The Daily Show Drops the Jokes to Discuss Tragedy
An emotional Jon Stewart apologised to his audience last night as he dropped the comedy to talk about the tragedy in a Charleston church in which a white 21-year-old shot dead nine black people. Stewart was presenting his popular ‘The Daily Show’, which traditionally brings a humorous take on the day’s events. South African comedian Trevor Noah is […]
An emotional Jon Stewart apologised to his audience last night as he dropped the comedy to talk about the tragedy in a Charleston church in which a white 21-year-old shot dead nine black people.
Stewart was presenting his popular ‘The Daily Show’, which traditionally brings a humorous take on the day’s events. South African comedian Trevor Noah is poised to take over the show from Stewart in September this year.
Interestingly Stewart mentioned that Dylann Storm Roof, the alleged shooter, was wearing a Rhodesian badge on his sweater but omitted that he was also wearing an old South African flag.
Stewart said “I have nothing other than just sadness that once again we have to peer into the abyss of the depraved violence that we do to each other, and the nexus of a just gaping racial wound that will not heal but we pretend doesn’t exist.
“I’m confident, though, that by acknowledging it, by staring into that and seeing it for what it is, we still won’t do jackshit. Yeah. That’s us. That’s the part that blows my mind.”
He contrasted how the U.S. does whatever it can to protect its citizens from foreign threats, but has an “eh, what are you gonna do?” attitude to domestic threats.
He pointed out the futility of nuanced terms like “tragedy has visited this church” when this was not a tornado that Americans had no control over. “This was a racist. This was a guy with a Rhodesia badge on his sweater…I hate to use this pun…this one is black and white. There’s no nuance here.”
In a point which many South Africans may relate to, regarding the renaming of roads (and towns) in South Africa, the American comedian also observed how South Carolina, where these shootings happened, still flies the Confederate flag and has roads named after Confederate generals. And then added sarcastically: “And the white guy’s the one who feels like his country’s being taken away from him.”
It is believed that Roof will appear in court at 2pm today, Friday.
Watch Video – An Emotional Jon Stewart Drops the Comedy to Talk Charleston: ‘We Still Won’t Do Jackshit’
https://youtu.be/LJl9iqnvkOE