No, Chris Rock’s “grandmother hanging from a tree” comment was not “too far” – here’s why

Last updated on: March 1, 2016 at 6:21 pm by Stacey Dash

No, Chris Rock’s “grandmother hanging from a tree” comment was not “too far” – here’s why 2016-03-01T18:21:19-07:00 Stacey Dash

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Embed from Getty Images

With all the racial controversy surrounding the Oscars this year, all eyes were on my friend Chris Rock as he took the stage to host. While some of my fellow African-Americans in Hollywood boycotted the Oscars, I couldn’t wait to attend and support Chris Rock, because I knew he’d take it to everyone in Hollywood, regardless of their race, religion, or politics. He didn’t disappoint.

From the beginning, he tackled race but not in the way that made the liberal Hollywood elites in the room feel comfortable. Instead Chris used his wit, charm, and incisive intelligence to skewer everyone. He wanted to make everyone squirm. He reminded Hollywood liberals that they have been racist and prejudiced. Many of his jokes left many of my liberal colleagues squirming, unsure whether to laugh or be serious or make some other face altogether when the camera panned over to them.

Some people thought this went too far, when Chris asked why everyone was protesting THIS Oscars for not including black nominees. He said:

You gotta figure that it happened in the 50s, in the 60s — you know, in the 60s, one of those years Sidney didn’t put out a movie. I’m sure there were no black nominees some of those years. Say ‘62 or ‘63, and black people did not protest. Why? Because we had real things to protest at the time, you know? We had real things to protest; you know, we’re too busy being raped and lynched to care about who won best cinematographer. You know, when your grandmother’s swinging from a tree, it’s really hard to care about best documentary foreign short.

But I think this was a GREAT dose of perspective for the ever aggrieved #OscarsSoWhite crowd. He took on Hollywood elites and their perceived self-righteousness. Just like they revealed when I publicly supported Mitt Romney in 2012, they think they’re better than everyone else and on the “right side of history,” whatever that means. All they are on is on the right side of the socioeconomic divide. So they can live their posh lives, make their political statements that require no sacrifice whatsoever on their parts, and continue on to their next party.

I love how David French at National Review put it:

Left hanging in the air is the sad reality that when there were “real things to protest,” activism was far less popular. Now we live in the age of easy activism, the hashtag campaigns that function as nothing more than declarations of your own virtue. But how progressive is white liberal Hollywood when it has to make even the tiniest sacrifices — like perhaps not giving the best jobs to friends and family?

Great job, Chris! And thanks for inviting me to be a part of it!

Pre-Order my Upcoming Book, There Goes My Social Life: From Clueless to Conservative!

Read more on the Patheos Faith and Family Channel, fan me on Facebook and follow me on Twitter.

Previous Post

February 29, 2016

Stacey Dash reads "mean tweets" backstage at the #Oscars

Next Post

March 2, 2016 4 NEW PHOTOS: Some Pictures of Me at CPAC

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Uncategorized

Select a Month April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What does the name "Samuel" mean?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Heard by God Saved by God Sent by God Gifted by God