Racist Jokes

Just a Joke? A column in yesterday’s Sun raises the issue of whether it is possible to make jokes about race. What light can sociology shed on this controversial topic?

Here’s my own brief summary of Kelvin Mackenzie’s article:
“Kelvin Mackenzie defends David Jason’s joke about a Pakistani cloakroom attendant and says there was nothing at all racist about the joke. By the time the Muslim lobby had joined in Jason was forced into the preposterous position of apologising. MacKenzie wishes that somebody, anybody, would take on these bullies and tell them to get stuffed, or get a sense of humour, or both. Mohammed Shafiq of something called the Ramadhan Foundation — presumably if his whole family were piled into the kitchen it would be called a Shafiq jam (MacKenzie says no, he’s not apologising) — has the cheek to say: “Jason needs to be careful about what he says. He should have known better.” Actually, he doesn’t need to be careful. He shouldn’t take any notice of this rent-a-gob and media organisations, especially those dim and skint to**pots in radio, should not call him again for his views. They are not worth anything.”

So, what’s the sociological take on this?

Race and racism is defined in various ways in sociology and you’ll find there are some issues with the accuracy and helpfulness of the concept of race.

It seems to me that Mackenzie is wrong; so-called ‘jokes’ are in fact usually ridiculing other groups on the basis of characteristics they can do nothing to change. Such ‘joking’ often seems more like bullying and scapegoating than humour and a form of social control. It therefore brings up the issue of power and the way social identities are formed. Some people - such as Mackenzie - seem to think racism has to involve overt discrimination or perhaps even expressions of hatred or acts of violence. But racism is more subtle than this and applies just as much to systematic discrimination on the basis of a person’s ‘racial’ characteristics or membership of an ethnic group.

On the other hand, where and how we should draw the line. Should we also say Al Murray’s ‘Pub Landlord’ act is racist because he makes ‘fun’ of the French and the Germans? Is it possible to make jokes about people different to ourselves without crossing the line and insulting or denigrating them?