‘Black Jew Dialogues’ uses humor to fight fear

 

I guess I don’t have to fight for your attention on this one. The term “Black Jew,” is typically a head-turner. And for good reason, there’s an elephant in the room, and the more we ignore it, the bigger it gets. So say it with us: “Slavery.” That wasn’t so hard, was it? Now let’s try another one: “Holocaust.”

Believe me, you weren’t the only one slightly apprehensive addressing this topic. In case you haven’t met us, we are two relatively average white guys – typically the perpetrators in history.

But as soon as we set foot in the Visual Arts Theater on Thursday – for something called the “Black-Jew Dialogues,” a visiting production hosted by Mt. Hood’s Diversity Resource Center – it became clear that we weren’t there to refer to any person generally, except maybe that blond guy who was the butt of a Nazi joke. If there was anything that the audience was expected to take away from this, it was that there is no white history, or black history, or Jewish history – there is just history. Every race has been on the receiving end of an atrocity if you go back far enough in time.

That being said, it was the presentation’s delivery that was truly impressive. It was one thing to talk about racism in theory; it’s entirely different to watch a middle-aged black man play a slave in an SNL-style skit. At first you’re not even sure what to think about it, but the moment you feel comfortable is the same time that you know the presenters’ message is effective.

Ron and Simon, the two actors, for lack of a better term, have a way of putting everybody at ease, even if it means grinding up on a defenseless student in what I want to call a body suit fashioned after a granny (but the bosom itself looked like its own suit). Ron is a middle-aged black man who easily connected with the crowd, playing off it quite frequently. Simon is a younger Jewish man who seemed to let Ron take the lead,  but came in with a lot of funny one-liners as well. His joke about how the alleged “Jewish guilt” can make everyone feel bad had the entire theater laughing.

After putting the crowd at ease the team brings up the hard topics, such as how to deal with bigotry.

This approach worked with most everyone at the event. People laughed at how the only famous Jew is Woody Allen, but listened attentively when they brought up picture slides of The Holocaust. Personally I felt a little awkward, wishing my lingering smile from the previous joke would fade while looking at mutilating scars on a slave’s back.

The discussion afterwards had students asking questions about how they could get this message out to their community. Ron and Simon responded in a bittersweet tone that they just need to try and get the word out. Ron even brought to attention how he could fit everybody attending in the first three rows of the Visual Arts Theater.

As awkward as these moments might have seemed to us, it fit their theme. Humor, at least to us, is always about power. Typically, if you find something funny, one of two things is happening. One way is when someone degrades themselves in front of you – so now you feel comfortable. The second, is that you’re friendly, or find someone nonthreatening enough so that they can make a joke at your expense, but you find it humorous anyway because it’s a sign that you’re comfortable with this person (and, ergo, have power over them).

I don’t think I need to explain to anyone how racism is also a system of power. This is why you hear so many racist jokes, not in the BJD sense, but in the derogatory, “ha-ha-I-have-it-better-than-this-group” sense. It is also why promoting equality through comedy is so hard, because everyone needs to feel comfortable first.

One of the novel ways the pair set everyone at ease, while addressing this issue was saying, lip syncing, or even shouting a certain word. We can’t say it, but you know which one (hint: it rhymes with tigger). From there, it was an absolute joy to watch these two interact. I don’t know if it’s a compliment to say there’s no one I would rather look at holocaust pictures with, but it’s definitely true.