Jamal Ginsberg
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- kingjulien
During my father's more radical years at Berkeley law school in the 60s's, he married a black woman in Oakland, and had my brother. Growing up I guess I knew he was black, but I never got the amusement that he was half black half jewish. He was just my brother who had an easier time getting his yamake fastened to his nappy head at my cousin's Bar Mitzva. Of course, when I was in college, and found great humor in the eccentricities of my people--particularly my uncle Burton with his lifesize gold bagel around his Run DMC chain, and his need to complain every time we went out to dinner that the room was too drafty (and don't get me started about the time he cut his wife's bra in half and wore his yamake with a chin strap)--I began to subtly bust my brother's chops. At the deli I would order a Black Russian sandwhich or say his lips looked like suitcase handles, while he would call me Cracka Ass Cracka or Anthony Michael Hall from Breakfast Club. It was silly teasing, immature, juvenile, but we were brothers, and we could get away with it
Then I saw the Sopranos episode the other night on DVD where Tony got upset because Meadow was dating a black Jew at Yale. I believe his name was Noah . During one of his discussions with Carmela, Tony referred to Noah as Jamal Ginsberg, and he did so with a straight face. It was so brutal and wrong and just spit out your food funny, and for obvious reasons it struck a chord with me.
I know the lines offensive, but I think this illustrates why the writing on The Sopranos is so brilliant They really know how to tap into truths that are for the most part taboo, and they do so without political or social motivation, just the desire to be truthful to its characters.
- digitalswarm0
This and more, in kingjulien's new novel, "Cocaine: Why I Talk So Much"
- JazX0
kind of brutal, but I guess when you get in public life you are fair game. That show is a private enterprise, they can saw what they want, sadly no one will care or even know what that meant. On a personal level, I'll be having/had a couple of mixed kids myself. :)