Jon Stewart Says He Can't Tell Jokes After Charleston Church Shooting

Jon Stewart Says He Can't Tell Jokes After Charleston Church Shooting

So Thursday night, Stewart came out on the Daily Show and did his monologue without any jokes. Though, even in serious mode, Stewart manages to shed light on the tragedy and lament about the inevitable conclusion of this event. Nothing will change.

"I have one job, and it's a pretty simple job," he said on "The Daily Show" on Thursday night. "I come in in the morning, and we look at the news and I write jokes about it."

...

“But I didn’t do my job today, so I apologize. I got nothing for you in terms of jokes and sounds, because of what happened in South Carolina. And maybe if I wasn’t near the end of the run, or this wasn’t such a common occurrence, maybe I could’ve pulled out of the spiral. But I didn’t. And so, I honestly have nothing other than just sadness once again that 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 yet we pretend doesn't exist."

Stewart continues. Be warned, you may not like what he has to say about this situation:

“By acknowledging it -- by staring into that and seeing it for what it is -- we still won’t do jack#," he said. "Yeah, that’s us. And that’s the part that blows my mind.”

"In South Carolina, the roads that black people drive on are named for Confederate generals who fought to keep black people from being able to drive freely on that road," he said. "The Confederate flag flies over South Carolina, and the roads are named for Confederate generals. And the white guy’s the one who feels like his country’s being taken away from him.”

Stewart can be a little too leftist for me at times, but he really DOES know how to speak the truth on matters. This is a clear example of Stewart being on point. We will all sit around and complain about the state of race relations in the country for a while, then we'll get bored and move onto the next issue. Nothing changed after Ferguson. Nothing changed after Baltimore. Now nothing will change after Charleston. Racism will continue to fester under society's noses until the next boiling point happens. Where we'll talk about it again and lament whatever tragedy has occurred. Again. For the thousandth time...

I'm sure going to miss him when he leaves the Daily Show. I hope he goes back to doing stand up.

a reply to: Krazysh0t I like that you at times find him to 'leftist', yet can appreciate some of his reflections on our national, well not only national, but human situations. There are so many who just poo poo him and count him a pinko and that to me just smacks of stupidity.

For me, it was Jon Stewart who mouthed the defining words concerning the fall of the towers. On that night he came on, as you point out above and had no jokes, no funny stuff to relay. He spoke only to the highest of our American principles, only to the fullest of America's heart and spoke for us all, left, right and all between.

a reply to: Krazysh0t

I personally don't believe race is a real issue anymore untill the media makes it one...but even if it were still a problem, how are we supposed to make people not be racist? You can't legislate morality and call it a free country. Should we continue targeting minorities for welfare programs? That doesn't do anything but create stife between classes.

I say we treat the church shooting as it should be. Regardless of the motive, it was cold blooded muder. Therefore, the convicted perpetrator deserves the death penalty. First degree murder is a hate crime anyway you look at it. You have to hate the victim(s) enough to commit the crime.

So I say we all grow up, suck it up, and not blame the "racism" straw man for a crime commited by a free thinking individual.

We should not be defined by how a few depraved individuals act.

We should be defined by how we respond when a few depraved individuals act.

Media (ie. Fox News) creates all of these stretched truths, lies and hate and some people believe it, some people preach it and some nutty people actually act on it.

I believe a lot of this hate could be eliminated with media.

a reply to: BELIEVERpriest

Racism is very much alive and well. We really haven't moved far forward from the civil rights movement of Dr. King. We've simply swept it under the rug. People still tell racist jokes, just in private. People still would rather socialize, hire, marry and live next to people of their own skin color.

We've intellectualized racism, and convinced ourselves it's gone -- no, it's just hiding in the closet. It's the big ugly gorilla in the room that none of us want to talk about, and pretend isn't really there.

In some quiet, predominately white suburban neighborhood, a housewife worries her property value will decrease as she sees a large black family move in next door. After moving to a new town in the south, a white father investigates private schools for his daughter, as public schools do poorly/have low funding/are full of poverty-striken minorities. This type of thing still happens on a daily basis folks, absolutely.

a reply to: Krazysh0t

The problem with racism is that it is a form of hate and hate exists everywhere in one form or another. I would say that humans are built to hate, some may have more hate than others, but we all have it. Also racism is not unique to the US or does it only exist between whites and blacks. I've been to many places around the world and I can see that prejudice exists almost everywhere I go. In the US it seems more pronounced because we are the "Melting Pot" and many people from every culture are living in close proximity to each other. One of the best weapon against hate is "communication", not just any communication but truthful and untainted. However, our hands are tied these days because the new culture of "Political Correctness" prevent most from having those honest talks we really need. I would even say that we uphold "Political Correctness" to a fault, and it does more to divide us than to bring us to an understanding with one another.

originally posted by: BELIEVERpriest
a reply to: Krazysh0t

I personally don't believe race is a real issue anymore untill the media makes it one...but even if it were still a problem, how are we supposed to make people not be racist? You can't legislate morality and call it a free country. Should we continue targeting minorities for welfare programs? That doesn't do anything but create stife between classes.

I say we treat the church shooting as it should be. Regardless of the motive, it was cold blooded muder. Therefore, the convicted perpetrator deserves the death penalty. First degree murder is a hate crime anyway you look at it. You have to hate the victim(s) enough to commit the crime.

So I say we all grow up, suck it up, and not blame the "racism" straw man for a crime commited by a free thinking individual.

Race is still an issue, shouldn't be science says it's a man made creation.


The real truth is EVERY option is true for some one. Some face crazy discrimination, some never do. Some are hate filled psycos some are loving nurturers.

Both political sides make decent points and both hold up one extreme example and pretend they are the norm.

IMHO the right is far worse. If you watch all sides. (And I honestly try to) it's obvious who assumes there base only watches fox and reads drudge.

The left and middle have oodles of sources so they can't lie as easily. Fox has convinced there viewers that all the world is in some vast conspiracy to discredit conservatism.


You should know your sides crazy when the only way they are right is if there is a vast conspiracy against them...

a reply to: MystikMushroom

I didnt say racism was dead, I said its not a major issue untill the media makes it one. You cant eliminate racism from mankind. All you can do is teach personal responsibility.

a reply to: MystikMushroom

I hate to break it to you, but everyone is racist. If you say you aren't racist, you are either truly ignorant, or such a closet racist that you fight those feelings by pushing back in the opposite direction.

The sooner we admit that everyone is racist due to tribalism via genetics, the sooner we can fix the problems we have.

originally posted by: BELIEVERpriest
a reply to: MystikMushroom

I didnt say racism was dead, I said its not a major issue untill the media makes it one. You cant eliminate racism from mankind. All you can do is teach personal responsibility.

Right blame it on the Media because people can't take personal responsibility for their racism.

a reply to: Krazysh0t

Until the tragedy hits close to home many are desensitized by the events elsewhere. It is only when it happens to us do we want to feel the rage. I saw a picture of the lady who supposedly followed the guy and alerted police to his location and I will be damned if she is not smiling along with the joker next to her, really? You just helped catch a mass murderer and you are smiling?

He can blame Obama for a "gaping racial wound that will not heal". His race baiters that visit the White House an obscene number of times all through his terms there are all the damning evidence anyone needs.

The great divider had a public statement yesterday about this horrific tragedy, and nothing came of it yet again.

a reply to: MystikMushroom

Racism is also a constitutional right in this country. If you have freedom of thought and speach, you have the option of racism. Murder, assault, rape, theft and slander are not rights but crimes.

Like I said its all about personal responsibility. If you choose to be racist, practice racism responsibly.

originally posted by: BELIEVERpriest
a reply to: MystikMushroom

I didnt say racism was dead, I said its not a major issue untill the media makes it one. You cant eliminate racism from mankind. All you can do is teach personal responsibility.

So...we're just supposed to ignore the racial motivation for the crime, and simply say, "Well, he was just crazy...and that's what happens when you mix crazy with guns"...

No, I refuse to go down that road. We can't just ignore the racial element in this crime. In order for something to actually improve, we have to face it head on and burn it into our eyes. We can't just look the other way and pretend it isn't really a problem. We can't ignore-away the issue.

I'm not going to accept that race played only a "minor" or "no role" in this. This was absolutely a racial hate crime. Racism is and prejudices are very much alive.

Just look at how they arrested this white kid -- and compare it to the black man killed by police for selling cigarettes. You can't tell me that there isn't some kind of racial double standard and subconscious discrimination going on in America today.

By claiming the media makes to big of a deal about race, you're essentially trying to stick your head into the sand to avoid a very uncomfortable truth, and avoid a confrontation with an issue that's long been overdue. We can't just pretend people don't hate other people for the skin color, and are willing to mass-murder them if given a weapon.

a reply to: MystikMushroom

A crime is a crime regardless of motive. Punish the criminal for the crime. You are not a criminal untill you put the motive into action....again, personal responsibility.

People CANT take personal responsibility for themselves. That is the job of mature adults and unfortunately most adults arent mature enough.

They look to the media as truth and base their hate, fear, judgments on that.

If you heard Obama was a terrorists on the news, it MUST be true, if Blacks are taking over the US, it MUST be true (that is their thought process).

originally posted by: veracity
People CANT take personal responsibility for themselves. That is the job of mature adults and unfortunately most adults arent mature enough.

They look to the media as truth and base their hate, fear, judgments on that.

If you heard Obama was a terrorists on the news, it MUST be true, if Blacks are taking over the US, it MUST be true (that is their thought process).

Well, if we expect to change as a nation, then we must change our attitudes towards personal responsibility rather than racism. Kill the root, not the branch. This means that there have to be consequences for our actions.

originally posted by: TinfoilTP
He can blame Obama for a "gaping racial wound that will not heal". His race baiters that visit the White House an obscene number of times all through his terms there are all the damning evidence anyone needs.

The great divider had a public statement yesterday about this horrific tragedy, and nothing came of it yet again.

Oh sure blame Obama because these sort of crimes never happened before he took office.

a reply to: MystikMushroom

I'm okay with treating hate crimes as hate crimes. But will we also treat crime committed by people of certain ethnic group against other ethnic group the same. Lets cut to the chase, for example will we treat a black person who victimize a Whites or Asians as a hate crime? We don't now! .... I believe hate crime no matters who commits it should be treated as hate crimes regardless of their color.