why it was easier for Caitlyn Jenner to change her gender than it was for Muhammad Ali to change his name; or how the rapper DaBaby could kill another Black person in plain view at a Walmart in North Carolina and not have his career impacted in the slightest but faces career death for making disparaging remarks about gay people. It begs an interesting question, which is: would the recent progress of the LGBTQ movement be as swift if their community consisted of only Black and Brown people? Of course not, but I think in fairness, the question is more complicated than that. When it comes to the White factor, I am 50/50 on Chappelle’s thesis. I do think White members of the LGBTQ community have certain privileges that are not afforded to Black or Brown people, regardless of their race, gender, or sexual orientation. However, I don’t think as a whole their path to inclusion has been substantially easier than other minority groups. Many Christians still believe gay people are an abomination to God and destined to spend eternity in hell. There remains an open and accepted hatred towards gay and trans people that most other people, even those from racial minority groups, have never experienced in their lifetimes. The Closer wraps up with Chappelle telling an emotional story about Daphne Dorman, a transgender woman who was an aspiring comedian that befriended Chappelle a few years ago. According to Chappelle, Dorman did not find his comedy offensive and suggested that the criticism she received on Twitter for defending him may have played a role in her suicide in 2019. Chappelle’s talent as a storyteller is unrivaled, and you’d have to be a robot not to have tears in your eyes as he masterfully unfolded the Dorman story, but my first thoughts were different than I would have expected. I immediately thought about a person I know who occasionally posts borderline racist memes on Facebook that always piss me off. What’s worse is he defends them by saying his Black friends are not offended by them. However, I later realized that Chappelle’s point wasn’t really suggesting that if Dorman wasn’t offended by his comedy nobody else should be, rather he was trying to say his friend was as much a member of his tribe (comics) as she was of the trans community; a perspective that has the apparent support of Dorman’s family. Dave Chappelle is not gay or trans, so in the end I asked myself, how would I feel if an Asian or Black WWW.THEPOWERISNOW.COM
comedian made fun of Latinos in a manner that I believed reinforced negative stereotypes. As much as I love Chappelle, I had to admit I probably wouldn’t like it. So as Chappelle himself explained in the Christopher Dormer story, we shouldn’t be surprised when the LGBTQ community rallied together when they felt attacked. People who know Dave Chapelle say he spends months writing and workshopping his shows. The Closer was no slip of the tongue, but I think you have to try hard to get yourself to believe Dave Chappelle is a bigot. I certainly don’t believe he is. So, what was he trying to say? I think Dave Chappelle has always been willing to test boundaries and play with taboos. Ten years ago, jokes about trans people simply didn’t pose the risk that they do today, but when that changed, he resented how White people used it to turn the tables on him. At one point, he asks whether a gay person can also be racist. That question felt a bit forced. Yes, I am sure there are some gay people who are also racist, but I’m not sure what that proves. In the final analysis, The Closer forces us to look in the mirror and recognize that there are good and bad people everywhere, and none of us should be judged or given a pass only because of race, gender, or sexual orientation. Chappelle closed the show by saying he is done joking about the LGBTQ community until he is sure we are all laughing together. Probably a good idea, if for no other reason than the real bigots in the world can shut up and stop pretending they are on Dave Chappelle’s side. If you’ve followed Dave Chappelle as long as I have, I’m sure at some point he crossed a line in your mind that offends you…If you don’t like it, you can fall asleep to Jerry Seinfeld instead. Has Dave Chappelle ever offended me? Yes…Am I still a fan? Absolutely.
AUTHOR: Gary Acosta Co-Founder & CEO of the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals (NAHREP®) l
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