The media care about Chris Rock for obvious Oscar-related reasons. He was in Atlantic City this weekend, and Philadelphia magazine noticed he said something that the audience didn’t like:
The only time the audience seemed to collectively cringe was when Rock decided to tackle the tricky subject of abortion. He mocked the notion of a “safe abortion,” noting that a “safe abortion is an abortion where only one person dies, I guess?” As for his own stance on abortion, Rock joked that he’s not pro-choice but “pro better choice.”
This isn’t the first time Chris Rock has been seemingly critical of abortion during his comedy routine. In 2005, a writer for Slate dubbed him “The William F-ing Buckley of stand-up.” (Referring, of course, to National Review’s founder, William F. Buckley Jr.) He would joke that he goes to abortion rallies to pick up women because they use abortion as birth control, essentially. (With much uglier language.)
Also:
Rock’s abortion bit is an attack on women for the frivolous manner in which they decide whether or not to keep a child. “When a woman gets pregnant, it’s a choice between the woman” — here Rock pauses, a mischievous grin barely restrained — “and her girlfriends.” From there: “One girlfriend goes, ‘Child, you should have that baby — that man got some good hair. . . .’ And the other girlfriend says, ‘Child, why we even talking about this — ain’t we supposed to go to Cancun next week? Get rid of that baby!’ ” And that, Rock says, “is how life is decided in America.”
The writer commented at the time:
The assumption is that women who get abortions are frivolous and irresponsible rather than poor and desperate, as a liberal might have it. Not much there to offend a conservative’s sensibilities
Rock actually seems to suggest both the men and women could be making better choices. Yes, there are women who are desperate. And, honestly, there are young people who don’t really know there’s another way than having sex whenever the opportunity arises. Education and the culture says that’s what they are going to do and so tries to keep them from becoming pregnant, but since there’s abortion, there’s no real downside to recklessness.
Chris Rock’s comedy is obviously crass and not something I’m sitting down to listen to anytime soon. But I do pray that his uncomfortable-to-liberal-audiences bits make someone think.