Back in 1984 Eddie Murphy did a skit on Saturday Night Live where he pretended to be a white person--finding out that when blacks aren't around, whites act very differently--giving each other stuff for free, partying and serving drinks on the bus and not requiring collateral or even identification to get loans at the bank. The skit is still considered one of the funniest things ever aired on SNL--and it cemented Murphy's status as one of the leading "cutting edge comedians" of his era.
Now fast forward to the Super Bowl broadcast of 2013 and the Volkswagen ad featuring a white businessman whose Beetle makes his so happy that he speaks at all times like a care-free, Jamaican Rastafarian. After a ride in his Bug, the guy's Asian co-worker and his WASP boss adopt the accent as well.
That ad is coming under attack from the liberals at the New York Times and NBC News for being "blatantly racist". "Blackface with Voices" is how a Times reporter put it. About the only phrase missing from the Today Show segment was "You know, Volkswagen used to make cars for Hilter--so they have a history of racial insensitivitiy here." It should probably be pointed out here that since NBC isn't broadcasting this year's Super Bowl, they will not be getting a single penny of the EIGHT-MILLION DOLLARS VW is paying CBS to air that aid during the game. I wonder how many Today Show segments would be dedicated to it if Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth were calling the action on Sunday.
Anyway, for you white guys scoring along at home, it is still not okay for us to make jokes about Blacks, Asians, Jamaicans, Muslims, Women, Jews, Gays, Lesbians, Bi-Sexuals, Transgenders, Short People, The Handicapped, Jehovah's Witnesses, Blondes, President Obama, Hillary Clinton, Welfare Recipients or Anyone Who Considers Attempts at Humor to be Bullying in School or the Workplace. That pretty much leaves Catholic Priests, Mormon Presidential Candidates and Republicans as acceptable targets of humor nowadays. No wonder everyone is in a bad mood--not enough humor in our society anymore.
Oh, and can someone find Dave Chappelle so we can have something "racially insensitive"--I mean "funny", since he is Black--on TV again?
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