I have an "acquaintance" who gets the biggest kick out of ethnic jokes. For anonymity sake, I'll call him "Tom". One that I received in my e-mail from Tom equated Muslim people with being terrorists, and ended with a playful romp of gunfire. Isn't that just a knee-slapper?
I could imagine this acquaintance reading this joke, with tears of laughter rolling down his face, or maybe it was a sly move to continue to promote harmful stereotypes that get in the way of any meaningful dialogue. In other words, better to sow division than encourage union.
I can hear this person chiding me for not having a sense of humor, for being too politically correct. "All you liberals," he would denounce, "we can't say anything anymore without getting in trouble!". I love that accusation, "You're just being too PC". It's a classic diversion technique for people too embarrassed or lazy to debate their points. When they can't think of something that would defend their ignorance, they trot out a label, hoping to make the accused defensive, and thereby changing the subject and the focus of the debate: which is, how do we treat our fellow citizens?
I wish that I could introduce this person to some of my students who are Muslim, who are Americans through and through, who are productive, positive citizens and working hard to get an education in families that are working hard to be productive for our society. After that introduction, I would then ask him or her "Which one of these students would you like to shoot?" or "Which one of their parents, who are working two full time jobs at minimum wage employers (which you don't even believe companies should be 'forced' to give a minimum wage) just to provide a roof over their heads and food on the table, are you planning to shoot ... because apparently, in your eyes, they are all terrorists."
And then he might try to blabber his way out of that by suggesting that I'm supporting terrorists by defending their action and how I'm now anti-American, and then his voice turns into the trumpet lady from the Peanuts cartoons for all of the sense he makes. But, his lack of humor is not what this post is about.
Something happened yesterday that brought back that joke to mind. It was the Binghamton shooting yesterday. Whatever the motives of the gunman (which we may never know), I couldn't help but equate this hateful humor with inspiring acts such as this. I couldn't help but associating the raving antics of Republicon right-winging mouthpieces who erupt bigoted garbage which inspires people to act heinously towards each other; the inspires xenophobic hatred of "the others"; that creates these walls of division just when society strives to be more inclusive of those around us.
This spewing xenophobic garbage simply needs to stop. It paints the citizens of our country as "Ugly Americans", a reputation around the world that we simply cannot afford to perpetuate. Unfortunately, the people forwarding those types of humor, professional, college educated people like Tom, just simply don't get it.
And by the way, after receiving that joke, I've asked "Tom" to stop e-mail me those, and explained why. His response? Silence.