At 53, Chris Rock is better than ever. Like Bill Russell, he is one of the best street philosophers of his time.
There is that flash of recognition when he fastens on a prevailing urban myth, an article of faith, especially when it comes from the mouth of some liberal delusional type:
"They lie to the children. They lie! They say, 'You can be anything you want to be.' Lie! No. No you can't. You can be anything you're good at, IF they are hiring."
Then there is the sly smile,
"And the person telling them this is the assistant principal. Did anyone ever want to grow up to become an assistant principal?"
Then there is the whole schitck about bullying in schools, where strident earth mothers and Tiger moms combine to insist their special children are protected from the ravages of the world, the same folks who breed children who demand "safe spaces" at college, where they won't have to hear and be upset by contrary opinions.
Chris Rock is all about contrary opinions.
"We need bullies! This school, they say they won't tolerate bullying. They say they have zero tolerance for bullies. They expel bullies! That's awful. I pulled my kids right out. Essential part of your education is learning how to deal with bullies. Donald Trump's a bully. Nobody on that stage had any idea how to deal with him. Now he's President."
And the whole idea of Donald Trump as the end of democracy, all the weeping and wailing from the mouths of liberal pundits. Chris Rock says he may be a blessing in disguise, he may just "work out," at least for Black folks.
"George W. Bush is going to go down as one of the most important figures in the pantheon of great people for African Americans: Martin Luther King, George Washington Carver, Frederick Douglass, George W. Bush. After Bush, people were saying, 'Hey, maybe this Black guy, Obama, maybe he can figure it out.'"
And then there are the bromides, the easy answers, things like, "he's quitting because he needs more time with his family," when the politician has just been caught with his hand in the cookie jar or up somebody's skirt. Or what the police captain says when a White cop shoots a Black kid who is running away, in the back.
"They always say, when a cop murders a Black kid, 'Well, he's just a bad apple.' Well, there are some jobs where you can't have bad apples. Like, a pilot. You think the airlines say, 'Well, most of our pilots are really good pilots but every once in a while he have a guy who likes to fly right into the side of a mountain?'"
Rock, in his "Tamborine" show on Netflix revealed just a little bit about himself. I cannot recall his ever talking about his past or his family life before. He grew up in Bedford Stuyvesant in Brooklyn, and dropped out of high school
One of his best riffs was about going to court to appeal for joint custody for his children and to settle his divorce. He said he got up that morning and was getting dressed realizing every body else who was going to meet him in the court room was getting dressed at that time and they were all, every one of them, better educated than he was--all had college degrees, the judge, the lawyers, likely the stenographer and even the bailiff. And they were all going there to take money from him. And he says, with no special pleasure, simply with a look of enlightenment, "And that's when I realized: I made it."
Rock does not explain that. He doesn't explain. He grants the audience the respect that he doesn't have to explain; you will figure it out. And there is a certain joy in that sort of exchange. Real respect.
George Carlin, Chris Rock, Robin Williams. We need these guys. Jon Oliver. Bill Maher. If nothing else--they keep us sane.
There is that flash of recognition when he fastens on a prevailing urban myth, an article of faith, especially when it comes from the mouth of some liberal delusional type:
"They lie to the children. They lie! They say, 'You can be anything you want to be.' Lie! No. No you can't. You can be anything you're good at, IF they are hiring."
Then there is the sly smile,
"And the person telling them this is the assistant principal. Did anyone ever want to grow up to become an assistant principal?"
Then there is the whole schitck about bullying in schools, where strident earth mothers and Tiger moms combine to insist their special children are protected from the ravages of the world, the same folks who breed children who demand "safe spaces" at college, where they won't have to hear and be upset by contrary opinions.
Chris Rock is all about contrary opinions.
"We need bullies! This school, they say they won't tolerate bullying. They say they have zero tolerance for bullies. They expel bullies! That's awful. I pulled my kids right out. Essential part of your education is learning how to deal with bullies. Donald Trump's a bully. Nobody on that stage had any idea how to deal with him. Now he's President."
And the whole idea of Donald Trump as the end of democracy, all the weeping and wailing from the mouths of liberal pundits. Chris Rock says he may be a blessing in disguise, he may just "work out," at least for Black folks.
"George W. Bush is going to go down as one of the most important figures in the pantheon of great people for African Americans: Martin Luther King, George Washington Carver, Frederick Douglass, George W. Bush. After Bush, people were saying, 'Hey, maybe this Black guy, Obama, maybe he can figure it out.'"
And then there are the bromides, the easy answers, things like, "he's quitting because he needs more time with his family," when the politician has just been caught with his hand in the cookie jar or up somebody's skirt. Or what the police captain says when a White cop shoots a Black kid who is running away, in the back.
"They always say, when a cop murders a Black kid, 'Well, he's just a bad apple.' Well, there are some jobs where you can't have bad apples. Like, a pilot. You think the airlines say, 'Well, most of our pilots are really good pilots but every once in a while he have a guy who likes to fly right into the side of a mountain?'"
Rock, in his "Tamborine" show on Netflix revealed just a little bit about himself. I cannot recall his ever talking about his past or his family life before. He grew up in Bedford Stuyvesant in Brooklyn, and dropped out of high school
One of his best riffs was about going to court to appeal for joint custody for his children and to settle his divorce. He said he got up that morning and was getting dressed realizing every body else who was going to meet him in the court room was getting dressed at that time and they were all, every one of them, better educated than he was--all had college degrees, the judge, the lawyers, likely the stenographer and even the bailiff. And they were all going there to take money from him. And he says, with no special pleasure, simply with a look of enlightenment, "And that's when I realized: I made it."
Rock does not explain that. He doesn't explain. He grants the audience the respect that he doesn't have to explain; you will figure it out. And there is a certain joy in that sort of exchange. Real respect.
George Carlin, Chris Rock, Robin Williams. We need these guys. Jon Oliver. Bill Maher. If nothing else--they keep us sane.
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