I don't know Tracy Morgan.
I don't work for NBC.
I'm not a lesbian.
Or a gay man.
So, it would seem there isn't a reason for me to give much thought to his damaging words.
Except, one.
Enough is enough.
I would like to apologize to our entire gay and lesbian community that this hate still exists. I'm sorry someone can stand on a stage, spew violent, hateful words and images, then issue an apology, be described as not-really-like-that by his employers and co-workers, and go back to work.
Sure, we got the statements. Right away, people who know him issued words explaining his behavior and saying he's actually not really like that.
Oh.
So, that's it? We get a few statements from the people who work with him, and we all forget about it?
Not this time.
I want more. And, I respectfully request more. Much more.
When does the hate against our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters, end?
Sure, a writer or comedian riffing, working out material, often goes to strange and dark places. Editing is discouraged, because part of the journey is surprise and discovery. But what we discovered about Tracy Morgan is deeply disturbing.
He is homophobic.
His employers now know this about him. And, I don't think he should simply be vilified and shunned. Nor, just apologized for. I am optimistic wonderful Tina Fey and the brilliant writers won't just reference it on the show in a cute and sweet way, thus dealing with the incident with a wink and a nod. I hope NBC does more than issue a statement.
What I'm yearning for is simple: we've discovered Tracy Morgan has a problem, and now he needs help. There must be some result, more than a few apologies. Maybe this is a way to open the dialogue. Maybe sensitivity training. It happened. Let's address it and learn from it.
Or, is it now a question of a hate crime and a consequence?
When Isaiah Washington reportedly uttered homophobic slurs on Grey's Anatomy, he was fired. Perhaps, because he said it at work? Maybe he created an unsafe working environment, and was therefore asked to leave.
So, are we to assume Tracy Morgan has never expressed his innermost feelings about gay and lesbian people at work? Really? Ever? I wonder if his co-workers feel safe and at ease. The problem is, we've all seen it: this sort of joke is usually greeted with a laugh. Even an uncomfortable one, to ease the tension, is condoning the message.
There are reports that while some were angry, many people in the audience that evening, laughed.
That offends me. And, worries me. We live in an unsafe world. There are children and adults who go to school and work every day, knowing there are people who feel the same way as Tracy Morgan. They now know there was an audience who did not stand up and walk out when a man talked about stabbing his son if that child revealed himself to be gay. Stabbing. His son.
I feel sorry for Tracy Morgan. He revealed something about his feelings that show a deep fear. I hope he gets treatment for his problem. Thanks to the Internet, his words will be out there forever.
So, it happened. What do we do now? How this issue is dealt with will reveal a lot about our society and our ever-evolving levels of tolerance and acceptance of our gay and lesbian community.
As I said earlier, I am hopeful, I am optimistic.
But, it's time for this hate to end.
Unemployment should now be one of his problems, too.
It's why I have so little patience for comedy' someone is always the butt of jokes, and the crueler the joke, the more people enjoy it, it seems. People who don't see anything wrong with this picture need their head examined for brain cells, because they're clearly not using them.
Was he really hanging with Nathan Lane, or was that code for I had to hang out with gay people.
We can't lose our sense of humor about inocuous remarks such as these.
Here's hoping those apologies will some day be made by the people that require this repentance, instead of those who have already seen the light.
are often cruel.
A gay friend was kinder to an old lady, my Aunt, than was her own family...straight and
recipients of many loans to them. He mowed her lawn, saw that she got prescriptions,etc.
with no pay-back wanted. He had more heart than the bunch of them put together.
I have even known gay/lesbian nurses who worked very hard during war and peace.
Sad that jerks like this Tracy run loose. Let's put him on permanent vacation.
Now, Not knowing in what context Tracy used the statement in his act, or how anyone would use "I'll stab my son in the head if I found out he was gay" in the proper context, I can't say if it was funny. However, EVERYTHING is funny, as long as it is used in the proper context.
Judging by everyone's reaction, it seems that Tracy used the statement in an improper context, which is obviously bad.
Well, if he thought to say it and then said it and kept talking about it, then yeah, that's at least part of who he is.
If your mind allows you to think up the jokes and then actually get in front of an audience and tell them, then who else is it?
When Tina Fey says that's not the Tracy Morgan I know, then she clearly doesn't know the guy -- which I find hard to believe given how many years they've worked together -- or she's lying.
Also, and Nia pointed this out in her essay, I think one of the more disturbing parts of his rant was the talk of stabbing his son. Who jokes about that? I have three kids and I can't imagine a parent even wanting to spend a second with that thought in their head.
I don't know how old his son is, and he may laugh it off in the years ahead. But in the back of his mind, his dad's awful attempt at humor is going to linger.