Bad Jokes & Ebonics

[Joe Varo]

On Wed, 19 Feb 1997, David Casseres wrote:

> As for Ebonics "jokes," they're just the latest in a long American 
> tradition of using exaggerated dialect to portray blacks as mentally 
> inferior.  In this context, they are unmistakably hate speech.

But doesn't a hell of a lot of humor use the exaggerated dialect of many
other ethnicities (southern American, Italian, British, German, even
Canadian)? Are we no longer allowed to use this for humorous or satiric
purpose? What about the Jeff Foxworthy "you know you're a redneck if..."
schtick? Is this "hate speech"? Or is it hate speech only when certain
groups are being lampooned?

This discussion is leading me to one of two conclusions: either I am in
fact a racist or a clueless naif.  And I don't care for either.

Joe