(10:56 p.m.) — Kareem Abdul-Jabar makes everything better. Of this alone I am sure.
Non-Kareem highlights: man shimmied up a 30-foot tree to get a better view, took out a cigarette, chimmied down tree to get his lighter. Yusuf (he’s dropped the “Islam,” which may provide a more interesting comment on the position of Muslims in American and abroad than the narrative of the rally did) sang “Peace Train,” before being interrupted by Ozzy Osbourge singing “Crazy Train.” He’s still got it (Yusuf, although Ozzy’s still got something).
Can the Stewart/Colbert schtick work without talking politics? Can satire be satire without satirizing anything? But this isn’t really the question. What the Comedy Central team sends up is now exclusively cable news. The two are becoming more and more difficult to distinguish.
The stated theme of the rally was reasonability, politeness, upped discourse. Fair enough. But can civility not be more grating, more horrifying, than outright anger? Still working on grand thesis for the rally, but I think it has something to do with Kid Rock’s performance with Cheryl Crow. He was playing piano.
Jake Friedman is a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences. He may be contacted at [email protected]. Check back this week for Friedman’s full-length piece on the rally.
Original Author: Jake Friedman