Gene Weingarten should not have apologized
Cockburn tries to be generous to comedians. In this mirthless era, it’s a hazardous job to hold. To one side is the danger of cancelation, to the other is the danger of being dull. So in the matter of the recent ritual humiliation of Gene Weingarten, all of Cockburn’s sympathies lie with Gene. The hapless Washington Post humor writer has learned that one doesn’t joke about the cuisine of famine-ravaged countries without consequence. Weingarten decided to write his August 19 column about the foods he doesn’t like. That seemed safe. By the time food arrives on one’s plate, it is always safely dead (except in Korea), so the food at least can’t complain about being otherized and subjected to the historical tyranny of white cisheteropatriarchal norms. Big mistake.
