Skip to main content

Good Night, Nightly

I was sad to learn that the powers that be over at Comedy Central cancelled The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore. And not only because I enjoyed the show. I will go out on a limb here and shamelessly admit that at some point over the two-year run of the Nightly Show, I developed a huge crush on the host. Smart and funny are always sexy to me, but when you throw in a Social Conscious, well then, I turn to butter. So, yes, I miss Larry. It has been a week, and already I miss gazing nightly into his friendly eyes through my television screen and his thick black glasses.  I miss his laugh - that infectious little chuckle. And, in all seriousness, I miss the message of the show.

I'm not the only one missing out here. America just lost an important voice in our conversation about social justice.

Obviously, Larry and his Nightly panel gave voice to black Americans. But they didn't stop there. Larry and his crew spoke up for Latino/as, for the LGBTQ community, for the poor and for women. There aren't many male voices speaking up for women - and Gawd do I love him for that.
Not that women aren't perfectly capable of speaking up for ourselves. It's just nice to know that we aren't the only ones who realize the struggle. In fact, if more men would recognize the struggle, maybe they would wake up and help do something about it and then, guess what, there is no more struggle. Social justice issues are like that.

Socal issues are not problems that belong only to "them"- whoever they might be. They are issues that impact our entire society - that means me, you, us. Therefore, tackling these social issues is a collective effort. Larry Wilmore and the team at the Nightly Show demonstrated that collective effort and they are missed.

Larry was in my dream last night. I guess that is the only place I will see him for awhile. I'm sure soon, however, I will see him back in my living room, on a show making a statement - or, Larry if you're interested maybe for real in my living room you know, whatever.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Movie Review: The Post

The Post seems like a straightforward movie. It recounts a time in US history when a whistleblower bordered on treason to expose government secrets about an unpopular war. I saw right through the facade. What I saw was a movie about historical events, that had significant relevance for the present time. When Liz Hannah and Josh Singer wrote the screenplay focusing on the role of Washington Post Matriarch Katherine Graham, I don't know if they had in mind the recent power surge by women. But the story of Katherine Graham and the role of the press, and the cover-up by the government all captured the current zeitgeist. On the surface, The Post is about freedom of the press. Beneath the surface, The Post reminds us that our government can be mired in subterfuge, that people in power can have questionable motives based on greed and ego, and most poignantly it shows how a woman found her voice.  Succinctly and eloquently put by a woman who herself was behind the scenes te...

I Stand With Meryl

In the court of public opinion, you are damned if you do and damned if you don't. I am reminded of this adage as the annual Hollywood award season is now underway. Critics harp that these awards are nothing more than self-aggrandizing by an already spoiled Hollywood community. Yet, this year, when multi-award winning actress Meryl Streep gave a thank you speech for her Cecil B DeMille award at the Golden Globes, she put the spotlight on someone other than herself, yet still received criticism. Well, I applaud her. As befitting someone in a free society, she used the podium she was given to say what was on her mind. While I am not a decorated artist of any sort, I feel compelled to do the same. I have the capacity, the platform and the freedom to speak my mind. So I will use those privileges. I agree with Ms. Streep's comments, I believe "violence does incite violence" and we should all work to stem violence to create the world that many of us would like to live in. ...

Super Tuesday left me Super Afraid

Author's Note: (This was written in the early morning hours the day after Super Tuesday primaries.) I couldn’t sleep. Trump victories on Super Tuesday kept me awake worrying about the future of our country. Did that really just happen? People actually think someone who has called himself "The Donald" will make a good leader of the free world? It left many with many questions. First, how will he maintain diplomatic affairs? Part of being a super power is maintaining positive relationships with other countries. He seems to alienate (and offend) everyone. He insults anyone who disagrees with him, or challenges him. This is not diplomacy. This is bullying. Second, are we (Americans) so swayed by sound bites and hyperbole that we use our one voice to vote for someone who has not explained how he will address any of our problems? Again, I’m not talking about sound bites “we will make America great again” “build a wall”, I’m talking about HOW. How will these things be done...