Bob Greenblatt, chairman of NBC Entertainment, said it:

We will always recognize an artist's freedom to express him or herself, but not when reckless things are said no matter what the context.

Always, huh? I think we have a new candidate for the presidency, 2012. It's rare that someone makes a statement so utterly inane that, at first glance, appears to be sensible. Greenblatt has a real talent for politics. He could teach Sarah Palin a thing or three. Can we hear you say, "All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others?", Bob?

What he was referring to was Tracy Morgan's rant about gays, which was part of his stand-up act, June 3 at Nashville's Ryman Auditorium, long-time home of the Grand Ole Opry. Among other things, he apparently said that if his son came out of the closet, he'd pull out a knife and stab him to death.

I don't know what Morgan's actual feelings are; I'm smart enough to realize that stand-up comics say things that they don't mean, trying to get a response from the audience. Morgan's father died of AIDS, and that may affect his feelings.

Shades of Lenny Bruce

Much of today's humor comes from exaggerating language we've all heard for, voila, comedic effect. Lenny Bruce and Mort Sahl were groundbreakers, half a century ago, for this genre of humor.

If the comic isn't realistic, though, it fails because it's unbelievable, and if he is too realistic, it fails because it's too believable. Tracy Morgan's schtick is that he's a little crazy, just like Dean Martin's used to be that he was a drunk, and it would be hard to thread that particular needle. He'd have to get a little further out there, in order to make it work, and maybe he got too realistic.

Or Maybe He Wasn't Joking

Or maybe he really was expressing his anger and frustration with gays.

It's pretty tough to get a laugh that way, no matter what. I don't like to hear such rants, no matter who the target is. I'm told that Don Rickles is a sweet guy, terribly nice, but I really can't stand his act. If he comes in, I leave, and when he comes on the air, I click on the remote.

Oh, and while we're on this gay topic, let me address the message they're giving to gay teens. "It gets better." It may save some gay teens from suicide, but I don't know that it's appropriate to lie to them.

Things Don't Get Better

Things don't get better, not for gays, and not for straights, either. The teen years are hell, because we're exposed to the adult world with tender teen skin. Things don't get better when we get older, but our skins toughen up, and we don't feel as afflicted.

I wonder if, by telling teens that "it gets better", we're not just kicking the can down the road. Maybe, as today's teens get a decade older, they'll figure out that things don't get better, and we'll have an unprecedented rash of suicides of gays in their 20s.

Other Bloggers On Related Topics:
Bob Greenblatt - GLBTQ - hate speech - NBC - Tina Fey - Tracy Morgan