When the people gripe about political correctness (ignoring that its history), they ignore a nasty underlying truth.
The Daily Show indulges in some racial stereotypes:
“Seedy Gonzales,” yeh.
“If Alberto Gonzales is guilty, then we are all Mexicans,” mocks Aasif Mandvi, a man I find very funny, usually. He ridicules a stance that was never taken—that Gonzales is being targeted because of his Mexicanness. And to watch Mandvi be the one positioned as Expert on Gonzo’s use of the “race card” feels like an old, lazy racist trick.
and Dan Riehl dips deep into same putrid bucket:
TBogg this morning treated us to a sampling of the Dan Riehl brand of humor
…
Har de har har. Didja catch that? Huh? Wink wink nudge nudge:
- “ringing the taco bell”"learn to read and comprehend the news”"Were his parents illegal immigrants?”
“a water boy”
Now, Matt Ortega himself is nice and civil about all this. He responds to the argument on its ostensible merits
The idea that one’s race presents a valid front for criticism and satire in and of itself is, to be kind, less than appealing. What is revealing is that by using race as a means of critique, one can dig deep into the uglier parts of the audience’s psyche. As Nezua notes:
No, there has been no cause to draw focus to Alberto’s Mexicanness. Until now, when he is caught breaking the law. Why am I not surprised.
This is all a means of distancing. To the administration and its supporters Gonzales was “one of us”, until he became politically risky. More accurately, until he became the go to scapegoat for this administration’s reckless disregard for the law, and it’s position on torture. Using the Attorney General’s race is just the latest bit of ugliness to come out of this administration.
The racial jokes and stereotyping that have become part of the soap opera legitimize and further the administration’s transparent dodge. We’re left staring at a guilty man of Mexican descent, when we should look beyond a powerful yet complicit Attorney General to the source of his power and motivation for his crimes.
When racism is left standing, we are left with its deadly effect: Distraction. No wonder it is a favorite tool of the politically ruthless.
Filed under: Daily Show, Free Speech, Gonzales, Politics, Racism, Rhetoric
