We have oversold the values and virtues of political correctness which most often has the ugly habit of turning Debate Club into Fight Club.

That’s just one way to sum up my conversation with stand up comic Simon King.

I relish these My Summer Lair conversations…actually not even exclusively on my podcast…anywhere they happen from NPR’s Fresh Air to CBC’s Q to Larry King. (Wait I think Larry King is dead…it’s Friday; I ain’t hitting the delete button just gonna wrap this up quickly to get my weekend going…)

Those dynamic conversations where the speakers fluctuate between the silly and the serious. As prompted by the material in Simon’s excellent stand up special As Good As Or Better Than we stagger like happy drunks (“I love you man!!”) between the debilitating effects of racism to the humorous aspects of well…racism.

For a society that treasures and encourages thinking outside the box, being spiritual, having a distinct vision and after school specials that comfortingly admonishes losers to just be yourself, our use of the English language as a communication tool is poor and rarely innovative.

Take Love…hah…I wish; told you I started my weekend already.

You can love your brother, you can love pizza, you can love this new Stephen King book, you can love your wife and ah…you can love yourself. None of that makes any sense…especially if your wife finds out you love her as much as pizza or the latest Stephen King book.

Ancient Greeks had 8 words that corresponded to different types of love: Philia (affectionate love…from which we eventually get Philadelphia city of brotherly love…), Agape (selfless, universal love…for God or even nature), Eros (romantic, passionate love which begets erotic for us) and 5 other words; you get what I’m saying.

My point is armed with 8 unique words to describe different loves ancient Greeks were better able to communicate their love for pizza, Stephen King books, wives and brothers.

Similarly we could use 8 words or so to describe racism. Because not all racism is the same…racism.

There’s the ugly Institutional Racism as prompted by police officers, TSA agents…anyone in a position of power where violence is permissible. Individuals are shot at routine traffic stops. Or the airport classic you’ve been randomly selected…oh what fun. Institutional Racism is the worst kind: lives are lost, flights are missed…families are destroyed and they’re dangerous situations for all involved.

Institutional Racism is upfront and clear about its nasty intentions unlike Unknown Racism. You apply for a job…everybody applies for a job. Not everyone who applies gets that job. That’s life…or is it? Were you not qualified or was that racism? You apply to get into a university…lots of people do that. You know how many thousands of people Harvard rejects each year? Totally normally. Or is it?

Truth is you’ll never know. Rejections, setbacks, obstacles…these are all naturally occurring in each life in this modern society. You can speculate but sometimes a firing is just a firing. And sometimes it’s not.

There’s lots more racism types we can clearly identify and phrases we should adopt because human experiences are not universal. Lots of people are married; not all marriages have the same issues.

The focus is not about suffering: people suffer in different ways; it’s odd but suffering is a universal experience that isn’t always universal. This is about communication; giving language to your suffering the way we clothe a mannequin: clothes don’t magically Pinocchio a mannequin into a real human but it does bring "him" closer to real life.

Communication…communicating the human experience is what the best stand up comics do best. They recognize the limits of our language and how we burden words with so many meanings and connotations. Simon King’s comedy special As Good As Or Better Than is clever like that. Rich in wit while also confirming the humorous deficiencies in our language.

All words are Lego blocks what do you want to build today? Today I assembled a bunch of them and built this newsletter. Your word designs can be elaborate or they can be simple but it’s terrific when they are clear.

A doctor doesn’t say you’re sick; a doctor will be direct and say you have cancer. Cancer is clear and has clear treatments. Being sick is vague: you can have a tummy ache from eating Burger King onion rings (every single time with those tasty treats!) to having a cold to a variety of illnesses.

Medically we patiently identified and named each disease and we slowly developed cures or solutions for each disease often to alleviate suffering. So it’s weird that in 2022 we’re still using one word racism to mean so many different maladies.

If each disease requires a different cure then it’s worth doing the same with the types of racism…identify em all then deal with em all. Deal with em as thoroughly as Burger King onion rings deal with me.

Oh and before I properly get this weekend started…when Simon King and I were discussing Dick Gregory, I couldn’t fully remember the title of the recent Showtime documentary; so fired.

The outstanding doc is called The One and Only Dick Gregory. I highly recommend it: Showtime on Demand in America, Crave on Canada. If you don’t know Dick Gregory, I am sorry for your loss but also now is an excellent time to get into his work. Though he passed away in 2017 he remains relevant.

This is a comic in the '50s and the '60s who before joining the Civil Rights movement, spent a big chunk of his stand up career deconstructing and mocking racism. One of my favorite Dick Gregory lines:

“Segregation is not all bad. Have you ever heard of a collision where the people in the back of the bus got hurt?”

Yo that’s so fresh.

So yes, you have two things for homework, but they’re both comedy related so this is good and witty homework. I encourage you to check out Dick Gregory; start with the documentary.

And of course, I also encourage you to check out Simon King’s comedy special As Good As Or Better Than on YouTube:

Excellent ways to spend the weekend.

Much better than having a tummy ache from eating those delicious Burger King onion rings.

Yours In Onion Rings,Sammy Younan-28-

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