Okay, I'm going to vent a little. Saturday Night Live knows absolutely nothing about the South. At least, it's writers apparently don't. They apparently haven't visited the region since the Andy Griffith era. How else do you explain last Saturday's sketch "Good Morning Greenville?"
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You can watch the sketch below, but I'll sum it up for you. It's presented as a talk show for Greenville, South Carolina. It features two whitebread hosts with thick ridiculous Southern accents. They're discussing the Kendrick Lamar and Drake feud as if they've never heard of the genre in their life. Cue, misunderstanding crips for a grocery store like Kroger. Are you laughing yet? The sketch even features a meteorologist played by Black comedian Devon Walker shaking his head as if to say look at those idiot dumb hicks.
I'm not the comedy police, but it's worth pointing out that Greenville is a major city in South Carolina. Across the entire county, there's 547,950 people While it may be less than say a major metropolitan area like New York, it's hardly the podunk town that Saturday Night Live makes it out to be. Let's also take a look at some of the demographics, according to Data USA. Greenville is made up of the following: White (Non-Hispanic) (65.6%), Black or African American (Non-Hispanic) (23.1%), Two+ (Non-Hispanic) (2.47%), White (Hispanic) (2.33%), and Asian (Non-Hispanic) (2%).
'Saturday Night Live' Sketch Fails
Comparatively, New York City is made up of: White (Non-Hispanic) (31.9%), Black or African American (Non-Hispanic) (21.1%), Asian (Non-Hispanic) (14.1%), Other (Hispanic) (13.9%), and White (Hispanic) (7.83%). My point is that Greenville is a pretty diverse place. Plus, it's only two hours from Atlanta, which has its own pretty thriving rap scene. Plus, we have the internet down in the South. We know who Drake and Kendrick Lamar are. We are also aware of what the crips are, and no it's not a Kroger.
I'm not even from Greenville, although I do live here, so I'm not sure exactly why the sketch ticked me off so much. Maybe, it's because people are always ragging on the South, calling us dumb, calling us racist. FYI, most Black Americans live in the South, and racism exists but it also exists everywhere.
I spent four years in New York City where I earned a Master's Degree from New York University. I have to tell you that's the most I ever felt unwelcome. On a weekly basis, people would make fun of the South and try to treat me like I wasn't educated. All because I had a slight accent, not like the Kentucky-fried in the video above. Saturday Night Live wants you to laugh, but could it at least try being funny? The dumb Southerner is a bit played out at this point.
