043 The Erickson Report for December 2 to 15, Page Four: Two Weeks of Stupid [the Clowns]

We wrap up this time with Two Weeks of Stupid: Clowns and Outrages, starting, as usual, with the Clowns.

The Library of Congress has begun what amounts to a routine re-cataloging task of changing the dehumanizing terms “aliens” and “illegal aliens” as subject headings to the neutral “noncitizens.”

And guess what, to no one's surprise, our favorite bag of grease, Sen. Ted Ooze was very very upset. This was, he bloviated, a “politically motivated” move, an “Orwellian attempt to manipulate and control language.”

Which, apparently, labeling upwards of 12 million of our fellow residents as The Other for thepusposes of faer-mongering and fundraising is not.

Ted Ooze: always good for a clown show.

As a footnote, the Blahden administration has made some efforts in this direction, including a memo ordering Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection to drop "illegal alien" in favor of "undocumented noncitizen."

Dealing with dehumanizing language brings us to our next clown - supposed comedian but certainly homophobe and transphobe Dave Chappelle.

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You know about this, I'm sure, but still it bears sneering.

Chappelle got return fire after his new special was released the beginning of October because of the offensive transphobia it included, sparking a walkout by some employees of Netflix.

He responded by saying "I said what I said, and boy I heard what you said. My god. How could I not? You said you want a safe working environment at Netflix. Well, it seems like I'm the only one that can't go to the office anymore." In other words,  he followed up being offensive by claiming he is the actual victim.

Classic clownishness. But wait, there's more.

On November 22, at the screening of his new documentary, Chappelle tossed around the "f-word," made jokes about people’s use of various pronouns, and pretended to identify as a woman to get a cushier prison cell, proving in case there was any doubt that he has learned nothing and doesn't want to.

Actually, that had been clear from the start. Back in October, he supposedly offered to meet with members of the transgender community, but, he said, "You will not summon me. I am not bending to anybody's demands." But he'd meet - under certain conditions. Quoting:

"You cannot come if you have not watched my special from beginning to end. You must come to a place of my choosing at a time of my choosing." (In other words, "You will not summon me; I will summon you.") "And thirdly, you must admit that Hannah Gadsby" - another comedian and a member of the LGBTQ+ community - "is not funny."

An "offer" which doesn't even attempt to hide the fact that is neither serious nor sincere.

I'll end with this, addressed to Dave Chappelle: One of the things you said in that special was "Gender is a fact."

Yeah, it is, but not in the way you think, you ignorant dolt. Your sex might be defined biologically, but your gender is who you are, it's your sense of self, it's who and what you feel yourself to be, which may or may not line up with your outward appearance. The fact that difference between sex and gender can exist is what raises the entire issue of being transgender. The technical term for the mental stress and suffering some experience as a result is gender disphoria.

You'd think that growing up as a black person in the US you had to deal with some issues of personal identity. So you'd think that you'd be able to have some understanding of the feelings of others dealing with a similar sort of question. It's called empathy. Look it up.

But you won't - because you find it easier and more profitable to take cheap shots. Which is just more proof that you are a thoroughgoing Clown.