While hosting the season finale of SNL, Louis C.K. delivered some pretty daring jokes about racism in America. The routine ignited an uproar on social media, but Glenn thinks he made great points about the mindset of most Americans.
"So I have mild racism. It's benign. It's not aggressive. It's not even negative racism. It's mild racism. I'll give you an example. Like if I go to a pizza place I've never been to before and it's run by four black women, I'll go like, hmm. See, it's very mild. It's extremely mild racism," Louis C.K. joked.
"I heard that and I thought, that's who most Americans are," Glenn said.
He explained that most Americans probably pick up on cues and situations like what Louis described, where he can't help but recognize the race and gender of the people he encounters. And when that doesn't match his preconceived notion of what to expect, he recognizes it.
"You notice, but that's it," Glenn said. "And we move on. It's not a negative. It's just a notice."
C.K. also described the mild racism he might have when he sees a teenager walking around in a hooded sweatshirt, and how he feels, for a moment, different about the person based on their skin color.
"Here's another example," C.K. said. "If I'm at a gas station late at night and a young man comes in wearing a hooded sweatshirt. If he's white, I'll think, oh, he's an athlete. If he's black, unless he has a big smile on his face, then I become mildly racist, and this is what I think, 'That's fine. Everything is fine. Nothing is going to happen.' No, of course, I'm fine. Why did I even think that for a second? Just because I was raised in the '70s. The '70s were a very different time."
Glenn said that everyone should be having conversations like this, because it shows a willingness and desire to move on from the mild racism that many people share.
"This is who we are as a nation. You're like, 'no, I don't want to think that way. There's nothing wrong here. What am I thinking?' That's good," Glenn said.
"Tt's that type of stuff that he does that separates him from so many other comedians. He's so honest and so good at delivering that kind of material," Stu said.
After running through more audio of the routine, including a controversial bit about child molestation, Glenn couldn't help but praise C.K. for his mastery of the craft.
"That had been crafted over a very long time. You saw a master craftsman at work on Saturday Night Live," Glenn said.