White People’s Day took place on July 4th, according to comedian Chris Rock, who tweeted a joke to his legion of followers that has not settled too well with a large selection of the populace. Since the former “Saturday Night Live” cast member is no stranger to the world of controversy, Rock seems unfazed by the extreme amount of backlash his biting observation has generated. From what I can tell, he’s ruffled quite a few feathers with this one, which usually indicates that he’s touched a nerve most people don’t want to acknowledge.
If you missed Rock’s tweet, here you go:
Happy white peoples independence day the slaves weren’t free but I’m sure they enjoyed fireworks
In response to Rock’s joke, several people have taken to a wide variety of social networking sites to express their disappointment with the comedian, going as far as to say they intend to swear off his movies entirely. Others took their anger and fashioned it into a micro-blogging response of their own, many of which you can find at the bottom of this article.
Of course, not everyone was deeply offended by Rock’s message. Actor Don Cheadle and Zach Braff both thought the joke was just that: a joke. If anyone is shocked that Rock issued a racially-oriented tweet at the nation’s expense, they obviously aren’t very well-versed in the actor’s brand of biting, hot-button comedy.
Elon James White, host of This Week In Blackness, spoke with The Huffington Post regarding Rock’s controversial comment. His insight into the matter is pretty spot-on:
I find this Chris Rock backlash absolutely ridiculous. Really? Someone tells the truth and you mad? I’m American. I never claim otherwise. I never give the “We didn’t land on Plymouth rock” speech unless its in a really funny way. But part of being American, to me, is that I have to acknowledge all the bullshit that comes with it. Basically some folks came over, stole other people’s land, killed them, then started a country on the backs of my people, while killing them, and then at some point they freed the slaves but then oppressed them and killed them some more. Do I have the ability to do things here that I wouldn’t in some parts of the world? Yes. But my family paid the price for that in actual blood, sweat and tears. If more people were like Rock and acknowledged the truth maybe we’d be in a better place as a Nation.
If you’re curious to see what others think about the “Pootie Tang” mastermind’s Independence Day-related tweet, you can sample some Twitter reactions below.
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