Poking fun at ...

[Joe Varo]

On Thu, 20 Feb 1997 LBernier at tribune.com wrote:

>      The difference is whether the group whose accent you are ridiculing is 
>      perceived as an oppressed minority or has gained a foothold in 
>      society.  Thus, poking fun at African-American dialect = BAD (unless 
>      the person poking is also an A-A) and exaggerating a 
>      Norwegian-American's accent (a la Fargo) is just fine, no matter who's 
>      doing the jesting.
>      
>      Now, what does one make of (Latino, oppressed minority) John Leguizamo 
>      doing a Rabbi schtick?  What if Lequizamo was black?
>      
>      [...]

Excellent point.  Who's allowed to be funny anymore?  In what ways are you
allowed to be funny?

If oppressed-minority-comedians are allowed to poke fun at anything they
want but non-oppressed-minority-comedians are only allowed to poke fun at
their own "kind", won't this just foster more and more segregation and
resentment?

Just because you find a characteristic or idiosyncracy (sp?) of a group of
people other than your own rather humorous or odd, doesn't mean you want
to kill them off.

I wonder what Lenny Bruce would be saying about this.


Joe