Why Chappelle’s ‘Batman’ Crack Will Leave a Mark
Stand-up shreds San Fran's shocking crime rate, cuts through media noise
Why does every late-night host not named Gutfeld ignore President Joe Biden?
It’s not for lack of material.
The stumbling, bumbling Commander in Chief is a gift to comedy satirists. Here’s just one of many examples a fair-minded comic would skewer if given the chance:
“Let’s go lick the world.”
– President Joe Biden pic.twitter.com/yzYC6rgvzs
— Young Americans for Liberty (@YALiberty) April 14, 2023
Yet Team Late-Night ignores him.
Why?
He’s a powerful Democrat, and progressive comics would risk almost anything to avoid hurting him and, by extension, his party.
It’s just a joke, right? No, not really.
Comedy can cut to the chase better than a brilliant op-ed or power-point presentation. It’s why the comedy world avoids punch lines targeting Democrats.
The best satire illustrates undeniable truths better than almost any other medium.
The latest example? Dave Chappelle’s surprise appearance Thursday in San Francisco. The stand-up comic, dubbed by some as the GOAT (greatest of all time), cracked wise at the city’s Masonic Auditorium.
It’s what the star of Netflix’s controversial 2021 special “The Closer” said about his time in the West Coast city, though, that caused a kerfuffle. He’s no stranger to San Francisco, having played the city many times over his decades-long career.
This time, though, the city felt different. Weird. Scary.
“What the f—- happened to this place?”
The comic said he watched in shock as someone defecated outside a restaurant he wanted to visit. He dubbed the City by the Bay “half ‘Glee,’ half zombie movie” before the line that’s bound to linger in the hearts and minds of many.
“Y’all [N-words] need a Batman!”
It’s just a joke, right? Yes … and no.
It’s no secret San Francisco is in a terrible, near-death spiral. People are fleeing the crime-infested city, one where unchecked progressive policies have had disastrous consequences. Major stores are heading for the hills, too, exhausted by endless shoplifting and violent threats to their workers.
The public hears the drip, drip drip of terrible news, and they absorb it to a certain degree. It’s still amorphous, though, a talking point meant to be debated across social media.
Chappelle slashed through that thinking with one, withering wisecrack. Seven syllables, to be exact. That’s all it took to crystallize a slow-moving disaster into something sharp and profound.
The best comedians do that.
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Dana Carvey’s withering, but hardly mean-spirited President George H.W. Bush impressions got to the heart of the milquetoast leader. Tina Fey’s Sarah Palin nailed her lack of intellectual gravitas.
Now, it’s Chappelle’s turn.
And, chances are, the line will be repeated more than a few times whenever San Francisco comes to mind. And he won’t mind it a bit.
Chappelle may lean to the Left, but truth and comedy remain his prime directives.
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San Fran Sicko was an open sewer 25 years ago, when I worked there. I have no interest in ever going back.
Oh Mr Toto, please show us your varieties statistics that show San Francisco has a terrible violent crime rate. Because if you did, you’d see that San Francisco is in the lower percentile of American cities, in regards to violent crime rate. Do your homework before speeding s***.
That’s because CA/San Fran have decriminalized a lot of crimes and also under report actual things that they still label as crimes, especially if the perp is a minority of a certain persuasion that rhymes with whack. I know this as I work with crime stats for various reporting services and get to see the raw data that does and does not get compiled into published reports.
What rightwing talking point hasn’t he brought up during his standup,
This is San Fransicko after all. This is what happens when your American Demonrat Party gets control over anything. This is the party of Diaper Joe.
At this point, just let the city bury itself. Once all the stores and middle/upper class leave, all that will be left is seas of homeless. There won’t be any money from taxes to pay for caring for them, so we’ll have a real third world city inside our own country. Maybe it will be an example to other cities and “Broken window” policies will come back along with DA’s that aren’t Soros lackeys.
But that’s wishful thinking and probably won’t happen. More likely successful people will move to purple and red states that will slowly turn into blue states until there’s no other safe place to live. Then it will finally be the last days of Rome.
@Reb
Or conservatives could move into cities and turn them Red.
Comedians used to joke about Obama all the time. They never had a problem with giving him and Clinton a little roasting in the past. So what changed? Trump. MAGA Republicans have liberals so scared that of course they won’t go after one of their own.
instead they get Ace and Gary from the Ambiguously Gay Duo
This site could use a like button. Well played.
Perfect
Or we need a Daredevil. Progressive cities have descended into Hell’s Kitchens. If the voters want change, we need the return of Rudy Guiliani’s everywhere, the nation’s mayor. Don’t lose it once you got it.
Instead, they only get The Tick.
SPOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON!
Not in the face, not in the face!
@PP
One snag in your great idea. Will the GOP actually run mayoral candidates in cities like San Francisco? Or will they write off the cities as a lost cause?
The cities are already a lost cause with these communist mayors.
The GOP has already viewed California as a lost cause. This will have to happen from the grassroots. The voters have to do what they did to District Attorney Chesa Boudin by recalling him. They have to have the will to vote someone tough on crime.
@PP
That wise strategy is undermined by the GOP. Darvio Marrow explains:
“Republicans intentionally abandoned urban voters years ago. And they still don’t attempt to compete in many of our nation’s large cities. Yet they have the audacity to bash those voters for not voting for a nonexistent option!
To make matters worse, hyper-partisans discourage the few urban Republicans left from voting in local elections. In many of those races, their engagement could be the only difference between the election of a sane Democrat or a crazy Democrat.
A Republican establishment that refuses to compete in urban cities while simultaneously discouraging their voters from supporting even moderate Democrats is virtually guaranteeing the continued takeover of these cities by the far Left…”
https://www.newsweek.com/republicans-bash-democrat-run-cities-do-nothing-help-theyre-part-problem-opinion-1798985
Republicans are irrelevant in those races regardless if they bash the Democrats for voting crazy Leftists. Democrats need to find a reasonable tough on crime Democratic candidate. That’s the option today.
Frankly, it’s laughable to think Republicans have a role to play. Democrats will be the victims from their own choices. Let that be your guide.
You know Fred, you don’t have to @ people all the time. You’re in the comments section, not a social media platform.
So, you parrot a left wing rag that spins the decline to republicans not running in these cities and somehow that makes sense to you? It’s still early in the day, but you get the dumbest comment award so far. Try some critical thinking for yourself and take D & R out of the equation. Oh, that’s right, you probably weren’t taught critical thinking because the leftist public education systems wants drones and worker bees.
@PP
GOP holding office in cities has another benefit: thwarting any voter fraud for federal elections.
Unfortunately, many in the GOP cannot or will not think that far ahead.
@Common Sense
The writer of the opinion column, Darvio Marrow, is Conservative.
Newsweek has featured opinion columnists of various political backgrounds for a few years.