Profane rant at Jewish Theater sparks outrage
http://www.wvwnews.net/story.php?id=5562
By Tim Graham
The Washington Post isn’t the only daily D.C. newspaper to rave about Sandra Bernhard’s anti-Palin ranting. Wednesday’s Washington Examiner joined in, with the headline “Comedienne delivers enraged optimism.” Barbara Mackay claimed “in the end, oddly and subtly, Bernhard’s message is positive.”
That’s not the impression you’d get from the blog of Theater J, where Bernhard is appearing. It has video of Bernhard calling Palin “http://www.wvwnews.net/story.php?id=5549," a “turncoat b!!h” and a “whore.” One complaint on the blog that Bernhard crosses a line of political incorrectness draws a defense from Ari Roth of Theater J that really drops the curtain on how coarse this show is:
“In fact, the play wears its politically VERY correct heart on its sleeve with its indictment of America as “A Man’s World, It’s a White Man’s World, It’s a F!!ked Up White Man’s Racist World” and can only be suggested to be racist in its content if one is hell-bent on protecting White Folk for Sandra’s blistering indictment. When Sandra warns Sarah Palin not to come into Manhattan lest she get gang-raped by some of Sandra’s big black brothers, she’s being provocative, combative, humorous, and yes, let’s allow, disgusting.”The fact that the show has a few riffs like this does not — to my mind — make it a “disgusting show.” there’s too much beauty, variety, vitality, and intelligence to label the show as “disgusting.” I’ll agree with you that we produced this show because we did find it to be edgy — because we wanted to give right wing conservative Jews a good run for their money by being on the receiving end of some blistering indictments from Sandra. Does it go over the edge sometimes? On the gang-rape joke, yes. Sure. Not much else. It goes over the edge and then comes right back to the cutting edge.” [Profanity editing is mine.
Forgive me if gang-rape jokes don’t greet my ears as oddly and subtly positive, as the Examiner suggests, and forgive me if gang-rape jokes aren’t “a rotating sprinkler that a spectator washes in most happily,” like the Washington Post insists.
Roth insisted to the complainer that the D.C. Jewish Community Center is loving their Bernhard show, and partied with Bernhard on opening night.
http://media.newsbusters.org/stories/sandra-bernhard-palin-would-be-gang-raped-blacks-manhattan.html
From a reader: The short clip shown on the site of the Theater J, a project of the DC Jewish Community Center, reveals the sick, racist jealousy and hatred many Jews seem to http://www.wvwnews.net/story.php?id=3099.
From another reader: Needless to say, if a Christian comic said anything even approaching this kind of vehemence against Jews (or blacks, gays or any other protected group), especially if the offender was partisan, we would hear no end of media madness. Certainly the venue would not laugh the controversy off and “thank” the naysayers for drawing attention to them!