J. Pharoah Doss: The comedian, the Christian, and shock value

DAVID LUCAS During a comedy show, Black comic David Lucas made a joke about George Floyd while battling a Black heckler in front of a mostly White audience. After so many interruptions, Lucas informed the heckler that he was illustrating to the White audience why George Floyd had his neck kneeled on. The audience was shocked. Lucas told the audience not to “boo” the joke. He then assured the audience that he would never have kneeled on George Floyd’s neck and would have shot the N-word. Some of the audience laughed, while some Black attendees walked out. On the way out, someone told Lucas that he stooped too low for a joke. Of course, the incident went viral. Many influencers chastised Lucas for his joke. They maintained that Lucas confused shock value and comedy, implying that shock value is not inherently humorous. Influencers also accused Lucas of using “Black pain and suffering” to elicit a cheap laugh from a White audience. Lucas stated that he would apologize to anyone who took offense, but he would not apologize for making a joke. It should come as no surprise that shock value is used outside of comedy, but it is more difficult...