I saw an interesting article on the NPR web site where the author had this to say:
" Race is a subject that Americans often approach with trepidation, because of the potential minefield of misunderstandings or hurt feelings. Nearly two generations after the end of legally sanctioned segregation in America, talking about race remains a thorny issue."But in the world of stand-up comedy, the subject of race is not so much a minefield, but rather a goldmine, an endless source of great material," says All Things Considered host Michele Norris. "That's because comedy provides a comfort zone to discuss uncomfortable topics -- a place where audiences can laugh at themselves and look past pain to acknowledge unvarnished truth."
So I was thinking, why is that? Why do we have to be telling jokes to talk about the serious issue of race with one another? I mean I love Dave Chappelle, and sometimes I even like Chris Rock; but it seems the reason most A-merry-cans 
love them is because they make the uncomfortable issue of racism funny. Racism shouldn't be funny, and we shouldn't have to be laughing to talk about that or any other shit. Some folks take offense because I spell A-merry-ca the way I do. Well guess what; until people in this fucking country realize that every thing isn't fun and games, I will keep spelling it that way. I mean I want to pursue happiness as much as the next guy, but it seems that's all we ever do in this bitch.
love them is because they make the uncomfortable issue of racism funny. Racism shouldn't be funny, and we shouldn't have to be laughing to talk about that or any other shit. Some folks take offense because I spell A-merry-ca the way I do. Well guess what; until people in this fucking country realize that every thing isn't fun and games, I will keep spelling it that way. I mean I want to pursue happiness as much as the next guy, but it seems that's all we ever do in this bitch. We pursue happiness while teenagers are acting out their shoot em up video game fantasies on real fucking people. We pursue happiness while the people we elect to lead us are lying to us about shit like torture and going to war. We keep laughing while an entire generation of young black men are slaughtering each other, while we just keep pumping more guns out there for them to get their hands on. Each one lighter, more powerful, and capable of shooting more bullets than the ones before. We keep laughing while the leadership of an entire political party has been infiltrated by a bunch of Neo Cons ,who are hell bent on making this country into a theocracy. All this while we laugh at Chris Rock's fucking jokes.
Yep, life liberty and the pursuit of happiness. And if the happiness doesn't seem to be coming fast enough, we will always have our comedians to help the pursuit go just a little easier.
