Not Everyone Finds Charles Ramsey Hilarious

As the internet ODs on Charles Ramsey, some folks have avoided the easy laughs and sheep-like inclination to join the fray with the mass-mocking. Aisha Harris, writing for Slate, said it best:

 

Charles Ramsey, the man who helped rescue three Cleveland women presumed dead after going missing a decade ago, has become an instant Internet meme. It’s hardly surprising—the interviews he gave yesterday provide plenty of fodder for a viral video, including memorable soundbites (“I was eatin’ my McDonald’s”) and lots of enthusiastic gestures. But as Miles Klee and Connor Simpson have noted, Ramsey’s heroism is quickly being overshadowed by the public’s desire to laugh at and autotune his story, and that’s a shame. Ramsey has become the latest in a fairly recent trend of “hilarious” black neighbors, unwitting Internet celebrities whose appeal seems rooted in a “colorful” style that is always immediately recognizable as poor or working-class.

The full essay goes into deeper analysis of Ramsey's "predecessors" like Antoine Dodson and "Sweet Brown" why the public's mimicry and bemusement are troubling. Necessary words and well worth full read.

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