I just saw a horrible commercial. Worse yet, it was a PSA. Even worse than that, it featured Wanda Sykes...noooooo! Has there ever been a less funny comedienne? Better yet, has there ever been a less funny comedienne that has managed to extend the shelf life of a horrible career by becoming a mouthpiece for some social issue? I would argue "no" for both of those questions. But Wanda Sykes's lousy acting and grating voice are not what prompted me to dust off my neglected blog. It was the message that her lousy acting and grating voice were trying to convey in her PSA that compelled me to action (such as it is). In the commercial, three teenage boys are sitting at a booth in a restaurant and laughing at the cheesy decor of the place. One of the kids points at a small statue of a Chef Boyardee-esque Italian cook and says "That's so gay!" Another kid responds with "that's really gay!" Enter washed-up comedienne. Upon hearing the offensive language of the boys, Wanda strides over to the booth and implores the young boys to "Please don't say that." "Don't say that something is gay when you mean that it is dumb or stupid...it's insulting." She further illustrates her point by using "sixteen year-old boy with a cheesy mustache" to describe something she thought was stupid. Well played Wanda, well played. I guess no one ever pointed out to Wanda that the word gay meant "in or showing a joyous mood" long before it was used to describe homosexuals. And yet, I don't see people in joyous moods telling Wanda "Please don't say gay when you mean someone is a homosexual...it's insulting." Maybe Christians should run a PSA in which they could tell Wanda "Please don't use the rainbow as a symbol for homosexuality, it's a sign of God's covenant to mankind and when you do that it's insulting." The point here is not whether you think homosexuality is right or wrong; rather, as soon as you have the speech police running around telling us what we can and cannot say, we lose our freedom of speech. Furthermore, get over it! Nowhere in the founding documents or current laws of this country does it say that we have the right to never be insulted or offended. Hey Wanda, language evolves, words and symbols get co opted by groups for various reasons and causes, if you don't like it...tough. Maybe you can construct some Orwellian world in which you decide what words can and cannot be used, but until then I guess you'll just have to see if your agent can book you for some more PSAs. Maybe next time you could film one on something that actually matters? When it comes to acting and comedy just take the advice you gave at the end of your PSA and "knock it off." We'll all be a little less insulted.