No, they are not. That is my point. I was defending my little joke, remember?
Did you ever see any of the pimp sketches on SNL, both Eddie Murphey's and the more recent one's? Now, why do they work, apart from the fact that blacks are doing them, so it alleviates some tension about them? Because they do not merely try to get a laugh out of a stereotype, but they use a stereotype to make clever jokes. Stereotypes may be offensive or not, depending on context. I am Jewish, and find the Linda Richman KaffeeKlatch skits, by Mike Myers, hilarious. Myers, who is of English descent (his father emigrated to Canada), makes fun of the bad teeth of the English, in "Austin Powers". He and someone else used to do a skit on SNL about Scottish soccer hooligans that was pretty funny. George Carlin, who is an Irish- American from Morningside Heights in Manhattan, used to make all kind of jokes about the Irish. Come on, people, grow up! Clinton may have made a gaffe, but at worst he insulted people by alluding to a stereotype. He did not appear to endorse a system of racial oppression......... |
