Dear everyone: Stop sending your colleagues racist Obama jokes
Walt Baker, photo courtesy of Nashville Scene
Walt Baker, a high-profile hospital group CEO in Tennessee is the latest to come under fire – and weirdly, to seem shocked that he is – for sending a “joke” e-mail to colleagues comparing First Lady Michelle Obama to the chimpanzee Cheeta from Tarzan. The e-mail included photos of Obama and Cheeta, and a note from Walt Baker that no matter who you were – presumably Democrat, Republican, etc. – “this is funny.”
Except it’s not. Obviously. And a lot of people didn’t think so, according to the Nashville Scene news blog. In a follow-up e-mail once the fallout started, Baker walked back those “everyone will find this funny” sentiments:
“Thursday night I spontaneously forwarded — to a small group of people — an email that had been sent to me as political humor. As I forwarded it, I did not think or consider its implications, other than that it was political humor. I am saddened that anyone misinterpreted the sentiments behind the email. I deeply apologize to anyone who is offended by this action. I hope that those who know me realize that the message was not intended to be malicious or hurtful in any way and can find it in their hearts to forgive me.”
The incident is reminiscent of one in which the mayor of Los Alamitos in Southern California resigned after sending an e-mail showing a photo of a watermelon patch in front of the White House not long after President Obama took office. The e-mail included the note “No Easter egg hunt this year.”
It also touches on what my fellow True/Slanter Elie Mystal and I debated last week – and what Elie thinks is an inability of white people to make jokes about race without being, you know, openly racist. One might suggest that e-mail stunts like these only proves Elie’s point. But I’d say that it’s not so much that white people make racist jokes about race; it’s that racist people make racist jokes about race. And there’s a difference.
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The lame, “It was a joke,” line is pathetic. Despite claiming to be all about personal responsibility, conservatives consistently prove they’re unwilling to own up to the true implications of what they say. If a person is going to tell a racist joke, fine, as long as he’s willing to step up and say, “Yeah it was racist, and I thought it was funny,” and look like the douchebag he is.
I’m just playing devil’s advocate here…
If people aren’t talking about race, it’s country of origin. Is it any less wrong to call a French person a frog or coward, or make fun of a Rabbi than it is to poke fun at the color of one’s skin? It gets even deeper when you consider all the fat jokes people make. In fact, I just read an article posted here about that topic…
Comparing “First Lady Michelle Obama to the chimpanzee Cheeta from Tarzan” only qualifies itself as hateful. Nobody was up in arms about racism against whites when Hillary Clinton was painted with devil eyes and horns. Hateful isn’t funny.
To quote the article: “…it’s that racist people make racist jokes about race. And there’s a difference.”
Call out ALL comics that joke about race: Chris Rock, Carlos Mencia, George Lopez.
…Or just laugh at ourselves because we find differences funny. Just don’t let that turn to hate. This “joke” was hate.
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