Louis C.K. hosted the season finale of SNL‘s 40th season. Pajiba reports how the episode (as a whole) was one of the best this season. Rihanna’s musical performances received wide praise, but the opening monologue was terribly controversial. We are talking about Louis C.K., who is known for offensive humor. But this monologue came across like Louis decided to be as controversial as possible, just to see how much outrage he could generate. He riffed on the 1970s, which he sees as a time when racism and child molestation weren’t a huge deal. These were simply things that one had to endure as part of society. The point of the monologue was to offend. Offensiveness was the joke with no punchline to be found. A lot of people found Louis’ effort tasteless, especially the part about child molestation. Here are the relevant parts of the transcript, and the clip follows:
On racism: “I was born in 1967, and so I grew up in the ’70s. So I’m not racist, however, I do have mild racism. Because that was a very racist decade. People said racist things all the time, and nobody got offended … So I have mild racism. It’s benign, it’s not aggressive. It’s not even negative racism … If I’m in a gas station late at night, and a young man comes in wearing a hooded sweatshirt. If he’s white, I’ll think, ‘Oh, he’s an athlete.’ If he’s black, unless he has a big smile on his face, I become mildly racist. Then I think, ‘That’s fine! Everything’s fine. Nothing’s gonna happen. No, of course I’m fine. Why’d I even think that for a second?’ That’s because I was raised in the ’70s. Everything was different in the ’70s than it is now. Except the Middle East is exactly the same. It’s the same fights, and it’s boring now. That’s the worst part of it … after awhile when you fight, people don’t care because both of you just keep fighting. Everybody’s like, ‘Those guys are d*cks. They just fight..'”
On child molestation: “There was a child molester who lived in my hometown. And it wasn’t a big deal. It was like, ‘Yeah, that’s the house where the child molester lives. Hey kids, don’t be stupid. You’ll get molested. I know because he did something to me when I was your age. So just stay away from the child molester house.’ … Child molesters are very tenacious people. They love molesting childs. It’s crazy. It’s like their favorite thing. When you consider the risk of being a child molester — there is no worse life available to a human than being a caught child molester. And yet they still do it! Which you could only really surmise, that it must be really good.” [uncomfortable gasps and boos] “I mean, from their point of view! It must be AMAZING. For them to risk so much! …. How do you think I feel? It’s my last show, probably … I love Mounds bars. It’s my favorite thing, right? But there’s a limit. I can’t even eat a Mounds bar and do something else at the same time which I love. And yet if someone said to me, ‘If you eat another Mounds bar, you’ll go to jail and everyone would hate you,’ I would stop eating them. Because they do taste delicious, but they don’t taste as good as a young boy does … and shouldn’t. To child molesters! Not to me. Not to US, because we’re all awesome.”
[From SNL on Hulu]
Yes, he compared child molestation to love for a candy bar. What makes this monologue even more uncomfortable is a fresh Gawker article about how Louis allegedly exposes and pleasures himself in front of female comics. The story is based on long-standing rumors and sources a blind item, so it may or may not be true.
A lot of people feel that Louis crossed the line with this monologue. Others are shouting that Louis routinely pushes boundaries and shocks his audience. I do think Louis went too far, and this monologue surpasses the “political correctness” complaints surrounding the criticism of comedians. Child molestation is never hilarious, and it’s sad that Louis C.K. felt compelled to mine the subject for comedic effect. Aren’t there a million other things to crack “edgy” jokes about instead of such a painful subject?
Here are a few Twitter reactions to Louis’ monologue.
I grew up on SNL. Huge Louis C.K. fan. I know they both push the line. I get that. But that opening monologue…
— Bun B (@BunBTrillOG) May 17, 2015
That was the unfunniest, most offensive #SNL monologue I've ever seen. Racism and child molestation? Really, Louis. #SNL40Finale
— John DeMayo (@JohnnyDeMayo) May 17, 2015
Screencaps courtesy of NBC/Hulu; photos courtesy of WENN
This makes me sad. I normally love Louis’s stand-up, but dat monologue… Yikes.
The rumor was that he masturbated suddenly in front of two women and wouldn’t let them out the door until he was done.
THAT’s the part that gets really criminal.
I think his show has tested the definition of “real rape” and now, with the rumors being written about, he’s joking about child molesters AND his children. Interspersed jokes.
That’s nasty. He’s writing about what he’s thinking about. He needs to get professional help — he seems to be trying to define what constitutes abuse. As if he can’t figure it out.
No one has come forward at this point its just one blogger saying it happened, because xyz said so, but has any women actually come forward & said it happened? The blogger even went to Gawker asking people to shares stories about CK, it sort of seems shady. At this point its speculation.
What a bomb. It was completely for shock value. It wasn’t even remotely funny. Not cringey but funny, anything. I think joking about racism and child molestation is, of course, tasteless, but this was also offensive in it’s lack of wit or intelligence. What a toad he is.
GnAT don’t judge him by this one monologue. He has decades of amazing standup. He is usually very funny and witty. Also I feel like the majority of comic’s are obsessed with racism. It seems to be a popular topic with most comedians.
Plus he wrote “Pootie Tang”!
I kid…
Exactly! Where’s the funny? I can sort of forgive some offensiveness if it’s just a brilliant joke, but where are the jokes here?
I didn’t find the monologue offensive, though the child molestation stuff was pushing it, it just wasn’t funny AT ALL.
I’ve read the Gawker story and because it’s based on the thinnest of rumors it feels wrong to discuss it. I hope Louis CK doesn’t abuse women like that.
Some topics are just not meant to be joked about and I think he may have crossed the line here
But that’s what comedians are supposed to do: skewer sacred cows. I saw nothing wrong with his monologue. We’re okay with jokes about a lot of other taboos but not *this* one? That’s situational ethics and also makes it more enticing to a comedian.
Agree. Anyone who’s done stand-up or sketch comedy, imo, will also recognize this moment: you can almost visually see the thought train as a comedian lets connections and associations run through an original idea or outrageous set-up into all sorts of tangents, comparisons, connections, etc.
A lot of times, especially in improv, a huge bit of it doesn’t work (or doesn’t work yet), but you keep hitting and throwing at it to see what sticks – either with you, or with your fellow comedians in the bit, or with the audience. One of the sacred tenets in this process is that you HAVE to let your mind THERE in free-association and see what happens; “too much” or “just unfunny” happens as censorship & judgement later… after the process, after a stone-cold test of what worked or was funny.
My biggest shock of this monologue was that he seemed willing to work through (and show) the process of what usually happens in a smaller performance or practice venue in front of the huge TV audience (& permanent tapes) on SNL, frankly.
I was molested as a child. I can’t even begin to describe how horrible, offensive, insensitive, cruel, triggering, and heartbreaking his rant sounds to someone who’s actually been molested. This isn’t a “sacred cow,” this is sexual abuse, and it destroys people’s souls and lives. What is remotely funny about this? Please. Tell us all.
Maybe “sacred cow” was not the best phrase. I meant more like social taboo, those things we find so heinous as to be untouchable/unspeakable. (So _kind of_ a sacred cow.) But I stand by what I said, and belle du jour does a fine job of illustrating the tricky comedic process.
You want to know what I found funny about it? His reminiscence about his childhood and the neighborhood pedophile. It reminded me of the 1970s, when we all had a creepy person in our neighborhood and every kid knew who he was. It was funny in a “Wow, you had one too? So did we!” kind of way.
This just shows how shared experiences can have wildly divergent reactions among people. As for this event, it just doesn’t trigger my moral outrage. Sorry.
I’m just glad that the people who found it funny are able to have the right to laugh at things like this and support and defend things like this while people who were forced to have sex as children are forced to relive their horror when listening to his “comedy”. Because that’s what really matters. That you get your laugh on. Bravo Louis for providing this great service to humanity. Because that’s what it’s all about according to your defenders. Child victims be d*med.
A respectful note to both Nymeria and French Cruller: the terms “comedian” and “uncomfortable but appreciative audience” and “victim of sexual molestation and child abuse” are not necessarily mutually exclusive. Some victims, comedians and other good people retain the right to approach & deal with this topic with what they see as – or see as an attempt at – humor.
Likewise, humor is not mutually exclusive from accompanying & equal outrage, empathy, sympathy and support; it is merely one way to go at pointing to the conflicts of being able to suffer AND to laugh, to mock and to fear, to remember and to rise above. In fact, it’s been my experience that comedians and ‘humorous’ artists viscerally know, experience and understand real pain and abuse and fear very, very well.
If humor (or attempts at humor) on this topic does not work for you, then so be it. But please do not attempt to conflate satire or discussion of the abuser as lack of understanding – either as or for a victim – of the abuse.
People pointing out these things are not damning abuse victims; it’s the abusers who were trying to do that.
NO, belle de jour it’s you! You’re the enemy. How dare you have an opinion different than mine. What gives you the right to defend something I don’t like??? I can tell you, with several years under my belt as an entitled jacka$$, that this was NOT funny or defensible. Speech is ONLY free when I say so.
Again, I’m just so happy someone is there to stand up for the poor comedians.
Why are male comedians obsessed with rape and child molestation? They are also the most sensitive to criticism.
Because it’s the last taboo
I’m sorry the truth offends you.
I’m not offended by the truth. And some of what he said is true. I’m offended by joking about something that isn’t funny. It’s true that people didn’t take child molestation seriously when I was a child. People either didn’t believe it really happened or they just couldn’t bear to talk about it. As a result, there are legions of walking wounded my age. Adults with a painful secret that they have never told anyone, or waited years to tell, or told but weren’t believed or were blamed. Some of them became molesters themselves, some committed suicide, some just lived with it. Bloody hilarious.
Then you should appreciate a comic talking openly about this stigmatized topic.
Why? He didn’t shed any light on it. He didn’t treat it with compassion or seriousness. He made a joke out of it. He did the same thing to these people that was done before. He ignored their pain. He blew it off.
I was molested a couple of times when I was young by a family friend’s son. It was something that most people didn’t talk about when I was a kid. It happened when I was 4, and unfortunately my mom didn’t give me that talk until I was 6. Luckily her training helped my thwart a molesting teacher when I was 10. He made one advance and I ran and told. He molested 5 girls at my school.
I do think it is better to discuss or even joke about taboo subjects than to ignore. Also just because it happened to me doesn’t mean I can’t sometimes find humor is dark situations. Once when I was 15 a man exposed himself to me and started masturbating in public. I started laughing hysterically. The more I laughed the more furious he became. That was 20 years ago and it still makes me laugh when I recall his furious and bewildered face.
Nope,
I agree with GNAT that this was not performed in a way to either shed light on the horrible topic of child molestation and how it is dealt with in society and that it was lacking the wit, intelligence or subversion that would push it into the territory of being truly transgressive. It just came off as meandering and insensitive at best. I never found this guy funny and I don’t know what he was thinking with opening the show with this monologue.
I do think it is better to discuss or even joke about taboo subjects than to ignore. It wasn’t a PSA, but it still has people talking. For better or worse it has us talking openly about a taboo subject.
@Nicole – The core of his “joke” was that molesting children must be freaking AWESOME, because molesters do it even though jail time for child molesters is horrible. Then he carries on this idea by likening his love of candy bars to molesters’ love of molesting children. How is this funny? How does this remotely address the truth of the matter, which is that the vast, vast majority (nearly all) of child molesters NEVER GET CAUGHT, so his “joke” doesn’t even apply? Humor is supposed to take the grain of truth out of something and make you look at it from a surprising angle. This wasn’t humor; this was a guy laughing at how child molesters must love what they do. Yeah. Frikkin’ FUNNY, guys.
@Jesmari – We’re not talking openly about child sexual abuse, or the fact that nearly 20% of victims commit suicide, or how the other 80% live damaged and screwed up lives, or the pyschosocial effects of child sexual abuse, or how it affects families, or how most child molesters go unpunished. We’re debating whether or not a comedian crossed a line.
Well I am in the 80% and I don’t feel damaged or dysfunctional. I work with loads of abuse victims that are doing great. It is not always a life sentence that can’t be overcome.
If you tell comedians that there is a line that cannot be crossed, they will deliberately cross it. That is kind of what they do. I don’t think for one second he endorses child molesters.
Nymeria, that was stated perfectly. He wasn’t skewering the cruelty or molesters with satire; he was mocking that people are outraged by it unlike in the 70s. I grew up then, too, and think political correctness is now overboard. That said, it will never be funny to “joke” about how “really good” child molestation must be to the abuser. Ironic, too, that many of the same folks here who are defending this were eager critics of Russell Crowe for a dumb statement or Gary Oldman for bashing political correctness.
seriously what the heck? white males are the worst.
Yeah – let’s be racist to express our disgust with a sketch about racism. How is your comment better than what he said in the first part?
I guess Kara is more, than mildly racist against white people!
No. No. No. No. No.
White males exist in a bubble of privilege.
IT’S NOT THE SAME THING to call a white male out on his privilege as it is to abuse minorities with slurs. Not in the same ballpark. Not in the same hemisphere. Barely contained within the same universe.
@Nicole – generalizing about race is never right, even if the subject concerned is the most privileged group of people. She didn’t call out one male – she wrote that the entire white male population is the worst – that’s the difference. And knowing her previous comments, she passionately hates white men and thinks every single one of them is an abuser, pervert and violent jackass. How it’s not racist? I agree that racism against minorities is million time worse, that’s not even up for a debate. But if we want to fight against it, we can’t allow for any kind of racism to exist.
To play devil’s advocate, perhaps what Kara was driving at was the idea that because they’re on top of the entire hierarchy here, white males feel like they can push the envelope a lot more without being as severely punished. If that was the argument, there’s definitely evidence to support it.
Please! Its obvious to me that Karas comment is intended to illustrate a point. If Louis yearns for the days of old where he could be “a little racist” then why shouldnt Kara? Everyone knows Louis entire shtick is based around this whole “I’m racist but not maliciously so” mentality. Kara is merely mimicking this position. And in my experience its usually the people who arent too offended by the white guys banal racism that jump of PoC for the exact same offence.
@Nicole, “White males live in a bubble of privelage” Really? Wow. My husband gets up at 5am and goes to work humping 10 tons of garbage everyday, rain, snow, heat waves, cold doesn’t matter. Works damn hard and when it snows works 12 hour shifts, and depending on how bad the winter that can go on for over a month. Does everything he can to make a good living and support his family. Never had a handout, never will. He’s worked like a dog for everything he has. We’re desperate to buy our own home and can’t afford it. That’s some privelage. But I guess in your book it’s ok to judge by race if it’s reversed right? Hate to burst your hate filled bubble but no all us white folks don’t have it like that.
White males, including your husband who gets up at 5am and goes to work humping 10 tons of garbage everyday, live in a bubble of privilege. I’m sorry you don’t get how white privilege works. I’m sorry you don’t see blue collar employment as a luxury some people don’t get to enjoy. I’m sorry you can’t figure out that black people are denied those jobs in favour of white people, that women are denied those jobs in favour of men, but don’t put the ‘hate’ nonsense on me .
please stop this nonsense. there cant be racism against white people. its impossible by definition as there can be no sexism against men. Louis is part of the oppressing class and needs to be called out on his privileges.
Actually, only his father is Jewish, his mother and maternal line is Catholic. He was raised Catholic by his mother (parents divorced when he was 10), and was enrolled in Catholic school classes until after he completed Communion.
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_C.K.
In the Jewish faith, “religion” is passed through the maternal line.
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matrilineality_in_Judaism
IMQ, I know his mom is Catholic since I have seen all of his stand up. I am talking about ethnicity not religion. His father is Jewish. He is probably Sephardic or Ashkenazi. That means that ethnically Louis is half Jewish. DNA does not concern itself with Religious laws. Have of his chromosomes come from his father.
He’s Latino, actually.
Born in Mexico sure, but not ethnically latino I dont think. Even if he were ethnically so, I can tell you from watching his show, that he most definitely ticks the “White” box in those ridic ethnicity questionnaires.
He is just the worst whatever he is.
He is still a white male.
GiGi….you are joking right? Louis CK is Latino?? Now, that’s a funny joke!!!!
Not joking. His father is Mexican and he lived there until he was 7. He came to the US not speaking English. He has Mexican citizenship.
Aurora he wasn’t born in Mexico while on vacation. His father is Mexican and Jewish. Louis CK is a Mexican citizen and he speaks Spanish. There are white, black, and indigenous people in Latin America and every mix in between. Sorry you can’t tell just by looking. We have a ton of redheads in my hispanic family, but we all have a black great grandfather. My husband’s family has some indigenous blood, but his nephew has blond hair and green eyes. As a Jewish hispanic man he is a double minority in the U.S.
he was born in Mexico, it means his nationality may be mexican (i think he is american now) he will not be perceived as Latino though so its not relevant. the same as a PoC born in France is not a caucasian. french citizen, sure but not seen as white obviously. Louis could have been born in Nigeria, he still would be white.
he gets all the privileges a white male gets.
Latino is not a race, it’s an ethnicity. You can be white and Latino, both 100%.
Sorry Kara, there are white Latinos. Please look up the definition. According to you 90% of Argentines aren’t Latino. He is also Jewish.
Latino is an geographic ethnicity and not a race, though. Latin American itself has its own share of racial issues with white Latinos touting European heritage getting significantly better treatment than those with native heritage. Che Guavera talks about it extensively in his writings as something he couldn’t ignore while he was traveling, the fact that his light, Spanish skin tone earned him better treatment even when he was a dirt poor hitchhiker.
Louis CK may be Latino in heritage, but the social construct of race has him interpreted as white to most Americans, so he enjoys that privilege. (And yes, it works the other way – a friend of mine is adopted and has no knowledge of her ethnic history, so she identifies as Caucasian because her family is. However, her skin tone is Mediterranean dark, so she gets smacked with prejudice every so often from people who mistake her for Mexican or Middle Eastern.)
He is actually Mexican and Jewish.
wow….I didn’t know that!!!!!
dumb trolls are the worst
@Nicole. Oh please. Give me a break. You see his job as a luxury? You try doing it. Try getting hit by a car from some impatient person and having to dive onto the hood to save your leg from getting sliced off. I judge people by what’s inside them, their heart, their personality, not their color as you so obviously do. In this country if you have a desire to work and make a living it’s there, no matter who you are. If I had the twisted perceptions of people that you do you’d be calling me racist but it’s just fine and dandy for you to make sweeping judgements. That’s right my man works damn hard, no silver spoon in his mouth. Blue collar employment is a luxury? No it’s work. It’s hard work. You’re being biased and bigoted and heaven forbid someone disagrees with you right? You want to label me go ahead, have fun.
@Nicolette – I wish there was a Like button, I would push it a thousand times for your post…my “priveleged” husband works THREE crappy jobs to get us by, and I work one…We both work with all races and ethnicities.. we are all in the same boat! White privilege is a joke, in this day and age….the only ones with “privilege” are the people with the “green”!! No matter what race, or ethnicity, if you have money, then you are priviliged…Please don’t tell me that my job at Walmart is a privilege!
Thank you Mrs. B Pitt, and exactly at my husband’s job there is white/black/Hispanic/Asian/male/female etc. The one thing they have in common is working their asses off. We live paycheck to paycheck, aren’t driving any fancy cars, I cook instead of going out to eat, clip coupons, buy what’s on sale basically we do what we have to to make ends meet. Some see that as privilege.
@MrsBPitt: SJW types love to supposedly fight oppression by insulting and stereotyping. It’s kinda their thing. Don’t take it personally.
Always nice to see the people who benefit from white privilege (MrsBPitt, Nicolette) deny that white privilege exists…not sure if this is a profound lack of understanding about what the term means and a refusal to self-educate (seriously, Google it, people), or a deep dedication to wearing blinders about the state of affairs regarding racial matters today.
Things are getting intense. My two cents:
The best way to look at it may be to say that even among the working poor there is still a pecking order. Maybe you get a cr-ppy job that bleeds you dry and leaves you with no energy. But you were still hired. There are some employers who will hire you because you are white -because they think that a white employee looks better for their business, because the employer thinks white employees look less “intimidating” and that’s “good for business”. And that’s BS. But it still goes on and is hard to stop because trying to prove it in court is difficult.
As for the idea that there can’t be racism against whites-I disagree. Every one is human and humans will always pull cr-p like that. BUT-because racism is meant to make and keep people powerless it is really unlikely that whites will suffer much from it (since most of the world’a wealth and power is held by a bunch of old white misogynistic men)
I believe in the idea that racism was created so that people would focus on fighting with each other instead of going after the people who were actually hoarding all the money (and making everyone else miserable). So…find a billionaire and go after them, not each other.
Nicolette: did they find the psycho who did that to your husband? I hope your husband was able to recover fully. What kind of a nut job tries to amputate someone?
I think there is a disconnect on how the word “privilege” is being used. White privilege means there are inherent benefits by simply being white. (Just like there are inherent benefits for being male). It has nothing to do with your socioeconomic level or what kind of (or how many) jobs you have. White privilege does not mean all white people are wealthy and/or don’t have to work hard.
@Nicolette – refer to @lewissrl. There really is a complete lack of understanding about the word “privilege” here.
Could someone list the ways in which white people are privileged just for being white? Seriously. I don’t mean to be offensive here – really, I don’t – but I think that “white guilt,” or whatever you want to call it, has gone a bit overboard with trying to make up for slavery and the decades following it. At this point in time, anyone with money has a lot more privilege than anyone without it, regardless of race. I can’t believe people on here are arguing that a guy who works collecting trash is leading a privileged life (I don’t mean to offend you, Nicolette, but it sounds like your husband really busts his a** at his job). And for the record, “racism” refers to discriminating on the basis of race: Last time I checked, “white” is a race, ergo racism can be carried out against white people.
I wonder what would happen on here if we brought in the idea that race is a social construct. Let’s save that for another day.
@Tulip – Since we’re throwing around hypothetical scenarios, what about the hypothetical job that Nicolette’s husband, and others like him, DIDN’T get, because someone else with a wealthier background and thus better education, skills, etc. WAS hired?
Is ANYONE without health insurance privileged? Is not getting hired because the rich guy got the job instead of you a privilege? Is it a privilege to be told that your suffering does not matter because of your skin colour?
Look at that last sentence carefully. That is what whites did to blacks for a very long time. Doing that to anyone is NOT OKAY, EVER.
People are really confused, huh?
“Since we’re throwing around hypothetical scenarios, what about the hypothetical job that Nicolette’s husband, and others like him, DIDN’T get, because someone else with a wealthier background and thus better education, skills, etc. WAS hired?”
How does this disprove that he benefits from white male privilege? You could maybe say that your hypothetical is proof of classism, but that’s about it.
Look, white male privilege doesn’t mean that you are wealthy, successful, and living the high life because of your skin color and gender. Privilege is found in the mundane, every day activities, opportunities and freedoms that so many take for granted—the same things that are denied to the oppressed because of skin color or gender.
* White male privilege means that you get to walk into a department store and not get stared at because the sales person is worried that you’ll steal something.
* White male privilege means that you get to walk to your neighbor’s house in shorts and not get cat-called.
* White male privilege means that you get to walk home at night by yourself without fear of being raped or attacked.
* White male privilege means that you can drive a nice car and not get pulled over or profiled by the police.
WMP is not defined by living in mansions or driving sports cars, or having a cushy office job and great health care benefits (although these can indeed be perks of WMP), it means that as a white male, Nicolette’s husband does not face discrimination based on his skin color or reproductive parts. These are benefits that Nicolette’s husband is probably wholly unaware of, but that doesn’t mean that he isn’t experiencing them.
@Tulip, my husband’s partner stood of front of the car preventing him from leaving. The foreman and police were called. It’s still an ongoing issue. My husband was fortunate enough to have quick reflexes and jump on the hood. A few guys on the job have died horrific deaths, and it’s a much more dangerous job than people realize. Thanks for asking.
@Nymeria, no offense taken. He does bust his a**, and those 12 hour shifts in winter also include Sundays and what would be his day off. This year he worked 40 in a row. It’s a less than glamorous job for sure, but it’s an honest days pay for hard work.
“White male privilege means that you get to walk home at night by yourself without fear of being raped or attacked.”
I’m calling BS on that one. How do you know what people are and aren’t afraid of when they walk the streets at night? Plus I’m pretty sure you’ll find that men are attacked in the street more often than women are.
“Plus I’m pretty sure you’ll find that men are attacked in the street more often than women are.”
Wow, way to miss the point. It’s not about “who gets attacked more; men or women”, it’s about WHO is doing the attacking (hint: it’s not women).
It’s also about the inherent physical strength and men’s ability to overpower a woman that is at the heart of women’s fears. If a man gets attacked by another man, he stands a chance to defend himself. Not so if a woman is attacked by a man. Again, privilege via physical anatomy.
“How do you know what people are and aren’t afraid of when they walk the streets at night?”
Well, let’s see. My boyfriend goes running late at night when he feels like it. No woman I know goes running around the river alone at night, mainly because in my city we’ve had numerous incidents of female runners getting sexually assaulted while running around the Charles past 11:00PM. My brother sometimes travels and camps alone and when he does, he goes to bars alone, and often sleeps in his car instead of booking a hotel so he can make it up the trail early the next morning. I don’t know any woman that would feel safe about sleeping in her car alone, and myself? I’d be too scared to go to a bar late at night by myself for fear some creeper harasses me, slips something in my drink, or tries to follow me home.
My brother doesn’t think twice about it.
Privilege.
So no, I might not know what every man is fearful of when he walks home at night but I know many men who go about their daily lives without fear, and women who feel that they are unable to go about their daily lives because of fear. Simply put, women face limitations that men do not, in every facet of life.
@Kitten: So we agree that men are attacked in the street more often than women. That’s nice. However, I don’t think your brother and boyfriend are a big enough sample group to support your claim that you know that white men can walk home at night without being afraid of being attacked. In fact I know from personal experience that the idea of walking from the train station to my house at night has brought up fear for me. Especially on Friday and Saturday nights when there tend to be more groups of roaming morons on the streets. I dare say these fears will increase for me as I get older and become progressively more vulnerable. Also, out of interest, how you feel about middle class privilege and the fact that working class people have to face limitations that the middle class don’t?
What absolute twaddle kara. Of course there can be racism against any group of people and the fact that one is from a particular background with a particular history doesn’t excuse it. It’s wrong. Anti semitism for example largely impacts on white people- does that not qualify as racism In your book? On the subject of the monologue, Louis musing on his mild racism could be an appropriate edgy riff but the molesting part of it is just gross.
Nicollette: I apologize if this is a double post. I just wanted to say that I’m glad your husband was able to avoid worse injury and I’m also glad that his partner was able to block the driver/creep from leaving the scene. I hope that justice is served-that idiot driver needs to realize that somebody else paid (and nearly paid very, very dearly) for his nasty little temper tantrum.
Hope everything goes well.
@Nymeria: the most neutral thing I can say is that some of the posters have given the general advice to learn more about the subject, so that’s what I’ll be doing.
I have never considered this man funny.
Damning condemnation Estella.
Me either, Estella. I’ve never been able to watch an entire episode of his show. A month or so I saw him on one of the late night talk shows and saw how unfunny he is.
I don’t know this man. But was he satirising or justifying? Kind Celebitchy friends, enlighten me on his intent.
The former is ok in my book and, obviously, the latter is not. People like Chris Morris and Frankie Boyle get into hot water for offensiveness here in the UK, but I don’t find them offensive as they are satirising. So, for example, I loved Chris Morris’s Brass Eye on paedophilia and moral panic, but a lot of people found it beyond the pale.
I didn’t see justifying at all. He just spoke of confusion as to why a person would risk everything to engage in any behavior, even their favorite thing in the world. It wasn’t super funny but I didn’t see it as offensive either.
Agreed. I’m not convinced that it should or shouldn’t be a taboo topic for comedians. The thing is, society should aim to have victims be able to tell about their abusers as soon as possible. Also, disturbing as it is to us, getting therapy for pedophiles (whether or not they have criminal records) to prevent them (re)offending is beneficial for society. And neither of those things are really happening in North America. Some victims do tell right away and a lot don’t. I know in Canada, my province, bc, has had “sex Ed” as in “these are your private body part names, if someone touches them and tells you to keep it a secret tell a trusted adult, even if a family member or teacher does it” back when I was in kindergarten, but in another province, Ontario, thousands of parents protested this recent policy addition by not sending their kids to school. It’s possible they were more worried about the “it’s ok to not be Herero sexual or cis gender” message for older kids. But I know Obama faced criticism for Illinois policies that would only give kids what I got growing up. Society is weird and it has been working in favour of predators so something has I change. Im not convinced joking about a subject, whether or not the joke is good, is necessarily a bad thing. At a very basic level, if a victim can find the words to say they’ve been abused, we can stop more abusers.
No he wasn’t justifying. I have seen all of his stand up, and sometimes I think he likes to talk about things society is uncomfortable discussing. I would say more than half of his stand up is about marriage, divorce, and raising his two girls.
He will often broach subjects where it almost feels like he is trying to make his audience uncomfortable for a moment. He has this “but maybe” routine that is pretty funny but probably offends half the audience. With his stand up and his show there is intentional awkwardness. I think he is hilarious 99% of the time. You can check out his stand up on YouTube to see what I mean.
I come from a country without a political correctness, where everything goes as long as it it a satire, so I’m not really easily offended but I didn’t like this monologue at all. The part about racism was ok, because it was clearly a satire on people’s perception on white vs black people under similar circumstances and how this kind of racism is engraved in many people’s subconsciousness. They react in a racist way without even thinking because it’s how they were raised. If they are smart – they are later offended by their own subconscious reaction but it’s too late. It’s wrong but it’s real. But that part about child molesters is just stupid. It’s offensive due to its stupidity, not the subject matter. Those two things he listed are not comparable because child molesters are sick perverts who are not able to stop themselves (at least not without an extensive therapy, which only works for a small per cent) and that’s why most of them should be locked forever, not some regular folks who suddenly decide molesting children is fun. So saying that they could but don’t want to stop themselves even though it’s risky and comparing it to how he can stop himself to eat a candy is just stupid – it’s not a satire on their behavior, because it’s not how it works. Satire is about ridiculing and hyperbolizing existing behaviors, not making stuff up for shock’s value. And it was just it – shocking merely for shocking value. Plus that part about how children in his town where safe as long as they didn’t willingly go to the perv’s house in a way diminishes the danger of child molester’s actions and sounds like a victim blaming. Hahaha – children where molested only because they were stupid enough to go to the pervert’s house – so funny.
I raised in a tiny town in France and what he described on ” avoid the perv neighbour” is how I was raised. ” if you met him,avoid him and if he did you ( or a friend) something,say to mum( dad) ,the teacher or the police”
In fact his monologue is not funny but true.In 70’s and 80’s,we were more ” open mind” about some stuffs.
For example,I again watched Trading Places with Eddy Murphy and they use the word ” n***er” several times ( at least in the French version) and I was shocked
Sixer, I thought, in print, it looked like satire. I haven’t read the Gawker article, but I find the ‘exposing himself’ allegation much, MUCH more troubling, if true.
Totally agree.
His taste for exhibitionism ( if it’s true) is more reprehensible than a bad-understood or bad joke
Thanks, everyone, for the enlightenment. No time to read around or watch it, but I do think that we often mistake satire of taboo topics and/or attitudes to taboo topics as tacit support for the unsupportable. And I don’t think that gets us anywhere.
An enthusiastic +100000!
Comedy is not a PSA, and satire also happens to be one of the most effective weapons around. It’s not it’s job to be that, but it often ends up as that.
Whether something works as satire is a different discussion and understanding than identifying its attempt as justification for its topic.
I don’t think it was intended to justify racism or child abuse at all. I don’t understand how someone could interpret it so. But I do think that, as satire, it doesn’t quite hit the mark.
I think the main problem is that the balance is off. In the racism part there’s no satiric exaggeration or analogy, it’s just a flat statement. The “mocking” part is missing. There’s no twist or punchline. The child-abuse piece is the reverse of that … but after the flatness of the racism piece, the ridiculousness of the analogy is just too over-the-top.
The racist thing just made me think that as a woman if I were at a empty gas station at night and saw ANY man in a hoody, black or white, I would be a little scared.
Yup. In fact, CK has a bit about men being the number one cause of mayhem and violence in women’s lives
Yeah that’s one of his good bits
Watch him come out with some story about how he was molested and that’s why he is always talking about it all of the time to excuse his creepy obsession with joking about abused kids. He is gross.
I doubt he will make any excuses. He often talks about things that are not PC. Also I have seen all of his stand up and this is not really a favorite topic. He has brought it up maybe two or three times. The bulk of his comedy is about relationships, his kids, and his childhood.
This, ladies and gents, is classic deflection. Last week it seemed those perving rumors at Gawker had some legs. This week, all everyone can talk about are his lame jokes. Crazy like a fox.
Having seen some of the stand of specials, I can say this doesn’t surprise me. I think there are ways to have material about sensitive subjects, but this, especially the molestation stuff, wasn’t it.
I also didn’t think the episode was that good, The show has always been uneven, but this season has been rather weak, despite a strong cast. And am I the only one who thought Rihanna was noticably lip syncing during her first performance? I haven’t watch the second one yet.
It’s actually lazy work. Mildly racist and his admiration of child molesters is awful. As a black male the mildly racist but is sad to hear. He’s off my radar now. UGH.
That was not at all an admiration of child molesters. I think he likes talking briefly about things that make society uncomfortable in most of his shows He is Jewish and Mexican and has joked about that as well. It seems most comics whether white, black, or Hispanic like discussing racism. Even if you don’t watch him directly you will hear his jokes. He writes lots of materials for other comics. If you have ever watch Chris Rock’s standup you have heard Louis’ jokes.
I do love Chris Rock. But then why does Louis write better material for others and gets lazy (@ Nev: That’s a pretty accurate description actually) when it comes to himself? This was not smart, it was not funny, it was just not good.
He can talk about things that make society uncomfortable, that’s what most comedians do. But a) being Jewish and Mexican doesn’t mean he can joke about child molestation and b) you can’t joke down, only up. First rule of comedy. Always applies. The janitor can joke about the boss but not vice versa. Same here. It was just dumb and not funny. Chris Rock doesn’t seem to have that problem.
LMN maybe he was sexually abused as a kid. It wouldn’t surprise me at all due to his neglected childhood. He has been writing jokes for comics and shows for about 20 years. I don’t know how much effort he put into SNL, but his standup is really good. You can go on YouTube and see his specials. The last four are exceptionally hilarious.
I’ve seen some of his standup but it’s not really for me. It’s not exactly my kind of humor because to me it seems very guy-centric. As in, I feel like he’s trying to make men laugh, not me or rather he’s not really thinking about whether his jokes will make everyone laugh or just men. I guess it’s a matter of taste. I prefer people like Margaret Cho, Amy Schumer, John Oliver, Chris Rock …
Whether he was abused as a child is not really the point. If you joke about something this serious, you better state unequivocally that you belong to that group. Although there are – in my opinion at least – topics that are just not funny. Ever. Abuse and molestation/rape falls into that category. WHY would you? Racism is a social issue, like LGBT rights and feminism etc. If you’re a woman and a feminist, that sh*t can definitely be funny. If you’re an adult, abuse children are not funny. EVER.
LMN, I like his comedy because almost half of it is about raising his two kids. I have two kids and can relate with what he is joking about. He talks about aspects of parenting girls that most men don’t talk about. I enjoy almost all the stories about his daughters.
In regards to sex abuse I can tell you that people don’t always openly share that info. I have experienced abuse and work with absused kids. Humor is a common coping mechanism for my line of work. Sex crimes prosecutors have some of the sickest senses of humor. I think it is because humor diffuses stress, and these are stressful jobs.
People have different senses of humor. Some people think there are taboo subjects that should never be touched. Others love to laugh at the pedophile on Family Guy. Different strokes.
Little miss naughty, just because I’m an adult doesn’t mean I can’t feel scared of child molestors (hurting my kids, for example.) actually when I was a kid, since I had never been abused or threatened and my hippy parents let us roam around without fear mongering, I didnt think about molestors hardly at all. It’s something that is terrifying for a lot of parents. I don’t see the point in just not mentioning it.
@ Jesmari: I don’t have kids so he can’t win me over with that either. *shrugs* It’s not that I think certain topics should never be touched, I just don’t see the need for a comedian who (most likely) has no experience with the topic to use it for laughs. Especially if it’s not done intelligently. People may have found this funny, who knows. But nobody can seriously argue it was smart. If you touch painful subjects, you better be smart about it.
Re the child abuse, I don’t think what you’re saying applies to this situation. If you’re a grown-ass man making this a topic in your SNL monologue (and really, why would you?), you better let the audience know. As you said, you use humor as a coping mechanism. That’s an entirely different scenario.
@ Dolce crema: I never said don’t mention it. Talking about a topic seriously and exploiting for a frickin’ SNL monologue are two very different things.
I realise that some comedians feel the need to push the envelope now and again, and sometimes, that means delving into territory that you normally would not find funny. I’m usually okay with it, IF IT’S FUNNY! This monologue was NOT funny! It was like he was rambling on and on….the audience laughed uncomfortably a couple of times, but mostly, they seemed pretty quiet and like WTH! I watched it with my 25 year old son, and he hates SNL (I usually do,too, lately, so not funny anymore), but he likes Louis CK, so we watched it…and he just said “wow, this is not funny” and left the room! I watched the first skit, and turned it off! SNL really needs to go away….it sucks big time! Remember, when the cast members knew their lines and didn’t have to keep looking at the cue cards???? This cast does it all the time and it’s really distracting. Also, in the skits, they take one joke and then just repeat it over and over and over….and yet, I still turn it on every Saturday night, and then turn it off after 15 minutes! I keep hoping it will get better, but it just gets worse and worse….
While I’m all for comedy that pushes buttons and yes this can make people feel uncomfortable in order to start a discussion , I don’t think SNL was right time or place.
I think you might be onto something- if you’re going out to see a standup comedy show, you’re probably a little prepared for some boundary pushing jokes on sensitive topics. SNL, maybe not so much. Most opening monologues are silly bits or a musical number.
Exactly. I’ve been to see a fair few comedians in my time and I have also seen people get up and walk out of some shows (probably first time seeing them and not realising they are more restricted when they’re on tv).
I’m not talking about this monologue specifically but I love comedy that can cause you to really think about things and see things in different ways. I have seen some of Louis work online and I enjoyed it.
His talking about the hoodie thing reminded me of the song from Avenue Q, Everyone’s a Little Bit Racist. It makes you think about how ingrained it is in society and even people who think they are very liberal can actually say/do things that aren’t really ok.
I must be one of few, I seen all his specials on tv and have never found him to be funny. Never seen the show he had mind you but l have seen his stand-up specials. I just don’t get the appeal. Same crap here. Unfrickingfunny
Louis CK is one of my favorite comedians. He is known to push things pretty far and say what most people are afraid to say (not saying though that everyone is ‘mildly racist’ or would compare child molestation to candy, though.) I think the whole point of the monologue was just to shock – it doesn’t mean this is truly what he believes. Comedians are just trying to be funny, so they say what they think will make people laugh. Some people laughed, some didn’t. I cringed plenty, but he still got me to laugh. I’m sure SNL knew what was going to be said and knew what to expect from him.
Sexual abuse, especially comparing young boys to candy is always so funny, so hilarious, haha, you go Louis.C.K…seriously go, go away for a while and rethink your joke choices and while at it, rethink your choices in life and what makes you say crap like this for a few laughs.
I don’t get why people were so offended. It wasn’t racist or minimizing child abuse. It was satirical-obviously pointing out the ridiculousness of both. He points out that even he, as a successful white male, isn’t free from racist thoughts; to be like he is one of those who don’t see color would be pandering and untrue, because he lives a privileged life and grew up surrounded by casual racism, and he makes a point that the amount of casual racism that existed on a day to day basis decades ago is insanely ridiculous. Same for child molestation-now people know it’s a very serious thing but back then, people never talked about those things and kept their mouth shut and just let it go on. Louis is pointing out how surreal *that* situation is, letting a child molester just coexist with your children, not saying we presently as a society make too big a deal out of molesting children. And he’s also pointing out how child molesters have a sickness-they can’t stop and won’t stop, even just to stop so as not experience any consequences or punishments. He’s making a statement about how insane it is that one would finding preying on children so satisfying as to live that life and never reform. It was purely satirical and people who took the whole monologue seriously don’t understand humor. Period. It wasn’t even the most controversial stand up I’ve heard in my lifetime by a long shot.
I don’t mind comics pushing the envelope when the material is actually funny…maybe, I’m in the minority, but I didn’t think it was funny at all…
It wasn’t controversial, it was just not funny. He didn’t put any effort into it, he simply took two serious topics that hurt people on a daily basis, talked about them and used them for shock value. Without being funny. Where is the joke here? I don’t see one. And you’re reading a LOT into the actual monologue that he simply did not say. Or even imply.
But I guess I just don’t understand humor? That seems to be the best argument against people who have a problem with a particular joke (a joke I still can’t make out).
Very well said. Ignoring things (like racial micro-aggressions) does not make them go away.
This says everything I wanted to. Thank you.
I agree with Sassback (but maybe because I’m an historian). And, I haven’t watched the clip, but given the description, I, too, took it as a commentary on change over time (or the lack thereof when it comes to ideas about young men of color). The point about race seemed to be a really honest (LCK’s thing in stand up) confession of the deeply ingrained racism that many people who grew up in the 70s (and probably the 80s, 90s, 00s and now) have. Given the current national debates over race, he pointed out those lingering thoughts that he sees as a product of a recent past when everyone was really openly racist. Now, whether or not that is actually funny is a different question, but I saw it as honest social commentary.
I agree, Sassback.
As I’ve always said – the problem with all these “edgy” stunts SNL pulls (like that ISIS thing with Dakota Johnson) isn’t so much that they are touching extremely sensitive issues, but that they simply aren’t funny at all. If people were laughing nobody would’ve cared.
The difference between this monologue and the rest of Louis’ standup routines? The latter make you laugh.
There were people laughing though. You hear the audience laugh, I laughed, my wife did, and per my Facebook newsfeed a lot of my friends did as well. Yeah, maybe you didn’t find it funny but a lot of people did.
ugh every time i try to love louis ck, i just can’t. i can’t! you can’t say it’s not a big deal when hooded black men are getting shot down in the street for being hooded and black! come on louis i thought you were supposed to be smarter than this. i guess i was right the first time, you aren’t.
Loud noises you don’t understand what he is saying. He is saying his discomfort is not a big deal. He isn’t going to do anything. He is not going to hurt someone. He isn’t talking about the police or armed racists.
I’ve really come to hate the term “political correctness.” Going against it only seems to involve some white dude spewing vitriol under the guise of “humor.”
This. It’s always white men doing it, they are the ones complaining about PC because they wish the old times back when they could be as bigoted as possible and not get called out on it.
He is Mexican and Jewish.
Yeah because people like Chris Rock never complained out PC, just white people. You people are so dense.
Jesmari: He is not jewish
“C.K.’s mother raised her children as Catholic, wanting them to have a religious framework and understanding, and they attended after-school Catholic class until they completed communion”
he was born in mexico, he is still white though.
Mark-I miss you. Dump mimif and come run away with me.
We can happy again, I promise….
Kara, you’re really stuck on trying to reduce his ethnicity to just being born in Mexico. Maybe go educate yourself and stop trying to deny his actual lineage. It’s rude.
Kara I am talking about his ethnicity not religion. You can be an atheist, but you are still Jewish. It is not just a religion. He is either half Ashkenazi or Sephardic.
mark: His routine was lame sorry
I watched it in real time, and understood the point he was trying to make – coming at something unsavory from the point of view of the person engaging in the unsavory behavior. What I was really watching, though, were the band members’ reactions.
Someone else will probably mention this as I’m busy typing, but maybe comedians don’t always look for the laugh but for the discussion they can fire up after the show. I thought about why the candy/molestation comparison upsets me. It upsets me because in the back of my mind a stupid voice has said “Oh great. By saying this some perverts will start to question whether or not they’re missing out by not trying to get a thrill by molesting children”. Which is ridiculous. But the whole “joke” revolves around what we think about pedophiles and what we don’t know about them. Are they born this way or can people be drawn into it? Do we censor ads that sexualize children because we don’t want to rile up the pedophiles or because we think that more people will abuse if they think everyone is ok with it? Everyone is a potential murderer-can the same be said of child predators? And another awful idea: we know that child molestation is wrong, but reporting it isn’t everyone’s top priority, sometimes making sure you still have a job is, so you’re not going to report your boss (for example) you’re just going to tell your kids to stay away during company parties and hope the gossip mill keeps other children away as well.
Louis disgusts us with this snl stunt of his but it’s possible that he was disgusted with us way before, and this is a good way to retaliate.
I love what you said here!
Edginess and shock are not inherently funny. This monologue served no purpose. I’m only offended at how cheaply he tried to make us laugh. Maybe next time, try wit.
What he says about racism is true. People who grew up in the seventies and eighties know that racism was far more socially acceptable back then. The vast majority of white people over forty were probably more racist back then than they’d like to admit today.
Yeah making jokes about children being raped is just hilarious. SNL needs to hang it up already if they consider this crap funny. Lorne Michaels had a good long run, it’s time to hang it up and call it a day. Because a baby having a penis shoved in it’s mouth or a little boy or girl being forced to stick someone’s d**k in their mouths is comparable to a Mounds bar. Good God what has this world come to?
It’s dark humour… With meaning. No child abuse is not funny, it’s obviously revolting. And snl is the wrong place, but still, I didnt get offended by the vibe of his comments. Sweeping it under the rug is not a good option.
This isn’t satire or dark humour in the least. This is also not his first bit on child molestation as he obviously has a bit of a fetish for child molester jokes; it’s simply his worst in every way — not funny, not social commentary of larger problems in how we view pedophiles (seriously??), not appropriate for the venue, and cruel at it’s core. Satire is dark and I enjoy dark humour and off-colour jokes. This was cruelty, and Nicolette is correct in that it is disturbing that so many would actively try to laud this as some kind of wit or social critique when the true images of child abuse are 6-year-old beheaded Adam Walsh (hahaha — little boys are even more delicious than candy), or 7-year-old Jessica Lunsford (oh such sharp wit would be mocking how awesome the person must think it is to repeatedly rape her and bury her alive.)
Damn, all the entertainers I like are horrible people. George Takei, Tom Hanks please don’t be next.
I wasn’t offended by his monologue but I wasn’t laughing either.
people just love to be offended, don’t they?
Agreed.
I find his standup to be a little overrated, but this is definitely not his best side. He can do and has done a lot better. Humor comes at the expense of the powerful not the powerless, which minorities and rape victims are part of the latter.
@nicole – you’ve probably already banged your head against a wall and left, but I’m completely with you.
If Gawker and the rumors are correct, it’s only a matter of time before he “pleasures” himself in front of an audience or in a public place. The part about the child molester was not to push the envelope or make people think, it’s a sexual addiction. Talking about sex, watching pr0n for hours at a time, the danger of getting caught, then finally the thrill of a public place. Just because he has a family, is a big name comic, doesn’t mean he doesn’t have a problem or illness. If someone makes you feel uncomfortable, even with humor, there may be a reason.
What offends me the most is this current crop of “comedians” who aren’t even funny!! What happened!? Where are the actual talented ones who don’t have to think up the most offensive shit in order to shock!? Anyone can do what louis just did. Say something unPC and voíla!
It disturbs me that this is what’s considered funny now…it’s cool to be mean and everyone kisses kardashian a*s, that’s our culture right now.
I thought it was hilarious. My daughter hated it. To each her own.
Disgusting, offensive.
If he had stopped maybe at the beginning. But Louis kept going and going.
A Mounds bar? Is he kidding me?
Saying the candy doesn’t taste as good as a young boy?
He is not only making jokes, he is making pornographic jokes out of child abuse.
Really Louis.
As if there weren’t enough topics already.
What a jerk.
“He is not only making jokes, he is making pornographic jokes out of child abuse.”
perfectly stated
Louis CK offended people. In other news, the sky is still blue and death and taxes remain are the only two things you can count on.
Anything that tweaks the constantly offended is worthwhile, although this particular bit wasn’t particularly funny.
I’m not sure why people are assuming that you can’t possibly have been sexually abused and also laughed at this. Everyone deals with trauma differently. Don’t speak for everyone.
I actually read the joke as commentary on the absurdity of a child molester’s thought process. It seemed to me like he was making fun of them and how pathetic they are.
Trayvon Martin was killed wearing a hoodie.
And it wasn’t in the seventies.
And I’m actually tired and bored of the fear that anybody feels when I a black man, possibly wearing a hoodie goes to the store. I just want my cigerettes. Geez.
I didn’t think the racism part was either offensive or funny.
The part comparing his kids fighting to Isreal and Palestine was hilarious and exactly like my house.
The child molestor part was humorous until it wasn’t. Then it was super uncomfortable.
I don’t get the media love this guy gets. It convinced me to watch his standup and I couldn’t take more than 15 minutes. It’s just white guy entitlement with a sheen of self awareness. Like we should all throw him a parade cause he’s a dumb jerk who says offensive things but feels bad about it? Baffled.
Not surprised by the Cosby-sequel criminal perv angle. He always gave off a major douche vibe.
I’m mixed race but look more white, actually light skin, compared to my family. I’ve seen my family experience casual racism a lot more than open blatant racism. I think I’ve done it in all honesty, drive by racism/bigotry, by implying stereotypes on groups of people. If most of us were honest, most of us have done it. So have no problem with his first bit but the child molesting thing, well that one was a little uncalled for & wasn’t even funny or thought provoking. Just gross .
There is a serious lack of education among some of the commenters here. You clearly are not familiar with what “white privilege” and “male privilege” mean. Please google it and educate yourselves before commenting because it’s impossible to have an intelligent conversation when there are ignorant commenters yelling about how they can’t be privileged because they’re poor. Ugh. Shaking my head.