'We should all ask ourselves: When we laugh, who's hurting?'

'If Dave Chappelle is a genius, why does his comedy punch down on trans people?'

Dennis Doyle at USA Today

Dave Chappelle's comedy "too often reinforces the very prejudices it claims to poke fun at," says Dennis Doyle. Chappelle has "shifted his focus toward the LGBTQ+ community, especially transgender people." The "best comedy punches up — it challenges power, exposes hypocrisy and speaks truth." But "when it punches down, it can legitimize cruelty and reinforce systems of exclusion." Chappelle "insists he's just telling the truth. But truth without compassion can sound a lot like contempt."

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'Lagos is surrounded by water — so where are all the beaches?'

Aanu Adeoye at the Financial Times

As "anyone who has ever visited Nigeria knows, hardly anything comes easy," says Aanu Adeoye. Lagos has "washed its hands of managing beaches, leaving private investors to develop resorts with beachfront access that exclude all but the fairly well-off." In a "country with sky-high inflation and acute poverty, the beach has become one more form of entertainment that is prohibitively expensive." Lagos' "lack of free beaches illustrates the way in which the city continues to squeeze its poorer residents."

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'Texas floods teach us how to come together, to really love our neighbors'

Bea L. Hines at the Miami Herald

For "many who were directly affected by the flood" in Texas, these "post-flood days have been like waking up from a horrible nightmare," says Bea L. Hines. In the "aftermath of such tragedy, I am amazed at how fast we Americans can forget our politics and differences." Instead of "fighting among ourselves, people are fighting for a righteous and just cause — that of saving lives, giving comfort and simply loving our neighbors."

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'Bad brains'

James Kimmel Jr. at Slate

Revenge is an "act designed to inflict harm on someone because they've inflicted harm on us," says James Kimmel Jr. The "desire for revenge is the root motivation for almost all forms of human violence." What "what most of us really want is the other person's pain." Perpetrators of "violence almost always believe they're victims seeking justice," and "recent neuroscience discoveries reveal a chilling picture: Your brain on revenge looks like your brain on drugs."

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