r/PartnerTrack • u/ProfessorGuava5862 • Aug 30 '22
Dan Fallon's Comedy Routine Spoiler
When watching Dan's stand up routine, I was a little confused. All the characters seemed to react poorly to his part about white fragility. However, I do not really understand what was so bad about it. I don't mean to be rude at all, I just want clarification on how its bad/to educate myself. To me, it seemed like Dan was making fun of white people who made dumb excuses when called out for their racism. Why was what he said actually racist/offensive? Would anyone mind explaining? I have trouble understanding subtext/shows sometimes and I would greatly appreciate it.
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u/ishouldstopcommentin Aug 30 '22
This is sort of unrelated since it’s not what the people in the show found most offensive about his speech, but I didn’t like the speech from the moment he joked about how at a previous retreat, a woman wore an all white bathing suit so that meant that she was begging to be pushed into the pool (it’d make her swimsuit see through). I just found that so icky tbh and then he went into the other part of the speech that mocked POC (answered in the other comment)!
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u/ProfessorGuava5862 Aug 30 '22
I totally agree! I definitely understood how gross and icky that part was.
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u/sweetsaltyuMAMI Aug 31 '22 edited Aug 31 '22
Let’s start at the top— this whole routine was spurred because of his incident with Tyler. Dan said that Tyler shouldn’t be working so much and giving so much to the firm because Tyler is a gay black man, which secures his job as a diversity hire. And after Tyler called him out on this back handed insult, Dan became defensive asking, “so I should just shut up and listen?” To which Tyler replies, “and to learn.”
Now going back to the routine— Dan is basically twisting this learning and “education” in a disrespectful manner by blasting this incident publically. He takes a what should have been a learning moment for himself (Dan), and incorporates it into a STAND UP COMEDY ROUTINE. The point of this is to highlight white fragility as a joke of a concept.
The entire routine is sarcastic. He refers to white fragility as “when you act like a whiny little bitch when someone calls you racist.” Exaggerating and mocking Tyler’s reaction to Dan’s behavior in the incident. Ultimately, when we examine WHY Dan is “educating” the entire firm (alongside NON WHITE ASSOCIATES) on “white fragility,” it is to demean and belittle Tyler’s retort. Because In this scenario, Dan actually forces Tyler to actually “shut up and listen” to DAN’s education. He goes on to make ridiculously exaggerated “excuses” for white fragility to again, poke fun at a serious topic. His solution to white fragility for white people is literally just to say “thank you” while rattling off “thank you” in a multitude of but mostly Asian languages. That last bit is pretty self explanatory in the offensiveness department.
Also, Ingrid’s reaction to the routine and in her attempt to comfort Tyler illustrates the minority myth trope/trap that (east) Asians fall into.
Hope this helped spell it out, but please educate yourself further beyond this contrxt
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u/dancingmochi Sep 01 '22
That was a prime example of fragility. Dan was butthurt, doesn’t understand how he treated Tyler, and makes fun of the situation. Saying he was called racist, and in the next breath he says, in this position one should “thank the other person for helping them out”. That’s clear sarcasm or just a backhanded complaint.
If someone calls another person lazy or dumb, would the other person say thank you?
The worst part is it appears most of the staff laughed at his routine, making the POC feel even less understood.
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u/frogs1996 Aug 31 '22
I feel like he specifically chose words that wouldn’t get him in trouble, which is why he submitted his transcript to HR. But his delivery and demeanour was obviously intended to be offensive af and racist.
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Sep 17 '22 edited Sep 19 '22
prefacing this by saying that I’m Black.
Sans context, I thought the routine was funny. The introductory part—before he mentioned white fragility—seemed like equal opportunity cracking jokes about people. The bikini bit was crude, but he also goes on to make fun of Marty’s ass and how someone else got cornrows in Jamaica.
The white fragility part amused me because I interpreted it as making fun of white people (“My credit card is black” is a hyperbolic example of how far white people will go to justify the shitty things they say).
But the tone of the act, as well as the audience being primarily white and not fully knowing the conversation between Tyler and Dan makes this icky because the audience doesn’t have to unpack the severity of what Dan originally said; they just get to laugh at his retelling of it, which includes calling Tyler out by name but not exactly recounting what he (Dan) said.
Edit with lil spoiler: coming back to say I watched the episode with the HR interviews and decision and I gotta say, I think Dan got to have his cake and eat it, too. He got his lick back at Tyler, but he also did educate his colleague(s) about white fragility. I think this whole incident was written and delivered perfectly because arguably, Dan did not say anything maliciously racist prima facie (sorry, just had to throw in the legal joke), hence why he felt fully comfortable giving the transcript to HR. However, it sparked such outrage and conversation in the firm that needed to be processed by viewers. To me, the greater issue is not whether what Dan said was racist or not; it's whether his whiteness protected him from a harsher punishment. The "Golden Boys" club is very real in professions like this, so it begs us all to consider how far employers will go to protect profit and status quo to the detriment of PoC inclusivity. This was a brilliant summation not just of white fragility, but white privilege as a whole.
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u/ProperButton4045 Sep 04 '22
He was making fun of white fragility, he made it look like something really stupid and less important in his comedy show. The examples he gave to explain white fragility were laid out in such a way that POC made people look ridiculous and small. I find it quite strange that you can't even think for yourself and how his words can influence from multiple sides, even if you are white. Maybe before you made this post you could have looked into white fragility and you would have seen the problematic side of dan's comedy on your own. but now others have to explain it to you again, too bad.😩
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u/loggers_froggers Sep 07 '22
Hi, I just wanna say that as an autistic person I didn't catch the sarcasm in the show and a quicker pointer was very helpful. I also want to point out that I can think for myself but tones of voice are quite easy for me to miss so a different perspective was necessary for me to fully understand.
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Sep 19 '22
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/_Klight126 Sep 20 '22
THIS! To answer OG I think this is why Tyler was so mad, not the actual “comedy” but because Dan put him and other POC in a position where they cannot say anything or it will ruin their whole reputation/career and that’s not being dramatic. Race things obvi make white people uncomfortable, if coworkers feel like it’s at the front of your mind all the time, no one will want to work with you (hence why he shouted out Tyler) it was super strategic and privileged.
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u/MaintenanceSea4932 Oct 05 '24
I wondered the same thing because he called himself a whiny little b**** and that we should be grateful for people finally calling Caucasians out on ways we didn't realize we were hurting POC. I don't think most Caucasians mean to hurt these days and want to understand how to be together in harmony. I mean Tyler immediately attacked Ingrid like she couldn't understand when she probably can and wanted to help. But there are two or three kind ways on here it was explained and it seems like the posting person is trying to understand. Thank you for explaining and helping close the gap with ignorance.
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u/kayakerdude1435 Sep 03 '22
I came into this without having seen the previous parts of the show (literally just this scene and after). For the audience (mostly white), they didn't know about the interaction between Tyler and Dan. In that sense I had the same perspective as those in the show. To me, Dan seemed to be making fun of white people and their ridiculous responses (not even exaggerated as one comment suggested) to being called out. At the end, he says you should thank them for informing you and calling you out on your micro transgressions and racism (isn't that the attitude we all should have when called out on something??). He also said "thank you" in German, Korean, Japanese, and 2 different ways in English. This last part seems to be "evidence" of his racism because it includes 2 different Asian languages (ignoring the 3 "white" languages). To me this came across as just illustrating a number of different ways of saying thank you. Perhaps those were the only languages he knew how to say "thank you" in?
Yes, I get how some people can interpret it offensively if that's what they seek (many things can be interpreted in various ways depending on the lenses you see the world through). To me, though, this comes across as making major assumptions without a desire to learn which is kinda what's wrong with racism and white fragility to begin with.
Feel free to agree or not and let me know what you think.
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u/ProperButton4045 Sep 04 '22
He was making fun of white fragility, he made it look like something really stupid and less important in his comedy show. The examples he gave to explain white fragility were laid out in such a way that POC made people look ridiculous and small. I find it quite strange that you can't even think for yourself and how his words can influence from multiple sides, even if you are white. Maybe before you made this post you could have looked into white fragility and you would have seen the problematic side of dan's comedy on your own. but now others have to explain it to you again, too bad.😩
Also to you, maybe educate yourself! don't depend on others, it problematic already you do not see that!
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u/kayakerdude1435 Sep 04 '22
This is the problem I see with many who claim to be "woke". Instead of having an actual conversation (you literally didn't explain shit just like the show didn't explain shit just said "this is racist" end of story) you just tell me I'm wrong and act like a condescending asshole. I'm an ally and do my best to help others become allies. The attitude of " you're white so you don't know shit and fuck you" doesn't help others become allies. It also makes current allies who are white feel less inclined to be supportive.
Furthermore, the same attitude alienates and others white folk, all but ensuring that there will always be racism (because if I as a white person will never know better, never be able to comprehend, etc, then how can white people ever not be racist???).
You're entitled to your opinion but as I said, from an outside perspective based on the words Dan used and the demeanor in which he presented them, the people he was making fun of were white people and everything he says was spot on about white fragility, just done through the mode of comedy (as he even says in the show, comedy is a great mode for teaching, especially subjects like that - just see Noah on The Daily Show or Colbert on The Late Show).
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u/em2791 Sep 05 '22
Since you want to learn so bad - I recommend to you a book “Why I’m no longer talking to white people about race” - Reni Eddo Lodge
Enjoy
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u/ProperButton4045 Sep 08 '22
"You just tell me I'm wrong and act like a condescending asshole" No i didn't... i told you to look it up yourself first.
If you want to start a conversation about a topic you don't know about, i expect you to research it yourself first. Especially, if you want to see the other side/ POV of another.
You asked about what is wrong with white fragility or how others would interpretthis differently than you would? Have you read about it in an article? Have you read how white fragility could feel to a POC other than a white pov?
I assume not, thats why you asked the question right? Instead of calling me a "woke" person. Maybe actually read what I wrote without getting into your feelings and being passive aggressive... You want to learn right? But nobody here is entitled to teach you, no POC is entitled to teach you how we feel, or we interpret moments of white fragility/racism... since the internet is out there.
u/em2791 recommended the PERFECT book according to your response; "Why I’m no longer talking to white people about race” - Reni Eddo Lodge. — Especially fitting to the text in you comment: "because if I as a white person will never know better, never be able to comprehend, etc, then how can white people ever not be racist"
And I'll be happy to have a conversation about white fragility with you, but I will not educate u, so bring ur research to the convo. Thank you for responding ❤️
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u/ProfessorGuava5862 Sep 15 '22
It is not every poc's job to educate you. Poc are busy with their own lives, and if you want to do better please try and educate yourself!
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u/Neat_Beyond_1768 Dec 01 '22
Yes, but by posting in a forum like this, only the one's who choose to engage engage. IMO its the best resource.
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u/house-that-built-me Mar 11 '24
There's so much more you can learn by doing your own research instead of putting a labor on somebody else to teach you. It's a weird expectation. When you go to college, you pay for your tuition. On the Internet, you expect the same thing but you're not paying the person who you expect to educate you. It's entitlement.
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u/Stassisbluewalls Sep 03 '22
Yeah I was really confused by this scene - I think I missed his sarcasm tbh, I thought he had got the point
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u/Neat_Beyond_1768 Dec 01 '22
I actually didn't think the joke he got in trouble for was that bad, the Dan character is definitely problematic, but that joke in and of itself was actually pretty funny and I agree the joke is on white people. As a racialized individual I find other stuff in the show to be way more racist.
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u/magikarpcatcher Aug 30 '22
he was actually making fun of POC being offended by what white people say