What Dave Chappelle and James Lipton gave me

[This will appear on both of my sites, http://vasandtheworld.blogspot.com and www.blackentertainmentblog.com , with modifications for search engine reasons only.]

I just finished watching Inside the Actor’s Studio on Bravo. I want to thank Mr. James Lipton and Mr. Dave Chappelle. It was quite the television show. I like to watch the program regularly, and find many of the insights and revelations of the various entertainers to be compelling. Often the experiences and tragedies are similar to those I and some of my friends have experienced and it helps to remind me that every entertainer, White, Black African Amercian Hispanic or whatever is just a person like me. This episode though was different.

In this episode A LOT of what Mr. Dave Chappelle said hit home and had me thinking. Thinking hard. Normally I have found some of Mr. Chappelle’s work to be amusing and a bit of it insulting, the rest just didn’t grab me. That is no reflection on his talent though, just my tastes. Which is the first thing that crossed my mind after the program. I have been told by many over the years that I am an elitist intellectual and arrogant. I have always known to some degree that this is true. But what I failed to see is where that has left me blind. Mr. Chappelle explained the depth of a joke that he did in his HBO special. The parts that were true and the parts that were exaggerated. I hadn’t realized that stepping back from the humor of the joke it was an experience that I had several times in my life, and probably will again when I go back to the Bronx. The message was so subliminal and subtle I had missed it, and I’m sure many others missed it to. But for those that didn’t and had never had that experience it must have been quite telling I now realize. And in that I think I can see why Mr. Richard Pryor felt that Mr. Chappelle is his successor.

I have often looked at the comedy of Mr. Dave Chappelle as being often too lowbrow for my taste. I’m sure I may feel that way in the future as well, but perhaps I will take the time to examine that lowbrow joke a bit more carefully in the future. My arrogance hid the meaning and I find it shocking as I value my intellect and analytical prowess above most any other skill or gift I have. For that oversight I must apologize to Mr. Chappelle for I have severely underestimated him.

I must also admit my surprise in something that Mr. Lipton recognized that I took for granted. It’s something so simple in my life, and that of many of my friends (particularly those of Black African American, and Hispanic heritage) that I never really thought about it. It’s the way I speak. I have long held, as many academics have said, that words are the reflection of thought. Spoken or written, words and language are powerful tools. I have spoken to many younger people and others in my own age range that have not had the chance to prosper or travel as I have, and invariably I have said that the more words you know, the more you can convey the precise thought you have to any other human, and that ability is power. I absolutely stand by this thought as it is something that to my knowledge no individual who has attained power (wealth and status going with that power) has failed to have. Yet Mr. Lipton found the loophole, or Achilles Heel in this thought. Mr. Chappelle, Mr. Martin Lawrence and many others, famous (black/hispanic entertainers) and unknown (including myself) that are Black African American share the ability to split our speech to accommodate our surroundings. As Mr. Chappelle explained there is the ‘interview language’ and then there is the more relaxed ‘street’ language. I hadn’t realized that this was the case with the black comedians, or actually any comedian (especially those who are Black African American and/or Hispanic).

While my speech patterns are more formal, and probably considered closer to ‘High English’, when I am in a direct business setting I am sure they are almost exactly ‘High English'. That means that I, like probably all Black African Americans are of 2 minds. You can see it most clearly in the black entertainers. Mr. Eddie Murphy, Mr. Pryor, everyone that has affected a ‘white’ or more correctly proper American English speech pattern. While done mockingly it shows a deeply seated division in thought. It also implies a self-imposed restriction in thought outside of a ‘business’ environment, if my supposition about thought and words is correct. If I am correct then what does the use of a more restrictive and less expansive pool of words mean about the way I think? As I said before, there is no power without thought as express via words and language. It is something I had not considered before.

I should note that I do not mean to imply that speaking like a Rhode’s scholar is the only way to express intelligence. I do imply that I am unaware of a Rhode’s scholar that is of such a dual mind as I mentioned above. I have mentioned in comments that I look forward to one day being able to ‘interview’ (more accurately would be to ask some questions and understand more fully) Ice Cube. I would also like to speak with Mr. Robert Duvall, Mr. Kadeem Hardison, Mr. Morgan Freeman, Mr. Denzel Washington, Mr. John Travola, Mr. Johnny Depp and several others. I think that given the chance to speak to any of these and other entertainers it will be a question and an item to probe with them. I feel that this is definitely a question that anyone especially the youth of today need to delve into for themselves.

Another item that Mr. Dave Chappelle mentioned that struck a chord in me, is the dismissive nature that can come to those that write or discuss individuals we don’t know. On a more personal basis I guess it could be called ‘talking behind someone’s back’. On the level of an entertainer, especially in America I believe, it might be called speculation, rumors, or news. The prime example is Mr. Chappelle when he went to Africa. Because he walked away from the show, and possibly a $50 million dollar contract, speculation rumors and news stated that Mr. Chappelle had a crack addiction, was mentally ill, and/or worse. The fact that he had walked away from the show 2 times in the year prior never came up in any announcement. Were it not for the contract and its size we may not have heard of this one. And to assume, conjecture, and/or blatantly accuse a person of an act - or worse yet to dismiss them with accusations of mental enfeeblement or illness - publicly and without regard for their family and children is wrong. I have not reread every post I have made in a while, but I can recall portions of some of the posts I have made - especially when the post was on a topic I feel strongly about. While I will always support my beliefs and opinions, until such a time as a debate provides enough proof contrary or instills enough credible doubt to justify a rethinking of my position (I am fallible of course), I have always tried to restrict my outrage or frustration at the subject and not the person. In some cases the person though is the subject. I wish I could say that I have been, or will in the future be, even-handed in my exposition. I know I have not. I am not omniscient and many of whom I discuss have been in situations I may never be in. I am wrong to brazenly dismiss their convictions or actions. I do an injustice to their family and children when I paint such a broad stroke, and no one has such a right. For that I apologize. I am man enough to admit that I have done these things and may do so again in the future, and I am definitely man enough to stand here and admit that it is wrong.

There are many things in the interview Mr. James Lipton and Mr. Dave Chappelle shared that I must delve into. The consequences of this reflection I cannot say. I cannot fully fathom the breadth of where this will lead me. But focused introspection is never a bad thing in my mind. Knowing your flaws and weaknesses is a key to becoming stronger overall. As Sun-Tzu states in the Art of War (this is from the translation by Mr. Ralph D. Sawyer): Initial Estimations - “Before the engagement, one who determines in the ancestral temple that he will be victorious has found that the majority of factors are in his favor. Before the engagement one who determines in the ancestral temple that he will not be victorious has found few factors in his favor....” and, “If I observe it from this perspective, victory and defeat will be apparent.”

This is what I think, what do you think?