(Long Island, NY) A fake ad run on WBAB’s “Roger and JP” morning show has some Long Islanders up in arms over what they say is racist humor. An ad for “Wetback Steakhouse” brought angry calls to the Babylon radio station, resulting in the fake ad being pulled off the air.
Before we get any further here, let’s just agree for the record that the phrase “wetback” is ugly and mean, even if it’s not meant to be taken as such. Racism, while seemingly unavoidable everywhere on the globe, is sad and pathetic.
Now that we have stated the obvious (which must be done, for a scary majority of simple-minded Americans can’t understand anything unless you spell it out in huge letters ten-feet high) let’s move on to something not-quite-so-obvious; the confusion that many Americans have over racism.
I implore you, immigrants of all races, creeds, colors, and nationalities to take pity on us poor European whites. We are dumb and confuse easily. For example; the two fellas you hear coming down the street holler “n-word” at each other. Imagine the complete lack of preparedness for the fists that come crashing into some poor dopey white American’s face as he is told bodily that two men of the same racial background are free to call one another whatever they like, while outsiders may not. Remember, kids, Americans are the ones that need the letters ten feet high.
I also beg you, people of non-white European extraction everywhere, to have patience with us dummies when we see Comedy Central’s Mind Of Mencia, where a Hispanic comedian gets big laughs from people of all creeds and colors—laughs which come from Mencia’s unrepentant use of the phrases “beaners,” and, yes, “wetbacks.” One of the biggest laughs Mencia got on his program was from a fake ad for the non-existent movie “Wetback Mountain”. This sketch features Mencia with a giant size burrito, screaming, “I don’t know how to quit you!”
Mencia is the biggest headache for us dumb white Americans right now, because we can’t keep the rules straight. It’s ok to laugh at racist jokes on national television, apparently, but it’s not OK for the morning show crew at WBAB to do exactly what the Mind of Mencia program does week after week—with corporate sponsorship, too!
The confusion comes mostly from our parents, who taught us (or should have taught us) that racism is wrong. I spent my entire life believing that racist comments, jokes, symbols, and organizations should be recognized for the ignorant, brain dead horse hockey that they are. Then Mencia comes along with “Wetback Mountain” and everybody laughs.
Of course, there’s an option nobody’s really willing to talk about in public, especially with regards to the WBAB flap; that perhaps jokes about race are a way for many people to come to grips with things they don’t really understand all that well. After all, people joke at funerals, at divorce proceedings, after failing tests, and getting diagnosed with serious diseases. Why should these uncomfortable and inexperienced people be allowed to come to terms with situations and concepts that are foreign to them?
One of my biggest shocks was going to a record store and seeing a copy of Richard Pryor’s album entitled “Bicentennial Nigger”. I was flabbergasted until I realized that this record was made in the 1970s when people were both horrified by, and completely used to, the “n-word” in everyday life. Pryor used the term as a badge of pride, a way to shock, and as leverage to boost his comedy career by talking about whatever controversy was on his mind. Today, with gangsta-rappers using the word every other sentence, the shock value is gone. There’s no more mileage to be had from the word except as an indicator of just how dumb and ignorant someone might be in using it.
What’s the bottom line here? Hard to say. Are the same people complaining about WBAB’s fake ad sending letters of complaint to Comedy Central as well? It hardly seems possible that they are not, but I am willing to bet that at least some of them won’t bother. For some reason, it’s OK when it’s on cable TV, at least in the minds of some.
The race issue will never, ever go away. I hate to bring the bad news, but people will always be uncomfortable around things, situations, and people that they don’t understand, don’t know anything about. This is called human nature. The real question is, how do we increase the understanding and tolerance without going to a completely PC society where the most harsh thing anyone can say is “oh, poopie!”
It takes two. If us dumb, white Europeans are expected to be sensitive and understanding–which we SHOULD be–we should be getting some help from the other side of the issue. PLEASE stop using terms you don’t want dumb white people parroting back to you because they think it’s ok. Remember the ten-foot tall letters, my non-white non-European friends, remember the letters. We Europeans are so dumb that it took the National Guard to enforce the fledgling equal-opportunity education reforms in America. Equality is a right, but our feeble little minds need the greatest assistance in getting our heads around the idea that not only is Whitey NOT mighty, he is actually on the decline and will some day be in the minority in America. What goes around, comes around. You reap what you sow. Love thy neighbor, or at least give them the space to do their own thing. Et cetera.
In the meantime, could white Europeans please knock it off with the racist remarks? You’re making the rest of us look just as dumb as YOU. And for the record, although I identify myself as a dumb, white European, some of my close ancestors were Native Americans in Central Illinois. In spite of this, I don’t make jokes about hanging round the wigwam smoking the peace pipe. Mkay?
