Everyone's favorite 30 Rock cast member Tracy Jordan...I mean Tracy Morgan is in VERY hot water over some jokes he made at a recent stand up show. During what I'm sure was a outrageous set Tracy said some very homophobic remarks about if his kids were to tell him they were gay. Homophobia is a topic I currently struggle with because, contrary to my best attempts, I slip up and say something I probably shouldn't (primarily when I'm playing Call of Duty and some cat pulls some monkey shit for a kill). But as a black man I can't stand by and be silent when anyone of any minority/opressed group has been affronted...so I'm not a fan of the feelings conveyed by Tracy. But, with that being said, you're a fool for paying attention to ANYTHING he has to say. He's one of those cats that when he speaks you don't expect to learn anything from him...and I mean that in the most positive way possible. His whole career has been based on random and outlandish comments. I've seen his stand up and he doesn't have to stretch far, if at all, to play Tracy Jordan on 30 Rock. As vile as his comments may have been to some, I'm sure that in the context of the joke it would have made more sense (if only someone would have given him the Michael Richards treatment and recorded it. C'mon people...it's 2011!). Maybe not to the point to where some people would be less mad, but to a place where you can see where he was trying to get at....words are almost never as bad as they seem when they're placed in the proper context.
The thing about this story (and many like it) that kills me is the constant (over)reaction that inevitably occurs when a public figure makes a controversial statement. This is a rough timeline of what usually happens in these situations:
STEP 1. Figure makes controverisal statement. Live goes on as normal.
STEP 2. The innanets take the story and put it in everyone's face (if it's anything dealing with gay people Perez Hilton will be in the mix. He's like a gay blogger prophet or something)
STEP 3. Public figure makes a public apology, almost certainly written by someone in their camp who went to college and double majored in mass communications and damage control. Colleagues/co-workers starting to pan the comments so they can keep their jobs
STEP 4. Talking heads say the apology isn't good enough and start calling for their head. The mindless drones that hang to every word they say (read: the public) start chanting for the figure to quit/resign
STEP 5. After a firestorm of controversy and the threat of sponsors pulling out, the embattled public figure resigns and goes to some type of rehab
In today's uber senstive/politically correct society anything that's seen as offensive is magnified by some marginal group that's looking for its 15 seconds of fame. It seems as though the heads of these organizations peruse the headlines and look for anything that will possibly give them revalance (wait...what am I saying? That's EXACTLY what happens). In this story, that group is GLAAD, who recently called for Tracy to remove the joke from his act and apologize to those affected by gay violence. A noble act that I'm sure crossed his mind (or the mind of that person in his camp that went to school for damage control) but here's a better question: who died and made GLAAD the king of gay rights? Why does he have to bend to their will? You know why?...because if he did buck them and went about it his way he'd be panned as REALLY being homophobic and the rage of America's closet homophobes would come down upon him. That's what sad about these stories...these groups use this fact to bully people into doing things there were probably going to do anyway. I'm all for Tracy Morgan showing contrition and attempting to heal the wounds his wounds caused, but do you know what would show the public serious? If he did on his own accord...but GLAAD won't let that happen. I truly hope that Tracy Morgan learns from the situation and matures as a person. Not only because I genuinely hope that for all people when they have trials...but 30 Rock wouldn't be the same without him.
-Dub
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