And Andy Samberg hits it out of the park

I'm not a big Saturday Night Live fan. That, of course, is mostly because it usually sucks. But every once in a while a sketch will crack me up. I watched weekend update a week or two ago and it was quite funny. The jokes were sharp and it didn't look like Seth Meyers was trying too hard. This past weekend, though, Andy Samberg did a sketch where he portrayed Rahm Emanuel giving an apology for using the word "retard" and I found myself laughing loudly, by myself, at my desk while I watched it.

Now, I have absolutely zero problem with calling people retards (obviously) and  I don't take offense when other people use the word. Of course I don't get offended when people use any words, unless they use them  incorrectly (irony is not the same as coincidence ass holes) or spell them wrong. But the word retard is as special as the people it can offend because it doesn't engender the same type of response as, say, the "N" word does from society at large. Offense taken at the use of the word "retard" is usually confined to people who have a personal connection with a friend or family memeber who's a retard or hypersensitive jerkoffs who get off on getting offended.

But like any word that most people don't typically get offended by, if someone of consequence (like, say, the White House Chief of Staff) utters it then you better watch the fuck out because shit is about to hit the fan and a bull shit apology is right around the corner. Of course Emanuel didn't say it at a press conference. He didn't say it in a public venue at all. He said it in a meeting and he said it because the people he called "fucking retards" were acting like "fucking retards" and threatening to do something retarded. I admire Emanuel for the fact that he does not appear to take shit from anyone. By most accounts he is a ruthless bureaucrat who, while I don't happen to agree with politically, I can at least applaud for his, uh, candor. Unlike most who stalk Capitol Hill, Emanuel does not cow tow to political correctness. And anyone who refuses to be politically correct can be a friend of mine.

Which brings me to Andy Samberg's SNL sketch of Rahm Emanuel's "apology." This thing is funny on a few different levels. One, it portrays Emanuel as a lunatic with a horrible temper which no one, to the best of my knowledge, has ever denied is not accurate. Also, it pokes fun at those retarded god damn mea culpas that anyone in a position of power or celebrity has to give whenever they do something ill-advised, offensive or... retarded. I hope you enjoy this as much as I did.