...and this equals jeering, passive-aggressive comments like "Smile," and "Hello Beautiful" coming from evil dudes who have to distract and even destroy the simple act of a woman walking along minding her own business.
Michael...YOU might enjoy "harassment." I don't. And yes, I've been a victim. Me. A male. More about that later on.
You probably know already that a rather sullen-looking woman was recorded (for an edited YouTube that's gotten 12 million hits) being "admired" by cretins, some of whom started following her just to keep up a steady stream of "compliments." Somehow the "pick up" isn't confined to bars or other places where it might be encouraged. Some people think a moving target is "asking for it."
Huffington naturally got into a huff about this. First off, let's repeat a word about Michael Che: UNFUNNY. The guy is not a particularly amusing writer, and he's even worse delivering jokes. He might slowly evolve a personality, but so far he's about as dull as any local newscaster with a "trying to be funny" bone. What he said was sarcasm, I don't think you are going to laugh...or be able to find a real "joke" in what he said. Meet me after the break...
First, read the not-Chris-Rock level "apology" he wrote to "all the women that Ive [sic] harrassed..."
When you've done something dumb...the impulse is...to do something dumber.
Che Queasy did just that. He followed up his unfunny yap with this Tweet:
You want to read that first thing back again? This guy is an SNL writer? He sounds more like a high schooler: "I'm simply just making fun of something that is important to a lot of people."
Except it lacked any kind of wit, and what's important to a lot of people is their privacy. Guys don't get it? Walking down the street shouldn't be walking a gauntlet. Yes, some girls seem to be "asking for it," with a provocative outfit. They like the "look but not touch" agony they cause guys. Maybe. What should a guy do? Look. And shut the fuck up.
Sam Kinison once joked, "I don't condone wife-beating. I understand it!"
Coming from Kinison, a professional comedian who knows how to deliver a punchline, it was funny. At least, as funny as Gleason's "One of these days, Alice...BANG, ZOOM! RIGHT TO THE MOON!"
It's no longer exactly PC, which may or may not be a bad thing. But it was obviously a joke, told by a guy with charisma. Michael Che offered nothing but very limp sarcasm, and then he got pissy about it. Maybe one day Michael Che could actually get away with some "observational" sarcasm...but right now he's just an amateur.
Does this guy NOT have a mother? A sister? A girlfriend? Somebody female that he would not want subjected to gutter abuse?
Sure, guys are annoyed that eye-candy is out there and they can't eat it. They're even jealous that most any chick can put on make-up and a short skirt and get all the attention she wants. But, she also gets more attention than she wants. Besides, real men don't want to be pursued, they believe in the "art of seduction." It doesn't involve shouting "SMILE" to annoy some stranger determined to ignore them.
I'm not the celebrity Michael is, but I did have an experience with...what do you call him...a fan? A stalker? A passive-aggressive lunatic? I'm the neighborhood celebrity, at least in his eyes. Yes, I've written 19 books, edited several national magazines, and (this is what clinches it) I've actually been on television.
Several times, actually, people have stopped me with a, "Say, didn't I see you last night...talking about Johnny Carson...talking about Bill Cosby...talking about Julie Newmar...talking about comedy..." Yeah.
As Carson used to say, "it comes with the territory." But the people who came up to me did so because I was at a bus stop, getting the mail...pausing and being accessible. Nobody was following me down the street, or getting in my face out of jealousy and hostility. If you're a "public figure" because you've been on TV, that's your choice. A woman walking down the street is just walking down the damn street.
My pest? Well, I was a member of a health club. A rather aggressive extrovert introduced himself as we took a break at poolside. He asked what I did. I told him. I had no idea that this would lead to him constantly calling out my name whenever he'd see me...in the club or even across the street. This was being friendly? Pointing me out to people standing near him? "That's...Ron Smith...he's a famous writer! Hey Ron!" Did I ask for this? Did I want my name broadcast to everyone? Did I want to be distracted, having to wave a hello, or even stop and politely listen to this guy's drivel as he introduced me to his pals?
I began to look ahead...and then cross the street if I saw him heading my way. Then, a few years ago, I had an ear infection; I was so ill and dizzy I could barely make it to the post office or the supermarket. The last thing I wanted was to talk to HIM. But I got, "Hey, don't go away," and "Hey, SMILE," and "I got a joke for you," and he'd literally chase my wounded carcass down the block till he caught up to me and bellowed the punchline. was it any of his damn business if I was sick? Did I have to explain this to him while barely able to stand?
I began ignoring...glaring...and when I was well enough to take him on if I had to, outright insults. He got a lot of this, since his reply was, "If somebody calls me an asshole it's obvious they know one when they look in the mirror." Something like that.
Eventually he stopped...I was at the point of putting out a restraining order. He thought all this was him being friendly? Maybe. I'd had enough.
Frankly, I've always sympathized with celebrities, because I've had so many social encounters with them and some are friends. It can be very annoying to be stopped in mid-conversation by a total stranger who wants an autograph, a photo, or has to ask a few questions. Phyllis Diller once told me "fans are the bane of my existence." Soupy Sales once shrugged: "It takes just as much time to be nice as to be nasty." However they tolerate it, the point is they're in the public eye and it's public relations. They asked for it? In a way. The woman who made the video didn't "ask for it." She wasn't walking around like Kardashian or Viley Virus.
The catcaller guys wouldn't be very comfortable if GAY men did the same thing to them. They'd find it difficult to walk down the street without a combatively angry expression. They'd become phobic and might even get aggressive about fighting back with a glare or an insult.
Back to Michael Che. On thing about writing comedy, or seeing the world through the prism of a comedian, is your itchy sensitivity can produce a pearl of wit. In this case, not. Not everything can be dismissed with some funky "improv." What's amusing here, is Che's sulky line about how from now on he'll keep his hilarious observations to himself. Do that. Then you'll learn the difference between being class clown and being a truly successful comedian with class.
A few huffers at the Huffington Post left comments that deserve the last word, and so they get it. I could've put these at the top of the article with a sneeringly polite line about "ladies first," but how about we try, just a little, to treat women as equals sometimes? To turn off the unctuous flattery that is really a form of hostility?
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