Ep. 37 It’s Always Funny in Asheville

This week on the Carolina Snowflakes Podcast we’re wondering what happens when white people’s “wokeness” goes too far? We know, we know. You’re thinking ‘Is that even possible?’ and we’d wager that YES, not only is it possible, but sometimes it’s kinda sorta hilarious. And honestly, there’s no better place to see an excessive show of social awareness than in the beautifully progressive city of Asheville, North Carolina.

 

Now don’t misunderstand. We’re both fans of Asheville and we’re both super lefty liberals with strong progressive views, which we’re coming to terms with, but sometimes all the catering and tip-toeing and safe space holding is a bit much. We start this week’s examination of Asheville’s “performative wokeness” with the telling of a true story involving a missing child from the area. Thankfully, the child was found safe and returned home. However, we noticed the handling of the child’s gender-identity by the local media, police and even the kid’s own mother to be odd at the very least. Granted, it’s hard to know what the right call is during an emergency situation, but is outing or misgendering an otherwise non-out kid the right move? Tune in to learn more about what happened in this unusual story and to hear our thoughts on the matter.

 

All this said, we acknowledge that there are times when being lefty and woke and vocal about sensitivities is necessary and warranted. Case in point, the firing of Roseanne from her own television show after she got loaded on Ambien and made a racist fool of herself on Twitter. She had it coming. But what about the times when the most vocal of the lot turn their shouting towards individuals who aren’t necessarily making racist fools of themselves, but simply aren’t “woke” enough for the people around them? Where is the consensus in these sorts of “attacks” on white people by other white people? Most importantly, who is benefiting? These are important questions to keep in mind when the Twitter mobs begin their 140-character assaults.

 

We close this week with another eyebrow-raising Asheville story, except this one is still ongoing and it’s been ongoing for quite some time. We’re talking about the damn Vance Monument. While we applaud the city’s condemnation of the racist man behind the name of the monument, we can’t help but wonder what the heck is taking so long to do something about it. Covering the towering phallic monument with a black condom-looking tarp to the tune of $20,000 is an expensive (and hilarious) way to make the city’s unsightly appendage even more visible. We guess they wanted to play it…safe?

 

Tune in to hear our laughter-filled takes on these stories plus more as we examine why it’s always funny in Asheville.

 

References:

Chris Hayes, March 31st 2021. “Who Gets to Say with John McWhorter”. Why Is This Happening? With Chris Hayes. NBC News. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/who-gets-to-say-with-john-mcwhorter/id1382983397?i=1000514986883