Ending the year 2016 the way standup Alexander Babu suggests is a good idea. The stand-up comic from Chennai does not want to look at all the terrible things happening in the world. And so he begins his act by saying, “We should also look at the positive things happening in the world and appreciate them.”
Babu, who is Christian, does not want to look at the “religious intolerance” of minorities” because there is also the other extreme to consider – “minority appeasement”.
“Just because I’m a Christian I get appreciated for normal things. Alex, you’re a Christian but you read The Hindu, that’s amazing!”
The act is funny, of course, but the profiling that Babu calls out gently, without attributing malice, is real enough. For instance, a neighbourhood “uncle” calls him Joseph instead of Alex, and claims he got close enough.
Still, it’s a relief not to hear jokes about demonetisation or the Donald as 2016 winds down.
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