A few weekends ago, I went to see Sammy Obeid at the Laugh Factory for a packed Sunday afternoon show. Sammy is a Lebanese, Palestinian, Syrian and Italian American comedian, known for political comedy and math jokes. I’ve been following and admiring his work for some time.
I’m an Iranian American professor at Northwestern University by day and a burgeoning comic by night. As universities and public institutions face growing pressures around speech, dissent and intellectual freedom, I’ve come to see Chicago’s comedy scene as one of the few remaining spaces for open and radical inquiry.
Comedy, at its best, functions as both joy and rebellion in times of authoritarianism.
Sammy’s visit to the Laugh Factory came during the ongoing war on Iran, a subject that has consumed many Iranian Americans emotionally and spiritually for months. As I suspected, Sammy didn’t pull any punches. He was sharp, fearless and relentless in his criticisms of the war, calling out what he saw as the absurdity and arrogance of yet another U.S.-Israeli act of aggression in the Middle East.
In comedy parlance, he murdered. Unfortunately, so does the Islamic Republic in Iran, which Sammy largely left untouched in his set. His jokes fell short of clearly naming what many Iranians experience as the primary source of their suffering.
L.A.-based Iranian American comedian Hormoz Rashidi captures this tension in one of his recent bits, comparing the idea of Israel “saving” Iran to a parent asking Jeffrey Epstein to save their child. Both options are grotesque. But when conditions become unbearable, people begin considering the unthinkable.
Part of me wanted Sammy to hold more of that complexity, or at least to direct some of his comedic fire toward Iran’s regime alongside Israel and the United States. He didn’t. And that’s perfectly OK. I still tip my hat to him. The work of the comedian, like the work of the artist and the scholar, is to make the hidden visible. To challenge all forms of power, especially the ones that are most uncomfortable to name.
As Chicagoans continue trying to make sense of the Iran conflict, I encourage people to support live comedy, especially Chicago’s local Iranian comedians. And there are many: Paul Farahvar, Sohrab Forouzesh, Chris Bader, Mehdi Amani, Milo Mack and others, including myself. I’m out there working through these ideas on stage as much as I am writing about them.
Sepehr Vakil, associate professor, Northwestern University School of Education and Social Policy
Mosque shooting reminder of youth-related gun violence
Two teenagers, ages 17 and 18, attacked a San Diego mosque Monday, killing three people. After fatally shooting the victims — Mansour Kaziha, Amin Abdullah and Nadir Awad — the teen killed themselves. These male teens reportedly wore body armor and were armed with handguns and rifles. After searching the homes where the teens lived with their families, authorities recovered more than 30 guns.
In many of the articles about this horrific incident, these teens are referred to as “gunmen.” But that term doesn’t seem to fit these youth.
It’s time for the media and others to come up with a more accurate term to describe the children and older teens who get access to guns and commit violence. After all, we were forced to come up with the term “school shooter.”
In thinking about what this new term should be, it’s good to remember that, thanks to the Republicans, the gun industry and the corrupt GOP Supreme Court, guns are the leading cause of death for children in America.
Past estimates that more than 5,000 youths — ages 12-24 — commit homicides with firearms every year and more than 3,400 young people — ages 10-24 — die by suicide using a gun. So, young children/youth and guns are definitely a thing in our America.
So maybe the term “gunchild” should be used to describe the youngest perpetrators. The Republicans and the gun industry would probably love this new term. They could run booster programs for expanding the number of gunchildren across the country. Eventually, Republicans can pass laws, giving every child born in America his or her very first gun. Of course, these days, Republicans would only want that perk for newborns who are white.
Barry Owen, Lake View
Make CTA’s acting president permanent leader
In a world filled with horrible leaders, the CTA’s Acting President Nora Leerhsen is a welcome exception.
Since she replaced Dorval Carter Jr. over a year ago, she has proven to be the type of person you want running the Chicago Transit Authority. She rides the system. She takes her kids on the CTA. She visits workers in the field. Every CTA employee I have talked to has had something good to say.
She navigated the CTA through the fiscal cliff, federal budget cuts and oversaw the start of the Red Line extension. She’s increased communications and transparency and passionately believes that fast, frequent, reliable and safe transit benefits Chicago area residents, even those who don’t take the bus or train.
Mayor Brandon Johnson — with weeks left before he has no say in who heads the transit agency — now wants to weigh and is pressing the CTA board to select a permanent president.
Chicagoans should remember Johnson’s transit judgment in 2024, when he nominated the Rev. Ira Acree to the Regional Transportation Authority board. Acree, pastor of the West Side’s Greater St. John Bible Church, withdrew his nomination after saying asinine things like, “as a man, I don’t have to use CTA. I’m fortunate to have a car.”
That is exactly the type of person we do not need in charge. We have a president in Washington who says things like that.
Leerhsen’s only fault is that she’s not buddies with the mayor. But transit riders don’t care whether the person fixing bus service checks the right political box. They care whether the bus comes.
The infusion of new funding from last year’s historic transit bill has given us the opportunity to drastically improve CTA service and safety. If that money is used well — with a real transit nerd at the helm — this will directly result in fewer cars on the road, less traffic, cleaner air and a stronger economy.
The last thing Chicago needs now is some politically connected placeholder who’s just there for the paycheck. We need someone who sees public transit as a public good. Make Nora Leerhsen the permanent president.
Cyrus Dowlatshahi, Bucktown
America: For the people? Or just the filthy rich?
Is our federal government still truly of, by, and for the people? Or is it for Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg? Is our economic policy focused on supporting and maintaining financial fairness for a vigorous middle class, or does it exist to turn billionaires into trillionaires?
One need only look at the moneyed class President Donald Trump rubs elbows with to know the answer.
Who was by his side at his 2024 inauguration? The very, very richest Americans, while experienced diplomats, governors, members of Congress and many other life-long public servants were conspicuously seated in a separate area, with a closed-circuit television.
And who did Trump take with him to China on a long, cozy Air Force One flight? Again, the same people now so conveniently poised to enrich themselves and the first family. It almost makes Jimmy Carter’s presidency look tragically naive as he took great care to isolate his modest peanut farm in a blind trust, so as to avoid any appearance of enriching himself from his policies.
To be clear, being rich is not a crime. It is a feature of the motivation inherent in our historically successful capitalist society. Most Americans would love to be financially safe and secure, by dint of hard work and persistence. However, we desperately need federal leadership to understand the increasing pressures on poor and middle-class families, and to legislate accordingly.
Many people are rightfully frightened about their financial futures — not just for the years ahead, but for next week’s groceries and next month’s mortgage.
Millions of Americans wanted a businessman president and voted accordingly. But government is not a business. Financial wisdom and prudence are quality traits and motives. But while capitalism has proven to be a beneficial system, “cowboy” and predatory capitalism” are not.
Government is not a toy for wealthy people vying for the biggest yacht. It is a public calling of dedicated service to citizens, requiring specific mindsets and expertise.
Americans need that kind of vision in our governmental infrastructure and organization. We need a reset. Especially in this semiquincentennial year. “Of, by, and for the people” must be the defining mission statement of our democracy, not merely a relic of our 250-year history.
Jane Artabasy, Glencoe
Trump’s unjust rewards
President Donald Trump settled his $10 million lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service in exchange for a nearly $1.8 billion fund to reward insurrectionists who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Will his generosity extend to the more than 140 police officers who were injured by those “patriots”? Will he grant compensation to the families of the four officers who died by suicide due to the post-traumatic stress disorder they suffered from the events on Jan. 6? Or does Trump’s largesse only extend to criminals?
Paul L. Newman, Merion Station, Pennsylvania
Toast for unionizing nurses
Yes, I’m a guy who enjoys a good party. I’m also a guy who’s been a patient at Rush University Medical Center. So, I was doubly interested to read the article by the Sun-Times’ Elvia Malagón on the successful effort of the Rush nurses to form a union.
I’ve seen firsthand the expertise, diligence, and just plain human kindness that the nurses exhibit every day. I hope that this union will result in even better care for patients and just compensation for the nurses.
Oh, yeah, I liked that the article pointed out that the nurses gathered at the West Loop’s Billy Goat Tavern to watch the union votes and passed around shots of Malort when victory was assured. The only downside to the celebration is that I didn’t happen to wander into the Billy Goat while the nurses were there.
Congratulations, nurses! I’ll raise a glass to your victory — though not with Malort — in absentia.
Jim Bruton, Avondale
Replacing Mussolini’s gift
Our city should replace the Balbo Monument given by fascist Benito Mussolini with a statue of a more deserving Italian or Italian American.
Some candidates to consider: Dante Alighieri; St. Francis of Assisi; Mother Frances Xavier Cabrini.; Enrico Fermi; Galileo Galilei; Luigi Galvani; Giuseppe Garibaldi; Antonio Gramsci; Fiorello La Guardia; Rita Levi-Montalcini; Salvador Luria; Giuseppe Verdi and Alessandro Volta.
Several of these people were persecuted by Mussolini’s fascist regime.
A. Christopher Wilson, West Rogers Park
Out-of-state Bears can’t keep Chicago name
If the Bears decide to play their home games in Indiana, the city of Chicago and the state of Illinois should request they drop “Chicago” from their name.
If they think Indiana is better for them, then don’t use Chicago in their name.
Warren Rodgers Jr., Orland Park
Beef with state leaders
It’s so nice to see our Illinois General Assembly hard at work passing legislation making the Italian beef our official state sandwich. I guess we have nothing more important to consider. Our tax dollars hard at work.
John Farrell, DeKalb
For Pete’s sake
If all that female White Sox fan said was “you suck,” then Pete Crow-Armstrong is every bit of the overrated player I think he is.
Jim Lanham, Joliet
Apology from Sox fans
Dear Pete Crow-Armstrong,
We’re sorry.
Signed, Real Sox fans
Pete Null, Glendale Heights