Tuesday night at the Yale Political Union, I had the pleasure of hearing certified batshit crazy person Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson spew unadulterated nonsense. Sheer stupidity cascaded out of that man’s mouth; it was like watching a headless chicken run around in circles vomiting out racist, self-loathing bile, if that chicken was a black neoconservative reverend. Needless to say, I had a great time. Few would admit it — after all, the man targeted basically every demographic except for white males (huh?) — but I think we all left that room furious, shocked and, beneath it all, entertained.
Truthfully, I think crazy people hold a special place in all of our hearts. I’m not talking about mentally ill crazy; I mean oh-my-god-this-bald-man-has-his-own-YouTube-video-blog-about-his-cat crazy, a distinction that is admittedly blurry at points. Who knows, Peterson may be putting it all on. After all, it’s hard to imagine anyone — let alone anyone of African ancestry — who would realistically think it reasonable to thank God for slavery, which, as he said on his radio show, took black people out of the mess that Africa has become. But maybe that’s what makes it interesting; it’s kind of thrilling to see people spout completely incomprehensible garbage as if it made total sense.
The Internet brings these people out in droves. At this point, that’s a given. The lowly soapbox on the corner has transformed into the likes of MySpace, YouTube, Craigslist and probably 90 percent percent of Web sites. As I have written before in scene, YouTube comments provide a treasure trove of their own. However, these voices are getting louder and louder. And we love it.
After all, for what other godforsaken reason would Glenn Beck be on the cover of Time? The man is literally crazy. He’s like Bill O’Reilly if he were a bit younger, a bit fatter and a lot more on speed. And yet America’s in love. His ratings are through the roof. Why? Because he’s a ticking time bomb. He could blow at any minute. And that’s exciting.
Kind of like Kanye. Now I know he’s talented and successful and very hardworking and all that, and I’m really happy for him, and I’mma let him finish (HA!), but I would like to nominate him as a new all-star of crazy, up there with Beck. His recent childish outburst during Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech at the Video Music Awards reeked of alcohol and insanity, an explosive combination when televised live to millions. Later that night he blogged his apology, which read like the computer’s equivalent of a second grader’s crayon scribble (“I LIKE THE LYRICS ABOUT BEING A CHEERLEADER AND SHE’S IN THE BLEACHERS! … BOOOOYAAWWW!”). It’s amazing! You couldn’t write this stuff. And it warms our hearts. Kanye goes on to vomit, “THAT’S WHAT IT IS!!!! I’M NOT CRAZY YALL, I’M JUST REAL.” But no, Kanye, you’re both. Thank God.