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Friday, March 28, 2014

On Satire & Real Implications of Racism

Hello Angry People of the Internet (But Mostly Twitter),
As an Asian-identifying person, after reading the Tweet and then watching the Colbert Report clip (skip to around 4:50) I agree that the racist quote could be taken out of context. HOWEVER, the Ching-Chong character is clearly a satire and meant to be very offensive.
I see a lot of people asking DEFINE SATIRE IF YOU WANT TO DEFEND RACIST STEPHEN COLBERT SO BAD HERE IS MY PITCHFORK CANCEL HIM NOW, etc. Here are the basics.
Satire is taking a normalized, mostly unquestioned social situation (keeping the name Washington Redskins despite it being a slur against Native American people) and applying it to another social situation in which it seems out of place, all in order to highlight the reality of such a construct outside of the socially-normalized sphere (if the Redskins Original Americans Foundation is politically correct, shouldn’t the Ching-Chong Ding-Dong Foundation for Sensitivity to Orientals or Whatever be as well?).
It’s hyperbole, it’s dark comedy, and most importantly, it is rooted in reality. (And not irony, goddammit.)
The flippancy of the Colbert character (CHARACTER, this is a satirist television show and not the man himself) toward one specific ethnic group resulted in outcry, so shouldn't the same reaction also be happening in relation to the Redskins? Shouldn't this anger be directed to the fact that Daniel Snyder refuses to change the name, and buries himself in deeper by establishing a foundation for the marginalized group while still utilizing the slur in its very title? I’m not completely sure if the foundation could be qualified as genuine, sustainable assistance, but I do appreciate that they’re doing something at all.
Could the The Colbert Show have tweeted something more tasteful? Of course. On a platform where you can’t rely on context, how did they not expect this to enrage people?
At first glance I was a bit hurt, and even watching the clip can only assuage that so far. However, I still believe that satire can be useful. I would have preferred if the point could have been made without the expense of my (in America, still minority and still facing real racism) ethnicity. I don’t know how to solve this situation exactly, make a satire with power-majority white people as the focus? The Cracka’-Lackin’ Club for Suburban Youths or Whatever? (Disclaimer: SATIRE.)
Now that we all know what satire is and that racism should be unacceptable, I can only ask now to GO AFTER THE REAL RACISTS. And maybe read A Modest Proposal. As for The Colbert Show, perhaps it is time to lose that specific character in the future. I would appreciate it, at least.
But most of all, BE CIVIL when engaging in debates. We can only have progressive dialogue when there aren’t rape/death threats being thrown around, ya feel? Be kind, friends.