Over the past few weeks, there has been a tremendous firestorm surrounding the Dave Chappelle Netflix special “The Closer”. For the record, I would not normally watch Chappelle’s comedy specials because of my personal beliefs and restrictions on content that I watch. I adhere to a policy of Philippians 4:8 that states, “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things”; and Romans 12:2, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – His good, pleasing and perfect will.”
In other words, I select content that is personally edifying and that meet the criteria for my personal convictions. I do make exceptions usually for informational purposes. If there is something impacting the wider community or world, I watch to gain a perspective. I come from a background of extreme language and activity, so hearing somebody curse or say vulgar things is not disconcerting to me, I just make the choice to focus on positive content as a personal priority. As the Bible states, as a man thinks (or what he watches, listens to, or reads), so is he. This is my personal choice.
Getting back to the topic at hand – from what was being said, it sounded like Chappelle had committed some very egregious acts and rather than reach a conclusion based upon comments I’ve read and heard, I decided to watch it to gain information and perspective for myself. He was being castigated as evil and hurtful, so I wondered what he said that was so terrible. As I watched, I realized he did say some seemingly terrible things in the context of telling jokes, but what surprised me is the difference between what it has been reported he said, and what he actually said. Many of the jokes were usually crude, as today’s comedians tend to be – and some people laughed and enjoyed the show, while others cringed. As I listened, I realized that he made some very valid points about the community he addressed.
One of the most important points he made was in reference to a transgender comedian he had a working relationship with. He stated that after talking to the person and hearing their perspective, he does not understand or necessarily agree with their perspective. The trans person then stated something to the effect that Chappelle doesn’t have to agree with him or understand his perspective, but just appreciate that he is going through a human experience. This was one of the most important points in the show for me because in recent times, the LGBTX community seemed to be insisting that we understand, agree with, support, and adjust our beliefs to not offend them. The problem with this is that if you don’t understand something, you don’t understand it. That does not mean you hate someone or wish them harm; it simply means you do not see things the way they see it.
I believe that every human being should be afforded basic human rights and not be mistreated. I believe people should be allowed to live their lives based upon their understanding and personal situation and choices. I understand that homosexuality exists. I understand that there are people who have decided to change their bodies and identify as transgender. I have spoken with persons who are homosexual and listened to their perspective, but to say that I understand would be an overstatement.
There are many things regarding homosexuality that do not make sense to me – and although I have tried to understand – I just don’t. Their experience is unique to them, and they understand it, but I don’t. It does not mean I hate them. It does not mean I am afraid of them. It means that based upon my brain and existence in the world, I do not understand their experience. I have no comprehension of how a man could be attracted to a man, or woman to a woman. It does not make sense to me, but it makes sense to them, and it is their experience. I have to leave it at that.
Sometimes because you say you don’t understand, there is a tendency to create words to make you feel like something is wrong with you; words like homophobia and transphobia. These words seem like manipulation and reverse psychology to force people who do not understand to feel ashamed. I have never been afraid of homosexuality; I just don’t understand it and I am comfortable with who I am and see no reason why I should be coerced into understanding something that I don’t understand.
I have friends and relatives who are homosexual and once they realize that I have nothing against them, we have no problem. I have sat down with several of them and listened to their experience and they have actually helped me understand how my past opinions and statements were unhelpful, and I have adjusted where I could without compromising my belief and understanding as a human. Some of the conversations have been very helpful to me; other conversations have been less helpful because I have a limit. When I say a limit, I refer to another aspect of the Chappelle show during which he stated that gender is a fact and insinuated that there is a difference between an intrinsic woman and a physical male who have altered their bodies. He made an analogy of the beyond burger and the impossible burger in comparison to an intrinsic female versus a modified female. He was castigated for saying that they are not the same thing, and I don’t understand why you castigate someone for saying something that is obviously true. They may be very similar, but one is not intrinsic. How that clear reality is somehow hateful is beyond me. It’s a simple truth.
From my vantage point, what is happening in the world today is that we have arrived at a point of some very unrealistic expectations. Persons who have a different experience from the norm are requiring others to incorporate their experience and call it normal rather than simply saying, “I am different, please accept the fact that I am different and do not harm me because of my difference.” That should be enough – but somehow, it seems anyone who does not agree to change what they perceive as normal to accommodate the persons who are different, are labeled and coerced into accepting something that they clearly do not understand or agree with in the context required.
I hardly ever discuss the Bible when it comes to these topics because I have not found any grounds for discussion. Some things the Bible states very clearly and to try to change the Bible or alter it to conform to our social construct does not make sense to me. The Bible is very consistent throughout on certain topics such as adultery, fornication, and what would be termed sexual sins. We choose to either obey them or not obey them because their existence as sin is unquestionable.
Another reference from the Chappelle show was when he questioned how you could label someone as “woman of the year”, who, at the time, was in transition and not for all intents and purpose a “real woman”. If the Jenner person had been given an award for “transitioning woman of the year” or “transgender woman”, it could be easily understood because you are considering where they are currently. It would seem to me to be an insult to label the person “woman of the year”, when they are not intrinsically woman and had not even fully transitioned. Seems like madness to me, yet some people tried to force anyone who questioned this award to submit to their narrative or be threatened with cancellation, loss of job and extreme retribution. An NBA player had to apologize and retract his opinion or face loss of job for simply expressing his opinion. Is this what we have come to where someone cannot say “this does not make sense to me” without facing retribution? Should we not be tolerant of someone having an opinion even when we do not agree with it?
Back to my point about unreasonable expectations. Chappelle obviously spoke from his personal experience and offered a comic view of what he saw happening and questioned whether it makes sense. If others have another opinion, they should be free to express their opinion, but I say it is unreasonable to ask him to alter his opinion to suit the wishes of people from a community because they have decided what qualifies as a legitimate opinion based upon their view.
Hopefully, we will get to the point where we appreciate differences and allow perspectives to be shared that are different from ours without acrimony.
• Pastor Dave Burrows is senior pastor at Bahamas Faith Ministries International. Feel free to email comments, whether you agree or disagree, to pastordaveburrows@hotmail.com. I appreciate your input and dialogue. We become better when we discuss, examine and exchange.
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