Stop Punching People Down

I am ... writing this at this moment in a state of distress.... of the emotional kind. Having just finished Dave Chappelle's show on Netflix The Closer.

While I wouldn't say I am an avid fan of Dave Chappelle, I can say from the shows and comedy I have seen of his - I appreciate his humor. It is a particular type of humor. This is why there are different types of comedians because sometimes certain things just aren't funny to every single person in the world. I say this because I have no issue with his humor. Other people clearly do.

That is what this story is about. It isn't even a story. It isn't fiction. This is reality. This is the telling of events as they actually are instead of from biased others dead set on certain agendas.

A couple of days ago I came across an article about Netflix, discussing the walk-out of two-hundred employees. These employees walked out in protest of the latest comedy special performed by Dave Chappelle. What they wanted from Netflix was for Netflix to put a warning in front of Dave Chappelle's special titled 'Transphobic Warning' because of the content he discusses in his show. The article stated that they knew if they called for the show to be removed from Netflix entirely, that it would only make people want to see it even more. Because then it would become taboo which would only make it even more intriguing to the audience.

There aren't these other warnings for comedy specials, "this comedian brings up Hispanic people, this comedian brings up African-American people, this one brings up insert here" but what all of this does smell like is an agenda. What that agenda is I couldn't possibly begin to fathom. But considering the number of other comedians that are out there saying anything and everything under the sun, why does Dave Chappelle have to be so different?

While I agree with that statement alone, that banning something or removing something only enhances its' intrigue; I do NOT agree with the request from those employees to post a warning - a specific Transphobic warning on the page of his show on Netflix.

After reading this article I had to watch the special to see what everyone was so upset about. I wanted to know how accurate their anger was. And considering I am not part of the Trans community I feel confident in stating that this is coming from an impartial third party. I wanted the truth, not one-sided articles, not personal upset opinions.

Now whether you believe me or not is entirely up to you. In fact, what I would suggest is that you DO go watch that special. To see for yourself how grossly inaccurate the special is being represented. Maybe what I say will upset you, maybe you will agree with me. But what I need completely understood is that at the end of the day, what I truly care about, is the truth.

What that article doesn't tell you is the whole story, what that article does do is it cherrypicks the things Dave Chappelle says in his special. To make it seem like he has it out for the Trans community and that he is transphobic. What that article does NOT do is give context. And many people are under the misguided impression that context just isn't that important.

The people in this article want to ignore everything he said to explain why he was saying what he was saying. Not to mention, seems as if people forget this important fact, that he IS a comedian, and one of the biggest reasons we all love comedians is because they bring up important topics in a more digestible way. Because so many things are too much to discuss outright, too big, too heavy, too upsetting, too sensitive.

Dave Chappelle is allowed to speak his mind, his opinion, which included him stating he has NO HATE towards the Trans community. But that article conveniently left that out. You want to know another tidbit they left out? That someone that Dave Chappelle was friends with, someone who defended him, someone who happened to be a White Trans Woman, was bashed by supposedly her own community. The Trans community. Because she defended Dave Chappelle.

Then a tragedy occurred, after the constant online hatred towards this friend, she tragically took her own life.

And here I am, sitting in my living room with tears in my eyes over this person I never met and will never meet. Dave Chappelle discusses this in his special and it only brings to light a growing issue with the internet. So many of you believe that these are merely words, that they can't hurt you. But you're wrong. Words are powerful. And they do affect people.

Everyone has become so sensitive and not in a good way. Everyone wants empathy but doesn't want to give it. We all need to learn to extend empathy before we can hope to receive it. If you want to be treated equally then that means you are treated equally, but it doesn't sound like some people want equality. They want special treatment. It is all comes across as wanting attention as a victim and blaming Dave Chappelle as the aggressor. The only thing I want to do with what I am writing now is to bring a little light to the truth of what is really going on instead of merely reading one article and deciding you have the entire story.

Below I have included the link to the article I have referenced and I hope those who read this (and the article) take all of it with a grain of salt and perhaps give Dave Chappelle's special a chance before assuming your final opinion.

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