Michael Ian Black's Tirade Against a Racist Obama-Hater During Set

[meegbear]

As explained on his blog:

It's the late show on a Saturday night in Columbus, Ohio. I'm halfway through my set and I mention Barack Obama. Some scattered boos. Which is normal. Somebody always hates the president, no matter who that president might be. In this case, the president is Obama and I am a fan, so I always ask they are so mad at him.

"Why are you mad at the president?"

Some common responses:

"Because he's an idiot."

"Because he doesn't do anything."

"Because he broke his campaign promises."

That's usually as far as people are able to go. They're mad but they don't know why. Which is always funny, at least to me. In fact, now that I think of it, nobody has ever given me a specific policy reason why they do not like our current president. I try to be polite about it while simultaneously making fun of them, then I give whoever I was making fun of a dollar, and we move on.

Last night, as I was talking about how much I love the president (because I do), somebody yelled out "Heil Hitler."

Heil Hitler?

My immediate reaction was to crumple to the floor, which I did. I don't know why, except that it seemed to me in that moment that the show had now gone south very quickly, and if bottles were going to be thrown, I didn't want to get hit.

But then I stood up and asked the person (shrouded in darkness, as people who scream "Heil Hitler" often are) why he yelled that, thinking maybe he thought it was funny in some obtuse way, like maybe he though shouting that would be interpreted as clever satire. Or maybe he was being ironic. Grasping, I know, but I honestly had no idea why somebody would yell that outside of a Klan rally.

But I am still being polite.

The guy in the dark says, "Because when you say you like Obama, that's the same thing to me as saying ‘Heil Hitler.'"

The audience, predictably, starts booing. I ask them to please calm down, that I will handle this in a mature way. While I am saying this to the audience, I am thinking, How do I possibly handle this in a mature way.

So the audience settles down, and I turn to the gentleman and say, "Sir, I say with this all due respect - you are a fucking moron."

And then I kind of lost my shit.

I just started screaming at the guy. Screaming. I don't even know what I was screaming, although the gist was, "How dare you compare Hitler to this president or any president? How dare you equate what he did with Obama is doing? Do you have any idea how insulting that is? Do you know anything about history? Do you have any idea what Hitler did? He killed six million of my people, which is six million more than Obama has killed. You're a fucking idiot. You're a fucking moron. You're the fucking problem with this country. You and your reflexive retardation. You're a fucking this-and-that…" and then I just basically started yelling "fuck" a lot at the guy. Fuck fuck fuck fuck.

Then he stood up and left.

It felt really, really great.

<snip>

http://tv.gawker.com/5619204/michael-ian-black-goes-after-a-racist-obama+hater-during-his-set

[MaeScott]

1. Can he get an AMEN? Thx. nt

[solara]

2. Amen

:patriot:

[joeybee12]

5. Amen x infinity from me...n/t

[prairierose]

9. Amen.... I wish more people would call these idiots on...

their idiocy. Thank you Mr. Black.

[Initech]

16. Amen!!! I saw a similar asshole this weekend.

Had the full Obama - Hitler comparison and everything. I really wanted to call him out on his bullshit too.

[blondeatlast]

32. Amen! nt

[sakabatou]

37. RAmen

[Pirate Smile]

41. Amen!!!

O8) :applause: :woohoo:

[Orrex]

3. I'm shocked to learn that he does anything other than VH1 retrospectives

Seriously--he must film about 150 hours of those each week. Where does he find the time to do comedy?


Still, bravo to him for pummeling that asshole in such a satisfyingly public fashion!

[Javaman]

4. I used something like that recently to a local moron here in austin.

I have an Obama bumper sticker on my car.

As I was getting out of my car, he made a comment along the lines of, "so you voted for hitler".

I paused, wanting to let it go, but I just couldn't resist. So I said to him, "So when exactly did Obama kill 6 million people?"

I think he was a little taken back by my response or any response at all.

He sputtered a bit but continued on with, "well, you have to admit he is a fascist".

I sighed and said, "do you know what fascism is?"

He back peddled, "well, maybe a fascist is a bit extreme, he's more of a socialist..."

To which I jumped on and again asked, "Do you know what socialism is?"

He was getting into his car at this point. He mumbled something.

But I sent him off before he closed his door, "if you are going to made stupid accusations about anyone, at least have enough intelligence to know what the fuck you are talking about, you half wit!"

I got pretty pissed off by that point. He responded by giving me the finger through his window. To which, I found incredibly funny.

Unreal.

[DirkGently]

11. Yeah. This must be done. Idiocy is becoming too brave again.

It's slithered out from its little rocks and starting waving its little misshapen limbs about menancingly. We need to remind it that it is free to speak its quavering, gibbering nonsense. But not without a response.

[NeedleCast]

63. Idiocy is becoming too brave again

An excellent description. Well said.

[red red red]

6. I want a Michael Black clone! Cheers! n/t

[malaise]

7. That was fabulous

Rec

[tandot]

8. K & R

[Erose999]

10. Please tell me there is VIDEO of this encounter. $240 worth of pudding for whoever posts it first!!

[Orsino]

12. Unrec for the r-word.

He was doing so well there, too. x(

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

13. counter rec.

[L0oniX]

25. I see ...unrec the op because he quoted another person. Nice. Duh!

[Orsino]

54. Unrec the post that contains, and applauds, the r-word.

As I noted, the rest of the post was fine.

But c'mon, gang: this is not the one you want to be seen defending.

[Name removed]

57. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Orsino]

58. Please don't do this. n/t

[Codeine]

27. Goodness but our sensibilities are delicate these days.

I do declare! *swoons*

[TheEuclideanOne]

29. I argue the truth defense on that one. :)

I am a big fan of Michael Ian Black even if I am the only person that I know personally who actually likes Stella. Then again, one of my favorite TV shows of all time was Get A Life.

[blondeatlast]

33. *Clutches pearls, faints.* I don't generally cuss but REALLY?

Are you kidding us?

[Steely_Dan]

47. So...What if I said...

"My cat's growth has been retarded...she is a very small cat?" Is that okay?

[Tsiyu]

55. "Refrigeration of bread retards the spread of mold"

Yes, the word is used as more than just a pejoritive or a description of intellectual capacity.

But then some people pick their battles wisely, others not so much....

[gratuitous]

14. I ask you, is this sensible?

Dear me, this is just so anti-bipartisan, that it's almost {horrified whisper} partisan. And we all know how e-e-e-evil that is! And Mr. Black used a variation on the dreaded r-word, so his entire point must be subsumed by a non-existent insult to developmentally delayed persons everywhere.

This is just more good news for the Republicans.

[RandomThoughts]

15. Glad that he stood up against a crazy comment correcting the thought

The anger of his reaction comes from the years of pain in his macros, loaded by repeated ww2 shows on TV, and from many that have spoken about what Hitler did. Hitler created a situation that allows for loading pain into many people.

He used that loaded macro to break a bad macro, a good use I would say, however he too has his macros loaded, we all do.


And they were not just his people, they are everyone's people, although I agree pointing out why there was such wrong feeling in that audience members macro is a good thing.

Note if me saying they are everybody's people gets someone angry, you have pride about some group association in your macro.

[NC_Nurse]

17. Amen X 100! That is AWESOME. I have a new hero.

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

18. Ah, Columbus my former home. nt

[perdita9]

19. And the crowd goes wild!

Wish I'd been there for that. These idiots need to be called out on their lies.

[Name removed]

20. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

21. So, you're saying Obama's kind of like a little Hitler...

:crazy:

[SnakeEyes]

48. No, just correcting the statement contained in the OP

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

62. That was a rhetorical question.

You were calling Obama a little Hitler.

[SnakeEyes]

64. No

but feel free to read my statement anyway you choose and claim whatever you like. *shrug*

[MadMaddie]

31. President Obama did not start these wars

yes, they need to end. We should have never been there in the first place. He is withdrawing from Iraq...it's not as fast as we want but it is happening.

How many thousands of Iraqi's died because of *W?

Don't forget to count those Americans down in New Orleans while the bastard was eating cake in CA with McCain. While the folks sat in that fucking dome and died, while innocent civilians were targeted like dogs and shot in the back......jr sat with his thumb up his ass...

[SnakeEyes]

49. I refuse to give him a pass.

But keep shifting this back to Bush and ignore what Obama has done and continues to do. And even if he is withdrawing from Iraq, the war in Afghanistan is increasing. Blood is on his hands too.

[SemperEadem]

56. yeah, sure... let's just pick up our shit and just run away

like irresponsible cowards.

the man inherited the mess--and I'm quite sure he didn't even know what kind of a mess it was until bush handed him
the presidential packet of information he needed to know on 1/20/09.

so your hysterical high dudgeon routine is a bit disingenuous.

[SnakeEyes]

61. We had no business being there

We are only making things worse by staying over there and it doesn't take a year and half.

BRING THEM HOME NOW

[MadMaddie]

70. No one is giving him a pass

Keep ignoring history like it didn't happen, there is a begginning point and it didn't begin with Obama...History demands that we hold those responsible for their actions.....People act like Jr didn't exist and had nothing to do with the wars, with the recession, with deregulation, ignoring Katrina. If people want to ignore it then fine...I am not going to ignore nor forget it. I will not let them rewrite history as others would...

[xocet]

42. Were you sleeping during the Bush Administration?

It is pretty bold of you indirectly to compare President Obama to Hitler. You know damn well that President Bush is the one who started these wars. Bush's crimes and their body counts are not strikes against President Obama.

[SnakeEyes]

51. Indirectly compared nothing.

I merely corrected the comment in the OP.

Bush is no longer president. Obama is. And the war continues, even increasing in Afghanistan. The moment Obama became president and didn't order the troops home was the day the wars became his and the blood was now on his hands. Obama has been and continues to kill people by not bringing the troops home.

BRING THEM ALL HOME NOW.

[BrklynLiberal]

22. Good for Michael Ian Black!!!

[ejbr]

23. Nice rant...however..

The response to the profoundly disconcerting, "he broke his campaign promises." gets lumped with "he's an idiot" and "he doesn't do anything"??!
Those campaign promises should mean something more than an ad hominem attack or an outright lie. That being said, again, nice rant.

[L0oniX]

24. K & R +1000 for using the "r" word. Fuck political correctness!

I suppose trailer trash will be next. Why not ban all words that offend anyone. sheeze

:crazy:

[AsahinaKimi]

26. Fox News is making this country crazy

If junk happens, it should be laid at their door step. Better yet, get in their face.

[corpseratemedia]

68. +1,000,000,000

or however many billions murdoch and the prince and whatshisface are worth!

[SalmonChantedEvening]

28. Reading this feels only slightly less great.

Thank you Michael. :)

[Coexist]

30. wow. great rant.

[Drale]

34. Damn It

Ive pulled into parking lots a few times and gotten into arguments with stupid people with those signs of the president with the Hitler mustache, the last guy made me so angry I thought I was having I was going to pop.

[newspeak]

65. sometimes I just want to shake my head and sigh

Obama is like Hitler, see he shut down the opposition party and demanded his own policies just like Hitler-hmmm, I thought we got these diluted bills from being bi-partisan-but Little Boots sure did a lot of demanding. He started a war based on fabrications using propaganda that the grand wurlitzer machine gladly delivered just like Hitler (oh wait, that was Little Boots). He enacted the Enabling Act, oh I mean, the Patriot Act just like Hitler-oh damn, that was Little Boots again. He tortured and suspended habeas corpus-tortured just like Hitler-well, I'll be that was Little Boots again.

So, I'm still wondering how Obama is like Hitler. Can any of these fools explain to me how they are alike. I know someone that has some similarities, but it's not Obama.

[kurtzapril4]

35. Hitler killed a lot more than 6 million people.

He killed 6 million Jews..and the additional 5-11 million were: Romi, homosexual, physically and/or mentally handicapped, Catholics, Soviet civilians, Soviet prisoners of war, Jehovah's Witnesses, Muslims and any and everybody else that didn't fit into his sick as shit plan.

However, he was a mere piker compared to Stalin, who killed 20 million +.

They are both dwarfed by the body count of the "Beloved Chairman", Mao Zedong...who killed 50-70 million people.

Good on Michael Ian Black for standing up to the asshat.

[pgodbold]

36. Damn dude! You fuckin wasted him!! You GO!! Hugs

[IrishEyes]

38. I always liked him

I saw him on stage once. He's funny.

[PSzymeczek]

46. I first saw him

on "The State." And one of my guilty pleasure movies is "Wet Hot American Summer."

[Ken Burch]

39. Can we give this guy a slot at the 2012 convention?

K&R

[JoeyT]

40. Yay. It's long since past time to start calling people out for being stupid.

Though he's never actually going to get a real policy reason, since the people that disagree with him on policy aren't prone to randomly acting like imbeciles in public.

First time he catches someone that's actually informed and asks them that, he'll stop asking.

[Pirate Smile]

43. Here is his twitter address if you want to send him some love:

@michaelianblack

http://twitter.com/michaelianblack

[savalez]

44. Fucken' eh man! Good job!

[nadinbrzezinski]

45. This is the only thing that MIGHT stop this insanity

confronting the idiots.

I recently did over immigration...

[slampoet]

50. For GOPers unfamiliar with The biggest schools of Comedy

You may find you occasionally will find a Jewish person engaging in stand up.

[DeSwiss]

52. K&R

- He's a fucking moron and what is worse -- http://www.amazon.com/Lies-My-Teacher-Told-Everything/dp/0684818868">his country help to make him that way.

[DesertDiamond]

53. I do know what Obama's done that I don't like. But anyone who calls him Hitler is, in fact a moron!

Bravo to Michael Ian Black!!!!

[Capitalocracy]

59. That's what bugs me

if they asked a progressive what they don't like about Obama, he'd be given very specific answers, including quotes, sources, and dates. And yet in the mainstream media, the only thing you ever hear is is Obama a secret Muslim, is he a dirty Commie, blah blah blah...

[cate94]

60. Amen

[Blue_Tires]

66. ttt

[Scurrilous]

67. Kick

:thumbsup:

[AspenRose]

69. I must lead a sheltered life, because before this I had never heard of this guy.

But, WOW. :wow:

Of COURSE the coward ran away. They never expect people to fight back.

Which is all the more reason why we SHOULD fight back. When we do, they run away with their tails tucked between their legs.