SNL comedian presents rare excuses live to Dan Crenshaw, new member of the Texas Congress

Saturday Night Live, still very nervous, made a rare apology last weekend. Distribution member Pete Davidson met with the newly-retired veteran and newly-elected Texas Congressman Dan Crenshaw. Their joint statement made it possible to cross the political divide in these polarized times and left everyone very impressed. But the most impressive moment came just days earlier, on election night, when Crenshaw answered a reporter's question about the joke and showed what a real emotional intelligence looked like.

It all started with a "Weekend Update" skit the Saturday before polling day, when Davidson did a segment called "First Impressions", in which he sighed for supposedly ugly candidates. Davidson likes to press buttons and put people uncomfortable with his comedy. It is therefore not surprising that many of his assessments may have shocked their targets. Take the Florida governor and (likely) senator elected Rick Scott. Davidson had this to say: "Looks like someone tried to get Bruce Willis out of a penis."

After a few more comments, a photo of Crenshaw, then a candidate, appeared. Crenshaw, a Navy SEAL who lost his right eye following an IED in Afghanistan on his third tour, wears a large black eye patch. Davidson said: "You may be surprised to learn that he is a Texas Congress candidate and not a hit in a porn movie." After laughing at his own joke, he added with a shrug, "I'm sorry, I know he's lost his eye to the war or something else," before continuing the routine.

SNL had to face intense criticism about the skit. Former White House press secretary Sean Spicer called for the dismissal of Davidson but also of long-time SNL producer Lorne Michaels. Even those who did not believe that Davidson should be fired (or perhaps by keel) thought the series should apologize to Crenshaw and wounded veterans around the world.

Crenshaw himself, however, was specifically do not asking for an apology. On election night, after his victory, a local TV reporter asked about the incident. "Seals are not offended," said Crenshaw. He went on to say that even though the comments may have been offensive, "Let's stop apologizing and firing people, let's just say comedy is funny, but let's be good people."

This first sentence – "Seals do not offend", puts the event in a perfect perspective. When you face death over and over again, when you have followed one of the most rigorous workouts and have worked in the most difficult conditions on the planet, when you are able to do things that the most people can not imagine. A tasteless little comedy of a sickly child of 24 years does not matter. Summarize them, we all have bigger problems to worry about.

Of course, this is not the first time that an episode of Saturday Night Live causes a widespread offense. SNL, in general, does not apologize, at least not on the airwaves and not in the usual way. When Sinead O 'Connor outraged many Catholics by tearing a photo of the pope, the series' response came in the form of a Joe Pesci monologue criticizing O' Connor and saying that he was not sure what he was saying. it was his series, he would have given it "slap." He then showed the public the photo, glued. Similarly, when Larry David was crammed with jokes about finding women in a concentration camp, he later came back under the alias of Bernie Sanders in a fake commercial, blaming actors who did not care. 'Holocaust and saying that they should' rot in hell '.

In no-one's memory, SNL had never made any simple excuses during the show. But that changed last Saturday when Davidson appeared again in "Weekend Update". "Which, I'm sure, was a huge shock for people who know me, I made a bad choice last week," he said. "On behalf of the show and myself, I apologize." He continued: "This man is a war hero and he deserves all the respect of the world, and if it has had positive results, it may be that for a day the left and the right have finally come to an agreement. to hear something – that I'm a dick! "

"You think?" said Crenshaw, a surprise guest, suddenly coming in from Davidson's right. Davidson apologized directly to Crenshaw, who accepted the apology. Davidson's ex-fiancée, Ariana Grande, was joked about, and Crenshaw got a little fussed by making several jokes inspired by Davidson's appearance.

And then Crenshaw became serious. There was much to learn from the incident, he said, not only that the left and right can sometimes hear, but also that Americans can forgive each other and see each other. He then mentioned Veterans Day the next day. "It's a good time for every American to get in touch with a veteran, maybe even" Thank you for your service. "But," he continued, "I would actually encourage you to say something else," said a veteran, "never forget." When you say "never forget" to a veteran, you're under- hear that as an American, you rub shoulders with him, not separated by an imaginary barrier between civilians and veterans, but linked together as grateful compatriots. "

You also let them know that you will never forget those past and present that have given their effort, their health, or their lives, Crenshaw said. That included Davidson's father, a firefighter who died at the Marriott World Trade Center on September 11th – the loss seriously injured Davidson. So, Crenshaw says, turning to Davidson, "I'm just going to say, Pete, never forget."

"Never forget," Davidson replied, shaking Crenshaw's hand. Then he turned to the audience and shouted, "And it comes from both of us!"

It was a rare moment of serious emotion in a show that prides itself on avoiding such a situation. And an equally rare example of what we can accomplish when we put aside indignation and posture and treat each other with compassion, good will and the feeling that after all, we are really all in the same boat.