>>Silverman's humor comes not from how shocking the things
>she
>>says are, but because it's a satire of the way that racism
>>becomes almost banal in contemporary society.
>
>What she says *is* shocking, that's why she gets laughs from
>it.
>
>And I think what you're saying works for the female-oriented
>stuff, because for the most part people don't pay much
>attention to the rampant misogyny and sexism around us all the
>time (I mean, look at the debate in the Lesson about Bubba
>Sparxxx and the "n" word, not a single person seemed to object
>that he was making the billionth song about women's butts,
>just that he used a single, racially charged word). Misogyny
>and sexism is truly banal, and it helps that she is a woman
>herself, but the race related humor is a different thing
>altogether.

I think the racism that goes on in the United States today is mostly quiet and banal-ized (at least for us white people). Which is the problem.