Chris Rock Stopped Performing for Students Because Everything Offends Them

There’s plenty to dissect in
Frank Rich’s
comprehensive interview with Chris Rock. The comedian covers
everything from Bill Cosby (he hopes the allegations are false) to
the federal bailout of the auto industry (he was against it).

I found Rock’s remarks about why he no longer performs at
college campuses most illuminating:

What do you make of the attempt to bar Bill Maher
from speaking at Berkeley for his
riff on Muslims?

Well, I love Bill, but I stopped playing colleges, and the
reason is because they’re way too conservative.

In their political views?

Not in their political views — not like they’re voting
Republican — but in their social views and their willingness not to
offend anybody. Kids raised on a culture of “We’re not going to
keep score in the game because we don’t want anybody to lose.” Or
just ignoring race to a fault. You can’t say “the black kid over
there.” No, it’s “the guy with the red shoes.” You can’t even be
offensive on your way to being inoffensive.

When did you start to notice this?

About eight years ago. Probably a couple of tours ago. It was
just like, This is not as much fun as it used to
be. I remember talking to George Carlin before he died
and him saying the exact same thing.

Provocative comedians avoiding the college scene? The Foundation
for Individual Rights in Education’s Susan Kruth
explains why this is a lamentable development:

Just as college campuses are meant to be “marketplaces
of ideas” generally, they should be places where comedians and
other performers are especially able to play with new acts. It’s
disappointing to see that this is not so, and that the atmosphere
for freedom of speech and comedy in particular on campuses has
gotten bad enough that noted comedians are avoiding student
audiences altogether. That is a real loss for them—after all,
everybody could use a laugh.

Anyone who thinks that there are no consequences for
trigger warnings,
speech codes,
free speech zones,
crackdowns on taco night, or
general feelings-protection at the modern American university
should consider Rock’s comments. University administrators are
teaching students that it is proper for them to crave insulation
from contrarianism and controversy. The result is a kind of de
facto censorship, where someone like Rock—a worthwhile speaker,
whether one agrees with him or not—has little incentive to share
his perspective.

What better way is there to drain universities of their
intellectual potency than to dissuade all interesting people from
setting foot on a college campus?