Comedian Chris Rock tells you who, if anyone, you should be scared of
Everybody’s trying to scare us. Telling us to be on the lookout for al-Qaeda. Like, “Where?” I ain’t scared of al-Qaeda. Did al-Qaeda blow up the building in Oklahoma? No. Did al-Qaeda put anthrax in your mail? No. Did al-Qaeda drag James Byrd down the street till his eyeballs popped out of his head? No. I ain’t scared of al-Qaeda; I’m scared of Al Cracker. He’s a dangerous “Maryland Farmer.”
Chris Rock – Never Scared 2004
It’s been 20 years. Can you believe it? It was April 2004 when HBO released one of the best stand-up performances ever. Draped in an unusual but dapper burgundy pin-striped suit, Chris Rock tore up the live Washington D.C. audience with his special, “Never Scared.”
He ripped err’body, and no person or portion of American culture was spared. It was 92 minutes of ecstasy for me, because Rock ranks with the late George Carlin and David Chappelle as my lifelong favorites.
Humor alone is sufficient, but when social satirists like these three guys pick the lint right off the American fabric, it lays bare all of our cultural dysfunctions.
Chris is no respecter of people. White, Black, Liberal Conservative, male or female, everyone and every subject was fair game.
Rock attacked Black “untouchables” of that time. Michael Jackson, Kobe Bryant and R. Kelly were all on the butt end of jokes.
He mused about America’s hypocrisy in religion and race, as well as the economy and our ecology.
“America’s the only country in the world where people go hunting on a full stomach,” Rock remarked, pointing out that Americans are immeasurably fortunate and socially spoiled compared to most of the world.
I have always loved Never Scared and have seen it at least 40 times, but when scrolling through the list on my DVR, the title poked and provoked me to revisit it. There was one passage that I needed for this rendering. My finger never hit the FF button. My mind was captivated for the duration of his phenomenal performance.
Here’s why.
Watching America, especially Black folk spaz out about Donald Trump being re-elected is just overwhelming. When you know the real history of this nation, and not just the abridged whitewashed Black history facts that Red State governors’ sanction, being scared never comes into the equation.
Black history buffs know that the American story is filled with narratives where oppressed people overcome great odds.
Even if you are scared, you can transform your fear into a weapon of defense.
The problem is that you don’t want to believe that roughly 40% of White America is precisely who they just showed you. You want to compare MAGA with the once-victorious Republican Party, and they are far from the same.
Republicans, pre-Obama, fed you all that sane-sounding sh!t like “tough on crime.” They made you believe in “Back the Blue!” They insisted that all “patriots” genuflected at the mere sight of the flag.
You believed that line of bull, until you saw so-called J6 patriots, use that same scared flag to beat the holy hell out of officers charged to keep watch over the nation’s capital.
The GOP rehearsed that “rule of law” line so much that you had to check twice to make sure you were a law-abiding citizen.
And there were some Conservatives that really believed in the mantra of limiting government and personal accountability.
But MAGA, not so much. This group of White Neo-survivalists wedded themselves to Trump who is the antithesis of justice, goodness, and sound moral behavior.
This new political vehicle is not your “grandpa’s Buick,” and you better get ready for a different kind of ride.
However, when you gather your senses, there is nothing to be afraid of. It’s healthy to be leery in this next chapter of American regression, but don’t be consumed by fear.
We have seen worse. Much worse!
Never Scared is a timely and refreshing social commentary. Chris Rock reminded the audience, then and now, that this nation has been able to reconstitute and remake itself over a span of 400 years.
Black folks don’t need to be afraid; we need to be active. The enemy is no longer without, but within!
neverscared #alwaysready
A long-time Texas Metro News columnist, Dallas native Vincent L. Hall is an author, writer, award-winning writer, and a lifelong Drapetomaniac.
