“Two comedians walk into a bar …” Oops, let me start that joke over.
“Two comedians walk into an abortion clinic …” Huh? Wait. Is this a joke about abortion? Yeah, I guess it is.
In their recent Netflix specials, comics Chris Rock and Dave Chappelle each cover the topic of abortion.
While abortion might be an odd subject to get your audience to laugh, both Rock and Chappelle are known for being provocative.
Both comedians state that they hold pro-life and pro-choice views. The reason why they can hold what seems to be two opposite views can be summed up in Chappelle’s first punchline. “I’m not for abortion,” he claims, “but I’m not against it, either. It all depends on who I get pregnant.”
The thinking is that if the baby being born is going to affect my life, then I should have a right to kill it.
“My money, my choice,” Dave Chappelle proclaims.
“I’ve paid for more abortions than any woman in this room,” Chris Rock boasts.
These punchlines justify, in their minds, their right as men to speak about abortion. However, it’s not about who is paying for the abortion, it’s about the rights of the unborn.
Their connection as the father, or even the grim view that they are financing the abortion, does not give them the right to kill their child but assigns to them the responsibility to protect their child’s life.
“We laugh to keep from crying” is often said in African-American circles. It’s an attitude that allows one to carry on despite past injustices and struggles. Perhaps Rock’s and Chappelle’s punchlines offer a way to mask the pain and the toll abortion has had on African-American communities.
Laughing is a way to avoid facing the alternative … the awkward silence that comes from admitting that 900 black babies are killed each day by abortion.
The hardest punchline of all is Chris Rock stating, “I am absolutely pro-choice, okay? I believe women should have the right to kill babies. Kill them all. But let’s not get it twisted. It is killing a baby.”
And there’s the rub.
Strip away euphemisms like reproductive rights, bodily autonomy, or even pro-choice, and you are left with one fact. Abortion kills babies.
The irony is that it might take a comedian to bring home the point that this is not a laughing matter.