Dave Chappelle on Race and Police

In this clip from “Killin’ Them Softly”, Dave Chappelle transforms the serious issue of police and racism into two humorous stories that reveal the absurdity of what actually takes place in our society.

The first story that Chappelle tells is about him and his white friend, Chip, walking down a street in New York City while smoking a joint. Perhaps not by coincidence, they are lost and are trying to get directions. As Chip is smoking the joint, he sees a police car and does not even flinch. In fact, he continues smoking and walks over to the car and casually tells the officer that he is “a little high” and asks how to get to 3^rd Street. In response, the officer simply tells Chip that he is on 3^rd Street and to “move it”. Meanwhile, Chappelle is left in disbelief about what had just occurred.

While this story emphasizes the confidence of Chip talking to a police officer while high, the point of this story is to show how black people are more wary of the police because they are more likely to get arrested. Chappelle often displays socially-aware humor not to bring about change, but rather to just laugh at how ridiculous society can be. What makes this story funny is that it displays incongruity and truth at the same time. Chances are that if anyone, white or black, went up to a police officer smoking marijuana, they would face some sort of fine or arrest. But what is true about Chappelle’s story is that blacks have reason to be more cautious than whites around police officers as blacks make up almost half of the prison population and only 12% of the total population.

The second story of Chappelle and Chip takes place in a car while Chip is driving drunk and Chappelle is smoking marijuana. As Chip is blatantly swerving and speeding all over the road, he is by no surprise pulled over by a police car. As Chappelle is nervous in the car, Chip confidently tells him that he will do all the talking and does not even turn down his radio. As the police officer approaches the vehicle, Chip simply says, “Sorry officer, I didn’t know I couldn’t do that” and the police officer lets him go free. As they are driving away, Chip smiles and says “I DID know I couldn’t do that!”

Much like the first story, Chappelle illustrates that because Chip is white, he can blatantly break the law and will not face any ramifications. Another great point that Chappelle makes in the second story is how he was shocked not by Chip’s bluntness with the police officer, but how he would never think to use ignorance as an excuse. Chappelle goes on to say that black men can’t use that excuse because “they know we know the law”. More specifically, Chappelle is implying that since African Americans are more involved in arrests and jail time, they are more aware of laws and the penalties.

Although Chappelle’s stories could be seen as hasty generalizations of all white guys being nerdy and all police officers being racist, there is still some truth to what he is saying (hence all the laughter from the crowd). Also, Chappelle is not going for accuracy, rather he is trying to amuse his audience. Dave Chappelle has been a popular comedian because he is able to use his humor and rhetoric to discuss social issues that are not always perceived as being funny. After reading my summaries of Chappelle’s stories they may not seem that funny, thus, I encourage you to watch this YouTube video to see how well Chappelle uses rhetoric while performing on stage.