Get it? I know. Hilarious, right? Anyway, there's a show on one of those channels you find out you have when you accidentally sit on the remote where 'noodling' is front and center. I cannot find clips from that show, because I didn't really look that hard, but those characters are much better than the ones here. Still, this should dovetail nicely with the Snapper Keeper. Get it? How was I not the last comic standing?!

This post is for rellek:

As you are now aware, Stuff White People Like is a blog exploding faster than something that explodes really fast. Whatever. Anyway, the thing is only two months old, yet it's been forwarded to me eighteen times already. I've overheard people talking about it more than that, and, the other morning, Very Short List featured the blog on its faux-hip website. Faux-hip? Hmmm. That might be redundant. At any rate, the blog lists all the absurd things white people enjoy. A quick aside: the guy next to me in class is reading the blog as we speak. So what am I doing blogging during a lecture? Decent question. Anyway, in addition to the guy next to me and that very short list that is surprisingly very long, as it's sent daily, the SWPL blog was linked to on one of my favorite sites, goldenfiddle. Yes, SWPL has arrived. Yes, it is well-written. Or at least written. And it is, at times, funny.

But I have a problem with it. First, I should preface this by saying that I am not a sensitive or politically correct person. I just think the blog is telling of our culture. Obama has been talking about the racial divide ever since his pastor threw him and the white man under the bus a few days ago. And Obama talks much more eloquently than I have ever pretended to write. Still, the message is clear: the race crisis is alive and well in America. Christ, I live it everyday. Whether it's getting yelled at for riding my bike the wrong way or driving the wrong way, I can assure you the yellers know my skin color before they yell. Plus, I am asked for money nearly everyday in my neighborhood. Now, mind you, I'm a student with no money, absolutely none, yet some people assume I have money because I am white. That's right, I'm being profiled. I have never seen anyone, black or white, ask a black man walking in my neighborhood for money. Come to think of it, that might be my new tactic. When I am asked for a dollar, I'll respond by saying, "Sorry, I don't have a dollar. Oh, hey, man, do you have $70,000 I can pay my student loans off with?" I'm sure that'll work. Anyway, the blog isn't directly about my neighbors. But indirectly it is. By giving me a list of things white people like, I'm given a list of things black people - and other minorities you can assume - don't like. Here's a sample of things white people like, without the fluff of comedy:

They looooove graduate degrees!

They looooove hybrid vehicles!

They looooove fresh fruits and vegetables!

They looooove yearly check-ups with their GP.

They looooove family vacations!

They looooove exercising!

Here's another list of things white people like that the creator of SWPL (who is a copywriter or art director or something for an ad agency in California or New York or something) has not yet tackled:

They looooove working!

They looooove to read books!

They looooove not going to jail!

They looooove paying for stuff!

Now, if he were to list those last things, I'd imagine more people would say he's racist. I'm not saying he's racist at all. I don't think that's the point - and I think he's far from that anyway. The point is that we're laughing at minorities for all the wrong reasons. And, damn, there really couldn't be an easier target. Truthfully, he gets it wrong in the title. He could say Americans or Yuppies, as has been suggested by some. That would make it seem less divisive, to use the word of the week. Further, the things it lists, or a lot of them, should be things we all like - regardless of color. The humor, I think, lies in why people like those things, not in liking the things alone. The pathetic thing about Americans is what motivates many of us to travel to 3rd world countries or to buy organic fruit. But organic fruit isn't a bad thing. And neither is recycling. And, yes, SWPL does get it right sometimes. And, yes, like I said earlier, it is funny when it does. But I do think there is a problem with a bunch of people sitting in cubicles laughing at all the things they do - or their friends do - that the majority of Americans don't for one reason or another, but should, in most cases. So go ahead and rad the blog and forget what I said. It's funny and worth forwarding. After all, white people are soooo crazy!

Excellent story.

"She emptied her clip and reloaded." Officer Friendly sends deer to heaven - then proceeds to have a little target practice - in front of motorist.

This story breaks my heart, though I take some solace in the fact that, for some, pain, in fact, don't hurt.