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My fan relationship with Daily Wire commentator Matt Walsh is, shall we say, complicated. I find him hard to understand sometimes because of how sarcastic he is, and how down he looks. I'm not quite sure if he likes what he does for a living. Although I can relate with how serious he is as a person about topics he is passionate about. I can relate with some of his views, if not most, when it comes to conservative issues.
That said, I've been "chewing" on my thoughts about a Mexican joke he used in his recent movie, "Am I Racist?". I know what the main stream conservative view is, and I can parrot it to others and myself. It goes something like this: "it is only a joke, and you shouldn't take it too seriously." Come along with me as I explore what I actually think about it now after some time has passed.
But first, there's a tendency on the Right to think that just because someone says something negative about the film itself means that someone is against what Matt Walsh is ultimately trying to accomplish in his film, which in my opinion is to expose the error of DEI and critical race theory, as well as how rich people are getting off of this topic. So I'll be brief: I am a Daily Wire all-access member and enjoy listening to the various commentators on that platform, including Matt Walsh. If there's anything we ought to promote on the Right is to be calm about disagreements with others who believe a different approach is best, especially when Christianity-based convictions are involved. Scripture says, "As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another." in Proverbs 27:17. We ought to take caution not to jump to conclusions about someone's "true intentions or beliefs".
That said, I loved going to the movie theatre with my husband. It had been a while we went on a movie date, and my mom got to "baby-sit" my kids, possibly for the first time. It was super important to me to go see this movie and comment on it on my YouTube channel. The moment I heard about this film I was very excited. I loved the trailer. I live in California, so being a conservative is sometimes more of a ninja-hiding type of thing because you don't want people to think you are... well, a racist MAGA caricature. I know, I need to work on that, and I am. I live in Los Angeles county so... it's complicated.
Anyway, the movie room was kind of quiet. I think I was mostly the only person laughing, from I want to say 10 people in there at most. I heard a couple laugh behind me closer to the end of the movie. I found the movie hilarious because I know how different Matt Walsh actually is in real life, and I found it amazing how he could do the things he did in public that felt so cringe and really uncomfortable to watch. I also enjoyed hearing little moments where he pointed out how strange things are, for example a book titled the "N word" and he pointed out how he would not be able to say the actual title over the phone if he wanted to see if it was available in that book store.
I shared more of my thoughts in my personal reaction video and an interview with a Christian apologist who discussed DEI and Critical Race Theory with me (you can find those below). Here, though, I want to explore what I really think about the joke, at risk of being made fun of, put down, or misunderstood. I'm honestly confused and very curious to know why Matt Walsh chose to go with a racist joke about Mexicans. Is there a particular thought process that went on here? Were there other ethnicity jokes considered that were thought to be too racist? In a podcast, hearing a joke about Mexicans not taking care of their households might just be easily forgotten, but the effects for me are different about this joke, having gone to see this film in person. It was a different experience watching that social experiment while being Mexican-American. I didn't leave angry, just disappointed and confused mostly.
I was there to support the message of this film, but was left wondering what that joke's purpose really was? Was it to say inappropriate jokes should be the norm? Or was it saying we all have a "crazy uncle" who we are annoyed by his racist jokes, but we know it's his choice and he's free to think and joke however he wants? Was it something else? As a Christian, I understand in real life, only the Holy Spirit can truly shape the way a person is, and how they become more like Christ. The process of sanctification is something all believers of Jesus Christ are going through, and this will include the way we think and talk about people with different ethnicities. This will impact how we interact with them as well. To make this more relatable to those who disagree with me perhaps, as a Mexican American, the Holy Spirit has to challenge the way I perceive white people, black people, asian people, middle eastern people, as so on, even the way I perceive the people with my same ethnicity. What I say, including as I joke, is also something God holds me accountable for. Only God 100% of the time knows when it is okay for a joke to be made about our own ethnicity or that of another, and ultimately, doing our best to be led by the Holy Spirit sometimes means we have to go with that conviction inside of us. So, to me, although that Mexican joke served to provoke the people in his workshop class, and it was not Christ-like for them to use curse words at Matt Walsh's "handicapped" crazy uncle, still using a joke that puts Mexicans down as a group isn't Christ-like either. Again, ultimately we all must do our best to follow Jesus, and here is where I land on this joke. I would love clarification from Matt Walsh on the thinking behind this joke, but I don't think I'll get it so I end this blog here.