First Amendment detractors

By Dr. E. Faye Williams, Esq.
TriceEdneyWire.com Columnist

It seems that ignoring the laws of our land is so ordinary these days. The person who thinks he’s the leader of the free world shows us he can ignore any law he doesn’t like. But White House Correspondents criticizing him for doing so, then turn around and criticize Michelle Wolf, the comic who performed for their dinner is a bit too much! They actually claimed they were celebrating the First Amendment to the United States Constitution!

I watched every minute of the comedy act, and I can say without a doubt, it was one of the best I’ve ever heard at the event. President Obama’s humor at the same event a few years ago was great. Dick Gregory probably would have been greater, but Michelle Wolf was hard to beat. In case you missed the White House Correspondents dinner, you might want to listen to the comic who is now being criticized. Yeah, it was a bit raunchy in places, but it was great. I don’t mean just great for a woman. It was plain and simple great.

She used a few words I don’t use, but this was an adult crowd and her content was on the money. There’re so many more things going on in our country for which we should be offended, but Michelle’s presentation is not one of them. If those same people were offended by white supremacy, sexism, homophobia, gun violence, and the daily news involving the behavior of #45, it would be appropriate to be offended by those things. Hating on Michelle is not one of the things about which to be offended. Was it the truth of what she said that offended some? Was it because she’s a woman doing comedy that was offensive to some? I only heard her using her comedy to point out things we ignore that should be offensive.

The First Amendment to our Constitution says: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

It seems only fair that if the press expects its freedoms to be protected, so should we, including Michelle, be able to exercise the right of free speech. So, what if she made a few people uncomfortable. Many of these same people make us uncomfortable daily without an apology.

Many of the same people who criticize Colin Kaepernick for exercising his First Amendment right to free speech by kneeling to make a statement about injustice are now criticizing Michelle. If we could have Dick Gregory who made great use of interesting words still teach so many of us so many great lessons, surely the White House Correspondents should be able to take the truth that’s told in a comical way. I didn’t hear anyone say Michelle was lying, so they should just chill and understand that we suffer when we lose our ability to laugh at not only the craziness of others, but also laugh at our own craziness.

It is my understanding that Michelle Wolf was invited to do a comedy routine and that the person who invited her had heard her previously. Michelle did what she was invited to do and did it well. If some correspondents and some guests don’t like comedy, they have the right to stay away or the correspondents can change the kind of program they have, but don’t deny women their right to do their comedy as men before her did without all the snobbish behavior.

This article originally published in the May 14, 2018 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.