Opinion: Apology accepted

Dylan Lusk

Dylan Lusk

Dylan Lusk is a junior Electronic Media Production major and a columnist for the Daily Kent Stater. Contact him at [email protected].

We live in a time where it is nearly impossible to say anything without pissing someone off. It’s fairly unavoidable to say one’s own thoughts without someone else finding it offensive or politically incorrect.

This has been brought to my eyes once again recently through the news. African-American stand-up comedian Katt Williams fired back at a Mexican-American heckler at a comedy show in Phoenix, Arizona, a few weeks ago. Williams has faced a lot of controversy for his comments at the show.

Williams’ stand-up show is not exactly a family show, so calling him out for being “Anti-Mexican” is pretty much a waste of breath. His act mainly focuses on racial issues, so he is basically a ticking time bomb just waiting to offend someone.

But that’s comedy.

And sure it is a pretty cheap way to get a laugh, but people should know what to expect when going to a comedy show. There’s a huge difference between making a joke and being an ignorant racist.

But the problem is that people are just waiting to be offended by it.

I’ll start off by stating that I did not find any part of Williams’ rant to be any more offensive than his typical act. Of course, I’m just some white kid, so it doesn’t really matter how I felt about it.

The Mexican-American heckler started off by screaming vulgar things about America. Isn’t that enough for any other American to disregard if he was offended or not? The only offensive thing happening here is that people are siding with this anti-American heckler.

The worst part with these situations is the week-long news segments of the “racist” entertainer faking an apology to the country. Williams handled this situation very well, however. Williams stated that it is not in his nature as a comedian to apologize.

Anyone attending a Katt Williams show should be prepared to hear some offensive things. And Williams mentioning that many Mexican-Americans are landscapers is not even close to pushing the limits for Williams. If anything, that’s taking it easy.

But people love controversy, so there’s not really anything any of us can do about it. Americans love to look like they stand for something, so of course they’re going to attack a comedian for making jokes. That’s like being offended that a chef made you dinner. Or, you know, that a landscaper cuts your lawn. Is that too soon to joke about?

Sure, we can all agree that Michael Richards went a tad bit overboard on his racist rant, so that one deserved an apology. But that’s an exception.

I’m tired of seeing entertainers apologizing for what they do. It is ridiculous to make a public apology for your own thoughts. Besides, the heckler thought that Phoenix was in Mexico. I mean come on, really?

Being offended by Katt Williams for defending this country is un-American. So I’m going to sit back and let him speak his mind. Then I’m going to play pinball, eat cheeseburgers and do other American things.

Contact Dylan Lusk at [email protected].