (CEO of Time Warner) or Colin Powell’s kid gets picked up for selling drugs you can bet they’ll mount a defense that will make a surburban parent blanch. Even then, if that black kid is the parent of a doctor or lawyer, you can expect then to be able to mount a _formidable_ defense. Justice is not about race. It’s about wealth and power, and all the things that come from it. It’s a no win situation for law enforcment. (FTR, I am deeply suspicious of law enforcement and think that a free society should always look at law enforcement with a healthy caution) If they are in the city in force they are picking on the young black male. If they don’t, they’ve abaondoned the black community. Remember the story that the CIA intentionally introduced crack into the inner cities to destroy the fabric of the community? (a story that still has a lot of legs) On the one hand, they’re guilty for putting drugs in the community, and on the other for trying to rid the community of it! > [@](#): > > You have also focused nearly all your attention of the poorest groups of urban blacks, but racism has an effect on the middle class, as well. > > Finally, you seem to rely pretty heavily on anecdotal personal experience. I too have seen poor performing workers attempt to play the race card. There is no question that that happens. However, I have also seen racism used to keep blacks out of certain housing or put a ceiling on their careers–the apartment I rented in a mixed neighborhood where I discovered everyone in my building was white and where the landlord asked me as I moved out if I knew any white people who were looking for housing, the multiple employers of a person I know in HR who have continually asked her to find ways to let them circumvent the equal opportunity rules that she was hired to enforce, the hiring of the least qualified black by managers who were under pressure to recruit outside the “white male” box so that they could point at the hired person as an example of why hiring blacks was a bad idea. I am not asserting that there is no racism in America. Far from it. I am saying however, that it exists in measures _that don’t begin to explain_ the enormity of the social ills that plague the inner city. In the meantime, the 1 racist supervisor becomes the standard bearer for the other 999 (and is likely more like 99,999)who commit no such crime in word, deed or even thought, but are labeled just the same. In due course we can’t tell the difference between them—even though they are outnumbered by staggering ratios. And that **illusion** keeps us from talking about the real issues. And so that knucklehead white racist gives a free pass to 50,000 other miscreants who are knocking up their 14 year old neighbor, robbing the 7-Eleven, and causing other sundry mayhem; unable to control themselves due to “instititional racism.” > [@](#): > > I am in favor of black leaders getting in the faces of students and telling them that the phrase “acting white” is about the stupidest phrase in their vocabulary. I am in favor of simply dismissing charges of racism when the employee is obviously incompetent or unmotivated. I am in favor of someone (preferably in the black community) telling Jackson and Sharpton to sit down and shut up when they loudly defend black kids who have been caught (on tape!) in criminal acts. Tom, it’s not the kids we have on tape! The most recent installment in a long line of farces that make a mockery of the civil rights struggle happened just last week. If you haven’t seen Soledad O’Brien’s interview with the boorish Cynthia McKinney, you’re missing a crime. McKinney enters the Capitol, one of the most sensitive buildings in the world, and a policemen doesn’t recognize her. As he is trained to do, he stops her immediately. Her response? She strikes a police officer! How she didn’t end up in hand cuffs immediately is beyond me. In the immediate aftermath of her reprehensibe behavior her defense is…You guessed it! Racism! Remember Michael Jackson? Even his family/acquaintences trotted out the race card. OJ? We were particularly galled that it was a white woman (and man) that were butchered. We were told that we wanted to destroy a successful black man; that if only he were white, or the victims black, this might this might have been a misdemeanor! Remember Mark Fuhrman? Louis Farakhan? What do you suppose would have happened if his words were spoken by Billy Graham, or Jerry Falwell? Remember the unfortunate DJ last month who entirely accidentally said “coon”, and immediately not only corrected himself but apologized? What about Barry Bonds? Forget about the fact that he has been a Class 1 Jerk for most of his career, and has treated both his fans and the press with varying levels of indifference and contempt. Forget about the fact that he chasing down one of the most sacred records in all of sports, and that the evidence that _he cheated_ is compelling. Forget about the fact that millions of kids Just Like Me spent countless hours trying to run like Willie Mays, or throw like Roberto Clemente—or that we stood up in front of the TV and applauded when Hammerin Hank hit 715. No…no we’re pissed off because Barry is Big and Black. We don’t like that. The evidence? Barry and a select few say so. Not buying it? Well, Hank Aaron got a handful of death threats on his quest to catch Ruth; certain proof that the other 65 million white baseball fans wanted him dead. Remember Jesse Jackson knocking up his 20 something staffer, and paying her off with Rainbow Coalition money? Surely you remember the charge: The White Man was trying to destroy the Great Jesse Jackson, heir to MLK. The list goes on and on and on; prominent black politicans, entertainers and athletes caught in exceptionally poor behavior. Time and again the race card is played. It’s not just that they’re co-opting the civil rights struggle and making a mockery of it—they’re reinforcing the myth that White America really is that evil, that behind every white face is a burning desire to keep a brother down. > [@](#): > > I am not in favor of using that sort of event as an excuse to simply say _it’s all their fault; let them figure it out_ or to declare the battle for civil rights to be “won” when I have seen ample evidence that there is still active discrimination continuing in this country. Nor am I saying that it is **all** their fault. But the amount of racism faced by blacks , relative to 50 years ago, is a footnote in history. Racism doesn’t prevent Johhny’s parents from waiting until they’re married, old enough and mature enough to be parents, to read to Johhny and to raise him with discipline and direction. Racism doen’t make Johhny sell or use drugs, joing a a gang, drop put of school, kill his neighbors, have kids indiscriminately that he has no intention of supporting. The civil right battle _has been_ won. I submit that the most pervasive form of racism praticed today comes from the so-called Black Leaders and bleeding hearts who maintain and reinforce a double standard for blacks. A double standard that implicitly says that blacks can’t perform as well as whites in school, can’t perform as well in the workplace and can’t even be expected to behave. We can’t expect Cynthis McKinney to behave! She’s black don’t you know? And there’s this …this…Racism!! > [@](#): > > The black mayor of New Orleans was an idiot for not taking seriously the suggestions that he needed to evacuate his people and then whining on (inter)national TV that his people had been betrayed. > But it was the white police chief in the next city that physically prevented black people from leaving the city after it flooded, then ordered his troops to scatter the people and destroy their possessions. > We had seven days of loud proclamations that (black) people trapped at the Superdome were rioting and raping and murdering each other and only a couple of months-later footnotes that none of that actually happened. The only news footage that I ever saw of first hand accounts of rape, pillage and looting at the superdome was _from blacks._ Further, white or black, both the mayor and governor were inept. How many calls has there been for his head? If the mayor of Salt Lake city said, “Salt lake City has always been a white city and will always remain a white city” he’d be out of office in 2 weeks. Yet the NO mayor said the same thing. We are so used to racist comments and the burden of 400 years of white guilt we say nothing. Ending racism means holding Ray Nagel to the same standard as Rudy Guiliani, Barry Bonds as Pete Rose and Rafael Paleirmo, Richard Parsons as Jeffrey Skilling, OJ Simpson as Joe Montana. It is racism to hold blacks to a lower standard than whites. It is racism for a black Federal judge in Chicago to say that ‘any black man south of Madison who doesn’t vote for Harold Washington should be hanged’ _and do nothing._ It is racism to say nothing when Spike Lee, or Al Sharpton says something that his white counterpart could never say—something clearly racist and would lead to scandal or consequence if it said by a white. And it happens every single day. > [@](#): > > Racism does continue to play a role in our society. We will never get everyone to love one another, but we can work a lot harder to remove barriers to advancement and to treat people more equally. Racism has played a role in every society in the history of man. Racism, patronage, and nepotism, will be with us always. But there is nothing in our national fabric that keeps a young black child born today from going to college, getting a good job, having a family and being a productive part of society. The greatest barriers a young [inner city] child faces today will be from his own family and community. That’s not the fault of the white man. And so I would submit that people are not treated equally. In some rare instances blacks are victimized by white racists. In many others they are kept on the payroll by white bosses, despite poor performance or poor behavior, because of the inevitable cry “Racism!” when they are terminated. ---
**Author:** ![raindog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@raindog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raindog)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2006, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chappelle-talks-why-i-walked-away/352540/155 "2006-04-16T14:12:04Z")
> [@you with the face](#): > > So let me get this straight. > > 1. Racism has little to do with the disparities and problems that we see today among blacks. Nevermind the fact that [apartheid in this country](http://www.answers.com/topic/jim-crow-law) was alive and kicking only fifty years ago, none of that matters. No way. That’s in the past and therefore, blacks should be on equal footing with whites by now. Institutional racism is a myth and it’s wrong to suggest that historical racism has anything to do with the present. You’re right so far… Alive and kicking _50 years ago._ > [@](#): > > 1. White-on-black racism is a not a big deal. But black-on-white racism is “real, alive and very, very well.” No. Racism is reprehensible in all it’s forms. But in this thread alone some one opined that racism could only be practiced by whites—a charge that is being propogated by the Captains of the Victim Industry–Sharpton, Jackson, West et. al. that is absurd. > [@](#): > > 1. Blacks are in “full crisis”, even though the majority of blacks lead normal, ordinary middle class lives. Interesting comment. That would seem to suggest that the civil rights struggle has in fact been won…Hmmmmm… How all those white bosses let this happen? > [@](#): > > 1. The fact that other immigrant groups–nevermind that they came over here voluntarily, were not enslaved, retained their culture and family ties, and did not have their rights stripped away anywhere to the extent that black people did–were able to attain success means black people are deficient for not rising to the challenge the same way. Nevermind the fact that there are plenty of successful black people, too. No, we must always focus on those who are bling, blinging in the ghetto. The successful blacks see white racism for what it is: An ignorant practice practiced by a small percentage of the population that often has little or no consequence in their lives—a nuiscance. They do not dwell on it, or let it influence their lives. More importantly they don’t see every traffic stop or rude department store clerk as a racist out to do them harm. _They’re not victims because they haven’t bought into the victim mentality, and they have taken personal responsibility for their lives and choices. And they’re successful as a result._ ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2006, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chappelle-talks-why-i-walked-away/352540/156 "2006-04-16T15:06:42Z")
Hey, I have not too much to say about Chappelle - a guy goes around with schtick like “Blackzilla” which has him humping a volcano in Tokyo, and people think he’s a comic genius? Never quite got why so many people think he’s so great. Could just be me. Didn’t see more than a few minutes of his stuff anyway. Maybe he is briiliant and I am humor challenged or just don’t get it since I am so White and all. No matter. So, for some reason he freaked out and ran away, and couldn’t get it back together again, and after the fact he’s telling fans and all some noble version of what his reasons were. Fine. Whatever. But yes, someone who is clearly doing just fine in the opportunity realm pulls the race card as the reason for his collapse … well, I find that a bit stupid. As someone who sees major problems in this world and in this country resulting from persistent racism - explicitly, institutionally, and in subtle ways that we each are not even aware of - I find his blaming the White power system for his running away to be idiotic after-the-fact excuse making and believe that it demeans the importance of racism in our world. But whatever. ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2006, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chappelle-talks-why-i-walked-away/352540/157 "2006-04-16T15:17:35Z")
> [@the raindog](#): > > You’re right so far… > > Alive and kicking _50 years ago._ Which means that my generation, Generation X, is the first generation of black people to actually be born free in this country. We’re the first generation to live our entire lives without having to see a “Colored Only” sign. We’re the first blacks in American History to be able to apply for a job, housing, or higher education with some type of legal protection against discrimination. We’re the first generation of blacks who do not remember the time when the mere act of voting or holding a white woman’s hand was a dangerous, life-threatening act. We’re the first generation of blacks to be able to dream of becoming whatever we want to be without first worrying about white people. We’re the first generation to be able to hope for fairness in the justice system, even though we know we don’t always get it. This probably won’t strike you as being significant because freedom is something that a lot of whites take for granted, but hardly a day goes by that I don’t sit and marvel about this. You scoff at 50 years, as is your right to do, but when I realize my parents were in their late teens when those Civil Rights protesters were hosed down in the street–by the police, mind you–there is no way I could have your blase appreciation for history. Seeing the white people yelling and throwing rocks at the little black girl who dared to go to “their” school, watching the white people turn into rabid animals at the sight of the blacks who dared to sit at “their” lunch counters, listening to the diatribes of Strom Thurmond and Wallace on the radio and TV. Seeing Martin Luther King villified in the news for having the audacity to say that blacks deserved to be treated like human beings. My parents were alive and fully cognizant during those days. And if they were alive, plenty of others were alive. The history is embedded into us. You exhibit an attitude that I’ve seen in a lot of people, unfortunately. This “I know better than they do” attitude that smacks of arrogance and patronization. Sometimes I hear views like yours expressed and I have to wonder whether you think the history clock started ticking the day you were born. Because some of things you are saying make me think you don’t really know or appreciate how far black people have come. All you can see if the present and all you can see is the negative. > [@](#): > > No. Racism is reprehensible in all it’s forms. But in this thread alone some one opined that racism could only be practiced by whites—a charge that is being propogated by the Captains of the Victim Industry–Sharpton, Jackson, West et. al. Racism is a view that anyone can have, IMO. But when racism is practiced by the majority against a historically stigmatized minority, the ramifications are going to more larger scaled and signficant than when black people are prejudice against whites. This is why we don’t spend a lot of time talking about the effects of racism against whites. The day that the table is turned and whites become the minority, then maybe it’ll it make sense to turn our attention to black-on-white racism. > [@](#): > > Interesting comment. That would seem to suggest that the civil rights struggle has in fact been won…Hmmmmm… No. Just because people have found success doesn’t mean racism isn’t still pervasive and damaging. > [@](#): > > The successful blacks see white racism for what it is: An ignorant practice practiced by a small percentage of the population that often has little or no consequence in their lives—a nuiscance. As a successful black person, I ask you not to tell me how I see racism. That is the height of presumptuousness. ---
**Author:** ![Loopydude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e56c9b/32.png) [@Loopydude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopydude)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2006, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chappelle-talks-why-i-walked-away/352540/158 "2006-04-16T16:00:20Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > But yes, someone who is clearly doing just fine in the opportunity realm pulls the race card as the reason for his collapse … well, I find that a bit stupid. As someone who sees major problems in this world and in this country resulting from persistent racism - explicitly, institutionally, and in subtle ways that we each are not even aware of - I find his blaming the White power system for his running away to be idiotic after-the-fact excuse making and believe that it demeans the importance of racism in our world. > > But whatever. Kind of looks that way from some angles. I came across the Slate article last night “explaining” Chappelle’s quandry: He can’t get away from white people. I don’t put much stock in Slate, and that article could just be the typical product of sociological idiocy Slate spews forth on a regular basis. But it did quote the Oprah interview, where Chappelle appears to cite one of his reasons for leaving: A white stagehand was laughing too hard. Later, it quotes Chappelle, from his _Block Party_ flick, as deriving a lot of pleasure from the fact that the crowd in front of him was less than 1% white. I dunno, maybe he had a tongue firmly planted in cheek when he made that comment. Maybe not. Sounds like white adulation makes him paranoid. Kurt Cobain, before he offed himself, complained bitterly that the same sorts of folks who used to beat him up in high school were now among his greatest fans. This was not Cobain’s real problem. His real problem was he was _mentally ill_, and shit that other people would shrug off made him miserable. I don’t know if anxiety and depression are Chappelle’s main issues or not. But he wouldn’t be the first comedic genius to suffer from those afflictions. I don’t see it as a fundamentally “black” thing. Who are some of the greatest comics we might remember? Well, there’s Murphy, Pryor, Carlin, Bruce… Bruce wound up a cold dead overdoser, half-naked on a bathroom floor. Carlin was a coke addict and only partially cleaned himself up after suffering a near-fatal heart attack. Pryor lit himself on fire, among about a hundred other problems. Mental anguish seems to come with the genius territory fairly often, and Murphy is the only one on that short list who is both sane and physically intact. He’s also apparently the big sellout of the bunch. Anyway, Chappelle is, in my estimation, an extremely talented artist. I don’t know if he’s up there with the greatest-of-greats in their prime, but he’s close. The Blackzilla skit is about as weak as his show ever got, and many of his skits were all-time-television greats, IMO. He also has great charisma, and, in collaboration with other comics, can often bring out the best in them. Charlie Murphy is the prime example, to me, of someone who could could soak up some of the DC aura make it their own in a way perhaps not entirely possible outside of the partnership. After the Negrodamus bit, to follow up with the “Is Wayne Brady gonna have to choke a bitch?!?” skit was, I think, pretty wonderfully good fun and sportsmanship all around, and I’m quite disappointed we’re not going to see more performances like that. Flipping channels with my wife last night, we hit an SNL skit where Rachel Dratch was prattling on about a fucking hat, sequing to Amy Poeler in some idiotic music number that was about as unfunny as anything I’ve seen on TV. I think we lasted 15 seconds before I dove for the remote with the urgency of an act of self-defense. 99.9% of TV comedy sucks so hard it hurts. CC is the only haven of quality as far as I’m concerned, and Chappelle reigned supreme. Now he quits because, apparently, having fans like me is painful, which he blames on excessive white ownership. Disappointing. Television, you’re pretty much dead to me. ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2006, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chappelle-talks-why-i-walked-away/352540/159 "2006-04-16T17:23:05Z")
Chafing at the bit of oppressive editing is one thing. If he hated having anyone edit or control his routines, that’s one thing. So, he should do what tons of folks have done. ( Eddie Murphy, etc. ) . Do an HBO comedy special, over which he has 100 % editorial control and from which he draws a percentage of profits. But… that isn’t it, is it? He has some mental health issues and it’s very hard to actually come out and say that in public. I wish him well. He’s a funny fellow. ---
**Author:** ![raindog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@raindog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raindog)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2006, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chappelle-talks-why-i-walked-away/352540/160 "2006-04-16T21:32:54Z")
**Tom** , did you read **you with the face** ’s _ **excellent** _ post? We have a first person perspective of a black Gen-Xer, who desribes a world where he (if it is “she” please correct me and accept my apology) was “born free”, free to apply for housing or higher education with legal protections, free to participate in the democratic procees _without fear_, free to date or marry a white woman if chooses, once again without fear, free to dream and realize those dreams without worry, and **an expectation** that they will receive “fairness” in the justice system, and apparently receiving it some portion of the time. I can think of no more compelling evidence of the success of the civil rights struggle than the first person world view of a young black Gen-Xer. Not only could I not say it better myself, I wouldn’t have the credibility of stating it from a black perspective. I make no inference that we are living in The Garden Of Eden. It is quite hard however, to see the oppressive, systemic, _pervasive_ institutional racism that bears down on blacks like humidity in August in his desription of the world he inhabits. I’ll go out on a limb and infer that the success that **you with the face** enjoys didn’t come from caprice, dumb luck or inheritance; **but rather from making good use** \* of the freedoms he so eloquently described—all fruits of the civil rights struggle. (\*read: sound judgement, personal responsibility and hard work) Amazingly, despite his favorable view of the world, and his appreciation for the struggles of his predessors, he still finds room to be a victim. It’s noteworthy that he doesn’t describe a single indignity _he_ experienced, but rather the indignities of others. I see no instance where he’s _been_ a victim, but rather he’s been _told_ he 's a victim. It’s _embedded_ in him. He’s been _vicariously victimized._ > [@you with the face](#): > > Which means that my generation, Generation X, is the first generation of black people to actually be born free in this country. We’re the first generation to live our entire lives without having to see a “Colored Only” sign. We’re the first blacks in American History to be able to apply for a job, housing, or higher education with some type of legal protection against discrimination. We’re the first generation of blacks who do not remember the time when the mere act of voting or holding a white woman’s hand was a dangerous, life-threatening act. We’re the first generation of blacks to be able to dream of becoming whatever we want to be without first worrying about white people. We’re the first generation to be able to hope for fairness in the justice system, even though we know we don’t always get it. I would like to make note of a couple things, if for no other reason than to correct your timeline. Being “Free” is progressive. You weren’t born free, but rather you are enjoying the fruits of many whites and blacks efforts–starting with white and black abolitionists–that has been going on for 150 years. It is unlikely your parents saw “Colored Only” signs, and if they did they were likely in diapers. Rather it is your grandparents that suffered those indignities. You are not the first generation that is able to consider inter-racial dating. I was ‘holding the hand’ of my black _wife_ likely before you were born. I have bi racial children not much younger than you. In the 20 years we were together I experienced several instances of racism, and twice I was forced to be violent. I traveled freely in the city of Chicago without fear. it is true however, that in every instance we were accosted and forced into a confrontation it was at the hands of black men. Every Single Time. This notion that inter-racial couples were in fear of white knuckleheads _exclusively_ is pure fantasy. Even today, an inter-racial couple would do well to be aware of their surroundings. But you are as likely to be abused by black racists than by white ones. > [@](#): > > This probably won’t strike you as being significant because freedom is something that a lot of whites take for granted, but hardly a day goes by that I don’t sit and marvel about this. You scoff at 50 years, as is your right to do, but when I realize my parents were in their late teens when those Civil Rights protesters were hosed down in the street–by the police, mind you–there is no way I could have your blase appreciation for history. Seeing the white people yelling and throwing rocks at the little black girl who dared to go to “their” school, watching the white people turn into rabid animals at the sight of the blacks who dared to sit at “their” lunch counters, listening to the diatribes of Strom Thurmond and Wallace on the radio and TV. Seeing Martin Luther King villified in the news for having the audacity to say that blacks deserved to be treated like human beings. My parents were alive and fully cognizant during those days. And if they were alive, plenty of others were alive. The history is embedded into us. **None** of the freeedoms that you have so powerfully described would be a reality without the efforts of millions of white Americans going back 150 years, many of which paid with their lives. You describe some powerful images, _none of which you experienced._ No one is suggesting that we forget the civil rights struggle. But you are not paying homage to it by acting like a victim over incidents _that you only know of through history._ You’re not dishonoring their sacrifices and memories by living the life they imagined **for you.** The irony is that they suffered those abuses so that their offspring wouldn’t have to be victims. It’s long overdue that those of the victim class stop acting like one, and long overdue that clowns like Jesse Jackson stop selling that bill of goods. **The War Is Over. The Good Guys Won.** > [@](#): > > You exhibit an attitude that I’ve seen in a lot of people, unfortunately. This “I know better than they do” attitude that smacks of arrogance and patronization. Sometimes I hear views like yours expressed and I have to wonder whether you think the history clock started ticking the day you were born. Because some of things you are saying make me think you don’t really know or appreciate how far black people have come. All you can see if the present and all you can see is the negative. Right. It is patronizing to consider blacks incapable of being productive, happy and successful because of this shadowy racist stalking them. It is patronizing to make excuses for poor performance and poor behavior. It is patronizing to make special accomodations in hiring practices, and college admissions by lowering test score requirements _exclusively_ for black applicants. If you wish to believe that I am ignorant of the history of the civil rights era, have at it. Forgive me if I’m dubious. > [@](#): > > Racism is a view that anyone can have, IMO. But when racism is practiced by the majority against a historically stigmatized minority, the ramifications are going to more larger scaled and signficant than when black people are prejudice against whites. This is why we don’t spend a lot of time talking about the effects of racism against whites. The day that the table is turned and whites become the minority, then maybe it’ll it make sense to turn our attention to black-on-white racism. A couple things here… The “ramifications” of white racism are well documented–some of which you recounted here. It is a stain on our collective conscience and a blight on our history. However there has been a 150 year struggle, starting with the abolitionists, to undo those ramifications. In fact, the world you describe you live in would bring tears to the eyes of people like W.E.B. DuBois or Ida B Wells, yes? Yet you havn’t shared with us what **vestiges** of these horrors still plague you today. I would also submit that racial crime by blacks against whites is huge–and growing. (and I would bet good money is bigger than white on black racially motivated crime) Yet it has none of the cache of white idiocy. It goes largely unreported as a national issue, dare we be accused of focusing our attention on **behavior** and **accepting personal responsibility.** But I submit it is paradoxically racist _not to_ at this point in history. It’s long overdue. > [@](#): > > No. Just because people have found success doesn’t mean racism isn’t still pervasive and damaging. Of course, you haven’t desribed the very first instance of how it is pervasive or damaging **in _your_ life.** What you did describe of your world is the exact opposite, right? > [@](#): > > As a successful black person, I ask you not to tell me how I see racism. That is the height of presumptuousness. Got it. I suspected you’re living in the past, but somehow a victim\* in the present.\* [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chappelle-talks-why-i-walked-away/352540.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chappelle-talks-why-i-walked-away/352540.md?page=9)