Ignorance is Cash

I hate the Blue Collar Comedy guys—Jeff Foxworthy, Larry the Cable Guy, and the two other generic dickheads who compose their barbershop quartet of good, ol’-fashioned American humor. It’s not just that they’re unfunny (although they are); it’s that they play to the lowest common denominator, exploiting xenophobia, sexism, racism, homophobia, isolationism, and ignorance for laughs and turning it into huge mounds of cash, while pretending they’re “average Joes.”

So it was with no small amount of glee that I read David Cross’ open letter to Larry the Cable Guy, in response to said cable guy’s slamming Cross in his recent book. (Note to self: Write post on how American publishing is headed down the pipes faster than a greased turd on an oil slick.) It’s truly a thing of beauty, and it reconfirms my opinion that the modern equivalent of the protest singer is the subversive comedian. I don’t turn on my radio for a dose of counterculture—I tune into The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, Real Time, The Chappelle Show, SNL’s Weekend Update; I listen to Chris Rock and Margaret Cho singing my anthems.

An excerpt from Mr. Cross:

Since I was a kid I've always been a little over sensitive to the glorification and rewarding of dumb. The "salt of the earth, regular, every day folk" (or lowest common denominator) who see the world, and the people like me in it, as on some sort of secular mission to take away their flag lapels and plaster-of-paris jesus television adornments strike me as childishly paranoid…

But at least you're passionate about what you see as inhumane injustice (not on a global level of course, but on a national level) and the simple black and white of what's right and what's wrong. It's kinda like you're this guy who speaks for all these poor, unfortunate souls out there who wear shirts with blue collars on them, work hard all day to put food on the table for their family (unlike people who wear shirts with white collars or wear scrubs or t-shirts or dresses or costumes that consist of flannel shirts with the sleeves cut-off and old trucker hats) and pray to the American Flag of Jesus to protect them from the evils of muslims, queers, illegal immigrants, and the liberal jews who run Hollywood and the media. I guess one could say that you're "telling it like it is". And considering the vast amount of over-simplification you employ to describe with sweeping generalizations, all of America and the World that "don't make no sense to you", as well as your lack of sensitivity, and second grade grammar, one might be led to think that you are somewhat proud of not appearing (or being) too intellectual. Combine that with your sucker appeal to the knee-jerk white Christian patriot in us all who would much rather hear 87 fart jokes than hear a joke in which the President (the current one, not the last one) or the Pope, or Born-Again Christians, or Lee Greenwood get called on their shit for being the hypocrites that they are, and I think we've got a winner!

Seriously, go read the whole thing. You’ll be glad you did.

And by the way, Mr. Show was one of the funniest shows ever, and I will never get the tune "Ya'll Are Brutalizin' Me" out of my head.

(Multiple hat tips go to Matt at After School Snack, Pepper at Daily Pepper, and Jedmunds at Pandagon.)