Twitter Fun
Defending White People's Day: Chris Rock stung by America's utter lack of asense of humor
- Chris Rock is taking the heat this week after referring to the Fourth of July as"White Peoples' Independence Day."Bossip.com
- The tweet heard around the world . . .Chris Rock/Twitter
Never one to shy away from controversial material, Chris Rock find himself in some tough sociopolitical terrain this week after sending out a quick Fourth of July joke to his massive base of Twitter followers.
"Happy white peoples independence day," he tweeted Wednesday, "the slaves weren't free but I'm sure they enjoyed fireworks."
While the classic Rock-style quip racked up thousands of retweets, a number of vocal fans failed to see the humor in it, peppering the comedian's Twitter account with four-letter words and personal digs like, "I think you owe us all a refund for your crap movies."
Happy white peoples independence day," Rock tweeted Wednesday. "[T]he slaves weren't free but I'm sure they enjoyed fireworks."
Conservative bloggers had a field day. Jeff Schreiber of the ultra-libertarian America's Right website doled out a double dose of selective history and swearing with "Slavery existed for 2000yrs before America. We eradicated it in 100yrs. We now have a black POTUS. #GoFuckYourself."
Loudmouthed Internet pundit David Burge chimed in with "Good one! I bet your Guatemalan house staff got a good chuckle."
Tweeting for Rock's defense were celebrity friends like Zach Braff and Don Cheadle, who noted: “Chris Rock was making a joke. If you don’t think it’s funny. ok. But keep it in perspective.”
Comedian and social activist Elon James White, who hosts the popular web series This Week in Blackness, offered up the most clear-headed commentary on the whole to-do in a statement sent to the Huffington Post.
I find this Chris Rock backlash absolutely ridiculous . . . [P]art of being American, to me, is that I have to acknowledge all the bullshit that comes with it . . . If more people were like Rock and acknowledged the truth maybe we'd be in a better place as a Nation.
Judging from Rock's subsequent tweets about the Knicks and his new film 2 Days in New York, the comedian has little interest in offering a retort for the naysayers. In the end, I suppose it's good to see people discussing "American independence" beyond July Fourth.