Opinion Editorials are posted and archived on JNonline.us. Editorial Humor's Briar Patch M any Jewish moviego- ers had a difficult time with Borat, the pseudo documentary about a Kazakh television reporter's journey through America. Some thought the film was hilarious; others laughed and felt guilty about it and still others walked out in anger. By any measure, Borat is fairly crude stuff, even though it is obvious that the intent of actor and writer, Sacha Baron Cohen, was to mock anti-Semitic attitudes. According to some accounts, the British-born Cohen is an observant Jew, although that may be a bit hard to recon- cile with some of the images that appear on the screen. What is clear, however, is that this isn't your grandfather's ethnic humor. It's a far cry from Fanny Brice and Eddie Cantor, poking gentle fun at Jewish foi- bles and accents. It's even a long way from the comedy of Myron Cohen and Jackie Mason. Borat sets out to be offen- sive and succeeds gloriously in this endeavor, while racking up record box-office grosses (an appropriate word) for a docu- mentary film. On the other hand, there are those among every ethnic and religious group who exist to be offended. Any slight, real or imagined, or an inadvertent remark is met with threats of boycotts and lawsuits. Their insistent calls for censorship should be resisted. But there is also a grow- ing awareness that this highly aggressive form of comedy does not come damage-free. Perceptions are often shaped through show business values, especially among the young, and a negative stereotype remains a negative stereotype no matter how many laughs it gets. The recent onstage implosion of comedian Michael Richards went well across any permissible line. But in terms of offensive language, it was no nastier than the material used by black come- dians, such as Chris Rock, on a regular basis. Some performers recognize this and have agreed to dial it down. They will drop the "N" word and the "F" word as well as a few more letters of the alphabet from their acts. They have come to recognize that it is just a cheap way to get laughs and does little to sharpen their comedic skills. In the hands of a master, such as Richard Pryor or Lenny Bruce, such language can illuminate the strange quirks of life in a bewildering world. But countless others have accomplished the same end while working clean. Groucho Marx's screen persona told us volumes about the role of the Jew as the perpetual outsider in language that never had to be bleeped, while Jack Benny took a Jewish stereotype and made his miserliness an endearing trait. Borat was a unique comic adventure. But we can hope that Cohen will use his enormous comic talents to take his audi- ence in other directions, too. Not defanged, perhaps, but less cor- rosive. ❑ Dry Bones REMEMBER WREN WE SAID THAT ISRAEL AND ITS ARAB NEIGHBORS WOULD NOT HAVE PEACE... lz.04 fbK 6 oval 1 POP41 OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS ?!! UNTIL THEY BOTH PACED A THREAT FROM A COMMON ENEMY?... Ow! eo n wice ow!! WELL THERE'S NOW AN IRANIAN AT THE DOOR! E-mail letters of no more DryBonesBlog.com than 150 words to: letters@thejewishnews.com . Reality Check The Livable City I t's starting to look as if Detroit finally got it right. At least, where downtown is concerned. After decades of building monuments — the RenCen, the People Mover, the casinos — it is the human scale that has restored life to the city's core. The skating rink at Campus Martius Park. The bars and res- taurants springing up around the stadiums. The lofts. The planned river walk between the Ambassador and Belle Isle bridges. After the first version of the RenCen was bungled, walled off from downtown and facing away from the river, General Motors has turned it around. You can actually see people enjoying themselves in the Winter Garden and two first- class restaurants have moved 22 December 28 - 2006 into the complex. I still don't think the casinos are much of a positive, except for those who own them. But the Greektown Casino seems, at least, to have reinvigorated its immediate area because it is embedded in the heart of downtown. The other two are off on the edge, along a freeway ramp. So much is coming together. Except for retail. I know there are several small businessmen in this community who have persevered down there, through bad times and good, and they should be applauded. But I will really believe in the comeback of downtown when I see a Target or a Gap or a Banana Republic opening there. One of the stops on the People Mover is called Cadillac Mall. The name is the last vestige of one of Coleman Young's big dreams: An indoor mall anchored by Hudson's at one end and a national retailer at the other. But Hudson's wouldn't commit without the second anchor store, and no one was inter- ested in coming to Detroit back then. I always thought a mall was unnecessary, a suburban intru- sion on an urban space. Part of the fun of a downtown is the spontaneity and sense of sur- prise in its streets, instead of the controlled environment of a mall. But the ultimate goal is still good. There is also the matter of expanding and renovating Cobo Hall to make it corn- petitive with other major convention centers. It will require continu- ation of a tax on hotels in the metro area; an invisible tax because most residents won't have to pay it. Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson won't sup- port it, though. A tax is a tax from his point of view, and one that doesn't directly benefit Oakland is a bad tax. Patterson has done a ter- rific job for the county and his record of responsible govern- ment is unassailable. But he can be maddeningly short- sighted. Turning Cobo into a national player for major conventions is another important link in downtown renewal. These conventions are not likely to choose Novi as an alternative so the metro area becomes the overall loser in the game. The benefits to Oakland County seem clear to me. Anything that adds to the health and livability of down- town Detroit strengthens the entire region in terms of tour- ism and attractiveness to busi- nesses looking to relocate. It also will be one more argument for the children of Oakland residents to remain in this area instead of moving to "a real city." For a lot of his constituents, that may be the best reason of all. Li George Cantor's e-mail address is gcantor614@aol.com .