Immigrant Or Real American?
December 16, 2016 3:47 PM   Subscribe

 
What a great way to make the point.
posted by AFABulous at 4:11 PM on December 16, 2016 [1 favorite]


What was his prize?!?!?!
posted by mr_roboto at 4:25 PM on December 16, 2016 [2 favorites]


That T-shirt is superb. I want one.
posted by Faintdreams at 4:31 PM on December 16, 2016


ok it took a reeeeally long time to get going but the payoff was pretty funny....
posted by supermedusa at 4:37 PM on December 16, 2016 [2 favorites]


Cute.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 4:58 PM on December 16, 2016


Love this and I am usually adverse to video clips. I'm glad I watched it - thanks for posting.

I have ideas now for next set of mutterings from anti-immigrant family members . . .

"Not a Real American like the Unibomber," I shall state agreeably.
posted by hilaryjade at 5:07 PM on December 16, 2016 [2 favorites]


GLORIOUS.
posted by Going To Maine at 5:12 PM on December 16, 2016 [1 favorite]


Oh man, this is terrible -- the current cultural climate is making me have a modicum of respect for Billy Eichner?!? This is right near my allergist -- he sniped people all summer in this general area and I was ALWAYS avoiding the film crews (to be fair, I got snippy with a production assistant from Elementary recently, but it's not like I WANT to have three fucking shots in my arms every two weeks, I have to! And their TV show was blocking the doc's office). Anyway, yes... Charles Manson was born a US citizen and loads of people who weren't were far more important to our development as a country. It's a good way to illustrate the point.
posted by palindromeisnotapalindrome at 6:05 PM on December 16, 2016


Billy is awesome. We're watching the Aziz episode right now and the James Franco quiz KNOCKS IT OUT
posted by robocop is bleeding at 6:06 PM on December 16, 2016


I've never seen this guy or heard of him before, but I had 3 min to kill and was at a computer with headphones already plugged in, so I gave it a shot.

Is this funny to people? Am I that out of touch? Am I the only one whose internal monologue while watching this came in the form of the voice of Felix Biederman?
posted by Joseph Gurl at 6:32 PM on December 16, 2016


I'd only been sort of aware of him (he's been posted about a couple of times here already), but he was on Fresh Air earlier this week, and the interview began with this clip, and ended up being really fascinating.
posted by hippybear at 6:38 PM on December 16, 2016 [1 favorite]


I haven't been as big on Billy On The Street, but his Hulu show with Julie Klausner, Difficult People, was excellent.
posted by jason_steakums at 7:13 PM on December 16, 2016 [4 favorites]




Wrong.

For one, there are a few folks named here who are NOT immigrants, but internationally famous people who have performed in the USA.

For another, for those who are actual immigrants? The answer is still wrong.

The correct answer for every naturalized citizen and those who aspire to be one, is "ACTUAL AMERICAN"

Albert Einstein? ACTUAL AMERICAN.

The guy with a Russian accent so thick you can cut it with a knife and smear smoked-fish/cream-cheese spread on it and also there is a pickle, and he just bought a house in your town? ACTUAL AMERICAN.

Little old lady you met at the gas station who only speaks Portuguese and is angry you don't? ACTUAL AMERICAN.

Pakistani dude who you met while he was working at the Taco Bell, and then you meet him again in front of his own rug shop three years later? ACTUAL AMERICAN.

Andrew Lincoln? NOT AN ACTUAL AMERICAN.
posted by Slap*Happy at 7:45 PM on December 16, 2016 [6 favorites]


Little old lady you met at the gas station who only speaks Portuguese and is angry you don't? ACTUAL AMERICAN.

Does this woman exist?
posted by Going To Maine at 7:53 PM on December 16, 2016


Does this woman exist?

I see you've never been to Massachusetts' South Coast! This was in mind because it actually happened yesterday.
posted by Slap*Happy at 8:02 PM on December 16, 2016 [4 favorites]


In order for their to be real Americans America would have to be real. #wakeupsheeple
posted by bracems at 8:21 PM on December 16, 2016


I am an old straight guy, and I enjoy Billy on the Street, even when I have no clue who the celebrities he names are. He's funny.

Slap*Happy, I believe you're missing the point of calling all those people immigrants. Yes, some of them really are Americans, because they're citizens, but in the minds of the Trumpistas, they are all immigrants, which to them is a dirty word. Eisner is not himself a Trump fan, but he's gesturing at their delusions to make a point.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 5:05 AM on December 17, 2016 [5 favorites]


I love this and I love Billy Eichner. I dream of getting accosted for Billy on the Street every time I visit New York.
posted by banjo_and_the_pork at 5:59 AM on December 17, 2016


Slap*Happy, one can be an immigrant *and* an actual American. Your gas station lady may be naturalized, and is thus an American, but she still immigrated from Portugal (or Brazil). But I agree with Kirth Gerson that Billy is making the point that designating someone as a "Real" American is no indication of a person's value to society. The point would have been muddled if the "correct" answer was that all of the above were "Real Americans."
posted by AFABulous at 8:41 AM on December 17, 2016 [1 favorite]


Slap*Happy is correct. The question is "or". So in the case of an immigrant who's become a citizen, the answer is "Neither, they're both".
posted by humboldt32 at 8:48 AM on December 17, 2016 [2 favorites]


Billy's game, Billy's rules!
posted by armacy at 9:51 AM on December 17, 2016 [1 favorite]


B: You're single?

K: I'm dating.

B: What's his name?

K: Alex.

B: And what does he do?

K: He loves me.
OMG, ohemgee, cutest possible answer, Kevin + Alex = new OTP.
posted by maryr at 10:09 AM on December 17, 2016 [8 favorites]


Billy Eichner being consistently funny and using his particular brand of humor (which I recognize as an acquired taste) to make political points has made me forgive him for stealing a career that I once felt should have been mine. His game where he called out Eddie Murphy's homophobia when Murphywas awarded the Mark Twain prize (while dressed as Mark Twain) is legendary.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 12:20 PM on December 17, 2016 [2 favorites]


I ask this partly so you can all laugh at my obtuseness, but how did he know he was gay ?
posted by devious truculent and unreliable at 1:25 PM on December 17, 2016


The Gaydar is strong in that one. My wife is Jewish and has better Jewdar than me.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 1:27 PM on December 17, 2016


how did he know he was gay ?

Do you know many straight men who would wear that t-shirt?
posted by hippybear at 1:34 PM on December 17, 2016 [2 favorites]


I know some bi men who would - and could be dating a female Alex.
posted by jb at 6:26 PM on December 17, 2016


Right, but he used male pronouns, so Alex is a man.
posted by AFABulous at 7:56 PM on December 17, 2016


Do you know many straight men who would wear that t-shirt?

I’d wear that shirt, and I’m totes straight. It’s an upscale hipster / threadless tee, nothing more.
posted by Going To Maine at 9:31 PM on December 17, 2016 [1 favorite]


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