I was present at the Comedy Cellar for the event and definitely enjoyed it overall. I do have to say that I did find the mixture of serious panel discussion and comedy to be slightly incongruous, especially when Sherrod would try to dismiss some of Glenn's serious points by making a wisecrack. I think Jon Laster took the discussion a little more seriously.
Personally, I didn't mind that the comedians were left of center on the issue of race and policing (or at least left of my own views on the matter) as I believe that having opposing viewpoints actually makes for a livelier conversation. I do wonder though if trying to mix comedy with serious discussion is necessarily the optimal format for these sorts of live events. It is possible that in the future these events are held at the Comedy Cellar but don't necessarily have to involve comedians? Or is that frowned upon given the venue? Personally, I went there to hear Glenn and John pontificate upon the important social issues of the day. I didn't necessarily go there for stand-up comedy in this particular instance for whatever it's worth.
All that being said, it was a blast to see Glenn and John in person and I can't complain too much. I felt like I was in the presence of true rock stars. Is it wishful thinking on my part to imagine The Black Guys on tour one of these days?
As an aside, I should point out my personal view on the matter which is that I'm skeptical of poverty being a significant causal factor for things such as crime. Mainland China has had pretty low per capita homicide rates despite being relatively poor for much of the past 30-40 years. Even more relevant, from what I've seen the correlation between SES and outcomes such as crime or academic achievement has been relatively insignificant in the East Asian cultural sphere compared to the correlation in other regions or contexts. There hasn't been that much difference in terms of per capita violent crime or academic achievement in recent decades between China and wealthier places in East Asia such as Japan, South Korea or Taiwan or Singapore in Southeast Asia. In fact, in some instances mainland China has outperformed the other wealthier places on these metrics.
Given that some type of correlation between SES and life outcomes is normally observed in many contexts, the fact that this correlation seems to be weakened among a particular ethnic group strikes me as a non-trivial empirical observation that deserves some explanation for anyone serious about the particular issue of crime.
I think one of the largest drivers of crime in our country is our failed war on drugs. Drug dealers must resort to violence to gain/protect market share.
Also, I think relative poverty probably does play a factor. If most are poor it's just a fact of life. But if you believe you are stuck being poor and don't see a way out besides drugs I think that will tempt a lot of people.
When I was a private in the army 20+ years ago. I made about $1000 a month. I could make that in one evening selling at the club having a good time. And that's doing small time stuff.
I was present at the Comedy Cellar for the event and definitely enjoyed it overall. I do have to say that I did find the mixture of serious panel discussion and comedy to be slightly incongruous, especially when Sherrod would try to dismiss some of Glenn's serious points by making a wisecrack. I think Jon Laster took the discussion a little more seriously.
Personally, I didn't mind that the comedians were left of center on the issue of race and policing (or at least left of my own views on the matter) as I believe that having opposing viewpoints actually makes for a livelier conversation. I do wonder though if trying to mix comedy with serious discussion is necessarily the optimal format for these sorts of live events. It is possible that in the future these events are held at the Comedy Cellar but don't necessarily have to involve comedians? Or is that frowned upon given the venue? Personally, I went there to hear Glenn and John pontificate upon the important social issues of the day. I didn't necessarily go there for stand-up comedy in this particular instance for whatever it's worth.
All that being said, it was a blast to see Glenn and John in person and I can't complain too much. I felt like I was in the presence of true rock stars. Is it wishful thinking on my part to imagine The Black Guys on tour one of these days?
As an aside, I should point out my personal view on the matter which is that I'm skeptical of poverty being a significant causal factor for things such as crime. Mainland China has had pretty low per capita homicide rates despite being relatively poor for much of the past 30-40 years. Even more relevant, from what I've seen the correlation between SES and outcomes such as crime or academic achievement has been relatively insignificant in the East Asian cultural sphere compared to the correlation in other regions or contexts. There hasn't been that much difference in terms of per capita violent crime or academic achievement in recent decades between China and wealthier places in East Asia such as Japan, South Korea or Taiwan or Singapore in Southeast Asia. In fact, in some instances mainland China has outperformed the other wealthier places on these metrics.
Given that some type of correlation between SES and life outcomes is normally observed in many contexts, the fact that this correlation seems to be weakened among a particular ethnic group strikes me as a non-trivial empirical observation that deserves some explanation for anyone serious about the particular issue of crime.
I think one of the largest drivers of crime in our country is our failed war on drugs. Drug dealers must resort to violence to gain/protect market share.
Also, I think relative poverty probably does play a factor. If most are poor it's just a fact of life. But if you believe you are stuck being poor and don't see a way out besides drugs I think that will tempt a lot of people.
When I was a private in the army 20+ years ago. I made about $1000 a month. I could make that in one evening selling at the club having a good time. And that's doing small time stuff.