That's a wicked name.you could be like a Chinese superhero, man.Chinaman, Chinaman!...Got two chopsticks on his shirt, shooting noodles out of his wrist, catching bad guys with stale fortune cookies.(bop)
Russell Peters cracks me up. But even assuming the Indian-Canadian comedian fails to tickle your tummy, you've probably cracked a smile at a racial joke at some point in your perhaps otherwise stunningly stony-faced lifetime. That's right, I said racial joke. Whether it's racist is a matter to mull over. Luckily we have plenty of Peters' wit to work with.
"Who the hell uses an Indian slave? ...My people don't work that hard! Give us a calculator; we'll do your taxes, man." Is it racist if you're stereotyping a category you fall under, a group you belong to? For demonstration purposes, I cautiously opened this column with an Asian funny. In case you were wondering, my almond-shaped eyes are in fact splashed prominently beside it as a disclaimer: Don't hurt me! I subsist on noodles!
Despite the fact that I'm Korean, it's a simple reality that I'm more likely to get away with an isolated Chinaman joke than, for example, another Peters joke: "I grew up around black people, you don't scare me." Or this arguably brilliant description of white Canadian males: "When they talk to you, it looks like they can't control their head; it looks like they're part bobble-head when they say stuff to you." Not a smart maneuver-for a little Asian girl.
I know what you're thinking. You like noodles, too. More importantly, perhaps the joke about white Canadians didn't come off quite as inflammatory as the jokes pertaining to minority groups.
The facts are as follows: Russell Peters is Indian. Dave Chappelle is black. Both have been criticized for "racist" repertoires, but both have also enjoyed a wide and relatively diverse fan base. Now imagine if a white brother climbed up on stage and tried to bring down the house with a steady stream of ethnic punchlines, albeit mixed with a few jokes aimed at his own ancestral line. Conclusion: Racial jokes might not be racist, but the prerequisites for making them just might be.
That's not to say a particular pigmentation will keep you safe from public reaction should you decide to poke fun at a range of races that do not include your own. When in doubt, make fun of yourself first, second and last. Sprinkle in a few quality jokes about your mother and mother's mother just to be safe, and you'll be fine.
Or will you? Let's face it; when it comes to public reaction, context matters. For instance, how well do you know your audience? No skin hue will save you should you decide to crack loud jokes about "chinks" and "crackers" on a campus bus, for example-or publish a controversial quip in a prominent periodical. How prepared is your audience for your brand of laughs? People who pay to see Peters generally know what to expect and expect to enjoy. How offensive and potentially destructive is your humor? Some might argue all racial humor is damaging, but considering political climate and religious bylaws, there is admittedly a sizable distinction to be made between comments regarding Asian noodle superpowers and caricatures depicting the Prophet Muhammad as a terrorist.
Reaction depends on a number of complicated factors, but if history tells us anything, popular response may ultimately have little to do with satisfactorily determining what is racist and what is not, what is wrong and what is unobjectionable. In the end, whether the one-liner is deemed well-timed or inappropriate, innocuous or injurious by the masses, its status as a racial ha-ha vs. a racist no-no is determined by the wretchedly subjective intentions behind it.
Do race-based laughs fuel ignorance, perpetuate stereotypes and reflect lack of sensitivity? Or do they reveal the ludicrousness of color divisions and help bring largely unaddressed prejudices to the foreground? Everyone has an opinion and unique rationale behind it. If someone champions a cause where you see no fight, reassess your instinctive dismissal of their ostensibly frivolous claims. On the flip side, if a peer seems to turn a blind eye to what you view glaringly objectionable, consider perspective before hastily pulling racist! accusations from your arsenal.
Tolerance is a funny thing. We have none of it for what we view intolerant. And thus our tolerance is entirely dependent on the accuracy of what is too often a quick and too tidy judgment call.
Because sure, maybe I chuckle at mock Chinaman accents and you don't. But our visions of a hate-free world might fall closer on the opinion pole than you think.
Jane Chong is Trinity freshman. Her column runs every other Friday.
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