BH is a much better essayist than Cho

Just my oppinion. In general, I like Margaret Cho's humor. I laugh when she does her standup, and it makes me think about things a little differently, and to me those are the metrics for success for a stand up comic.

However... when I've heard her speak about subjects outside the realm of standup, she's not that great. The Gay Marriage essay that BH quotes below is typical. In her second paragraph, she attacks Marriage, and knocks it down, not with a rational argument but by turning it into a joke, and here is my problem with her style of commentary. She turns everything into a joke. There isn't really a rational argument against conventional marriage, she just makes fun of it, then declares her point made. Her point of view is just as valid as is anyones.

I heard this essay read on NPR before reading it, and I'm glad to have found it linked so I can read it. But on NPR, when Margaret Cho was reading it, it came accross as a comedy routine, not serious commentary. That's the lens through which I read it. Just my point of view, granted.

Margaret Cho is a great comic IMHO. And she has some decent points to make. But best essayist? Ok, she's a decent essayist. Pretty entertaining. Maybe even gifted. I did like her essy on 9/11. But BH rocks.

Vote for the BH.