On blind spots and the difference between Dave Chappelle and Bill Burr

Are you looking in the mirror or nah?

Michael Ian Black

: What do JD Vance and Dave Chappelle Have in Common?

Both have also faced intense backlash. In his interview with Douthat, Vance refers more than once to the people who “hate” him. Chappelle, too, has gone after his own haters, seemingly bewildered that anybody would object to his material after a lifetime of being called a genius. Ironically, both men have apparently fallen victim to the same criticisms they once leveled at their audiences: in pivoting to new directions, both seem to have failed (at least publicly) to heed their own advice about rethinking old positions, seeing blind spots, and recognizing that they have their own work to do.

Turning this around, there's a great lesson for comedians embedded in this piece...Balance any onstage attacks by also trying to do the following: 1) rethink old positions, 2) see blind spots, and 3) recognize you have your own work to do.

All that can go a long way toward keeping a crowd on your side even if they don't agree 100% with your positions. Bill Burr is a master at that.

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See: “I think Bill Burr is a great role model for angry people who struggle with negative thoughts.”

One of the things that impresses me so much about Bill Burr is that he is a flawed man, he understands these flaws, he is openly and actively trying to improve himself. Ol’ Billy Blue Balls is a man who has clearly been to therapy and is not ashamed of this. This is a very admirable trait, especially in a time where so many men still aim for some bullshit “alpha” persona or are unwilling to admit (much less try to address) their flaws. He frequently talks about his anger problems and his problems with negative thoughts in general, but rather than stubbornly living with these problems he wants to work through these problems (not only for himself, but for Nia and particularly for his children).

Here’s an example of Burr wrestling with his anger in real time during an interview:

In fact, even a compliment can potentially rub Burr the wrong way. “When I was younger, I would really feel uncomfortable around healthy people,” he says. “If someone was really nice, I would just be like, ‘Get away from me.’ If someone was an asshole, it’s like, ‘Oh, that seems familiar.’ For whatever reason, I don’t like being complimented.” Then Burr reverses himself for a more candid confession: “I mean, I wouldn’t be doing what I do if I didn’t want to get complimented. I have a crushing need to be liked, and what my peers think is huge to me.”

Another example of Burr’s self-examination from that same piece:

“I thought I became a comedian because I loved comedy and I liked making people laugh,” Burr says. “But I became a comedian because by the time I was 23, I was so walled-off and fucked-up that doing stand-up was the easiest way to go into a room full of strangers and make them like me so that no one would hurt me. I was onstage with the mindset of a 6-year-old from 23 to about 37.”

Related:

Bill Burr: "If you're going to fail, fail doing what you want."