“Racism:No laughing matter”. Response

“Racism:No laughing matter” is a blog post written by comedian Kate Smurthwaite . The title grabbed my attention, the post did not. I am sure she is far funnier as a comedian than she is capable and competent in her appraisal of this complex subject. See below for my reply which was too long to post as a comment.

I read the title of this blog post with glee, hoping to find something insightful, something funny from the point of view of a middle class feminist who knew her comedy. Something that would move me, enlighten me somehow. Make me laugh.

What I found however, was an article that made it very clear that you are white and middle class, but from your writing it struck me that there may be a possibility that you have had little or no
exposure to these sorts of issues?

You quote the MP Diane Abbot in your blog title as having said “Great blog!” Was she referring to this particular blog post when she wrote that?

I am a black middle class woman and artist who has experienced overt and tacit racism first hand and, who has examined the issue of race in  relation to icons through my work Please do not misunderstand me, I am not a “chip on shoulder” kind of girl. Far from it. I am talking not only from my own perspective but as somebody who works with a white middle class man as a manager, and as someone who is currently in a relationship with a white man from Italy who hardly had any exposure to anything remotely multicultural before he met me.

You called this post “Racism: No Laughing Matter”, yet you spent the best part of the introduction talking about sexism. You then go on to discuss Bernard Manning? Come on, he died in 2007. I am not sure when he would have been at his peak, but it certainly was not in recent times. Most reasonably intelligent people know that his comedy was just plain ignorant. How is talking about him relevant to your work as a comedian today?

What about white comedians like Bill Burr? A comedian who has written for and appeared in the  Chappelle show and talks openly about race. The Chappelle show if you don’t know, you really should get to know, is the show of the brilliant black comic Dave Chappelle. He examines race in an often hilarious and challenging way, which can leave you feeling distinctly uncomfortable.

What about Paul Mooney, an excellent comedy writer. He wrote for Richard Pryor and Dave Chappelle. Imagine, he did a regular skit on the Chappelle show called “Negrodamus”

Negrodamus in the show was the African American version of Nostradamus. As Negrodamus, Mooney ad-libbed the “answers to life’s most unsolvable mysteries such as “Why do white people love Wayne Brady?” (Answer: “Because Wayne Brady makes Bryant Gumbel look like Malcolm X.”)

Richard Pryor, a brilliantly funny and evocative man who raised race issues without causing offence…

What about Steven K Amos, black, gay and British who has had his own issues with race? Famously, members of the Royal family have been racially inappropriate, the latest being Prince Harry, saying off Amos,“you don’t sound black”. What? Never the less, Amos tackles issues of race and homophobia in a non offensive and funny way, he has no axe to grind. He is who he is, non confrontational and very funny.

What about Reginald D Hunter? He confronts issues regarding race that he feels important, FEARLESSLY. Part of that has been an attempt to reclaim the word “Nigga”. He uses the term in the titles of his shows, and – as a result – his show, Reginald D Hunter: “Pride & Prejudice & Niggas” attracted some criticism and the poster was banned from the London Underground due to the use of the word ‘Niggas’.

What about discussing if these things are appropriate or not? Does any one care? Are these appropriate questions? In the age of political correctness, so many white comedians are too afraid to talk about race for fear of being branded a racist. In fact, many seem incapable of doing so without coming across as such. It is a common view that part of Jim Davidson’s fall from grace was due to his derogatory interpretation of black people.

How come black comedians like Reginald D Hunter and Eddie Murphy, can talk openly about race, humorously observing the differences between the races, throw political correctness out of the window so that it is undeniably hilarious? Why cant white comedians do the same?

Do you know of any white British comedians that have confronted these issues in their routines that you could have referenced and therefore looked at this topic from your own experience/point of view and then opened up the floor to other people to discuss their experiences? If so, how are they perceived? Can it be funny? Is it funny? Should we even laugh at these serious issues? Make light of them. Comedy is supposed to do that though, – isn’t it?

I have personally witnessed a black comedian single out the only white woman in the audience to make fun of her “whiteness”. I did not find it remotely funny, thoroughly offensive, yet everyone around me was in stitches. The poor woman went bright red, but bravely she stayed and toughed out this “racial bullying”. What would have happened if the situation were reversed do you think?

Should we say double standards for some? So many things could have been discussed! Or maybe only a particular race/ethnic group has the right to “humorously poke fun” at his/her own group? Could that explain why you were so bland in your approach to writing about this topic?

Wikipedia defines racism as “a belief or ideology that all members of each racial group possess characteristics or abilities specific to that race, especially to distinguish it as being either superior or inferior to another racial group or racial groups.”

There is no doubt that it is good to highlight these issues with humour, however, one must not forget the underlying serious issues which separate societies through racism.

What about black on black racism? What about the much larger and serious issues of ethnic cleansing? In Rwanda, approximately 800,000  were killed in the ethnic cleansing of Tutsis  (mostly by the Hutus) during 1994. What about the  light skinned dark skinned debate in black communities? What about Asian discrimination against darker skinned Asians?

Conversely, what about the serious issues of white on white racism? Northern Ireland, Catholics and Protestants killing each other. Nazi Germany and the Jews… Do some Anglo-Saxons still distrust people of Irish, Polish, Portuguese, Italian, or Greek descent? Are these ethnicities considered truly “white” everywhere today? My partner’s mother is Dutch with blond hair and blue eyes and she experienced distrust and racism from the native Italians when she moved there after marrying an Italian man. Obviously, the above serious issues are “no laughing matter”, so does that fact, not grant them a place in your blog post?

All this from someone who is not in your field, just a casual observer! So I know I am just scratching the surface of how far you could have taken this.
Why did you not go “there?” Were you afraid?

If you are going to call a blog post “Racism: No Laughing Matter” at least have the balls to tackle the issues at hand FULLY! If you don’t understand them, well throw it open for debate! Invite people who know what they are talking about to come in and discuss, so that we can all learn something, break down some barriers and have a laugh! Is that not what comedy is supposed to be about?