The Muslim comedy show last week was promoted as an event to “open hearts and minds.” I anticipated having a great time while being exposed to a culture I knew little about. The president of Creighton’s Muslim Student Association segued into the first comedic performance by promising that his introductory joke would be the last lame joke of the night, a promise that was soon broken.
I sat in the crowd with a friend as the comedian made light of his childhood as an Arabian-American growing up in Los Angeles. He spoke of the diversity of his multicultural surroundings and acknowledged that even though we — by “we” he meant Asian, white and Middle Eastern people — all came from different backgrounds, we could all agree on one thing. That one thing was the annoyance of dealing with the stereotypical, “ghetto” African-American woman known as Keisha, who works in customer service.
The crowd laughed nervously then erupted once the comedian told them it was okay to laugh because “they’re not here.” I sat stunned, and, oddly, I was ashamed. I looked to my friend and signaled to her that we should go because I was very uncomfortable. She talked me into staying for a bit longer, but we agreed to leave early.
Once again, the comedian talked about his childhood. I sat in the crowd, still uncomfortable but bearing it until the time came for me to leave the Hixon-Lied auditorium. The show once again became unexpectedly awkward as the comedian made another racial joke about the unpopularity of Asian pilots. I was appalled that the crowd roared with laughter, obviously enjoying his quips against other racial groups. I looked to my friend to see her response and against my instincts, I continued to sit
and listen.
After the comedian proceeded to make a joke likening all black men to “pedophiles and rapists,” I had had enough. My friend and I left the show. My emotions were a cocktail of shame, anger and disbelief. I held my head down as I walked out of the auditorium. For an event that was billed as a way to “build bridges of understanding” and remove stereotypes that Muslim individuals face, it was a huge disappointment that their way of accomplishing that was to promote stereotypes and disparaging remarks of other races.
After leaving the event and walking back to my dorm room, I realized I could not be content without letting my disapproval known to the Creighton community in some way. As I walked back to the Harper Center, I hoped that the comedian would have some sort of justification or lesson at the end of his set that would explain the jokes he made while I was there. Unfortunately, his set was over by the time I re-entered the auditorium. I saw him walking up the stairs from the first floor and heading to the ATM machine by the welcome desk. I decided that it wouldn’t be okay for me to approach him with my emotions on high. I would probably only fulfill more stereotypes for him. Instead I waited in the lobby contemplating what to do because letting it go was not an option.
As I paced back and forth, I saw two of my friends coming out of the auditorium where the show was still in progress. We walked back to our dorm and they informed me that more offensive jokes were said by the second comedian to perform.
Later that night, those of us who attended the comedy show had a discussion with two other friends who didn’t attend. Most of them agree with my outrage about what I had experienced that night. They brought up the fact that some black comedians make fun of white people all the time and no one finds it offensive, but the moment something is said about a minority, “all hell breaks loose.” They also said I was being “too sensitive.”
I honestly have no rebuttal for the first statement because it is true. I do believe minority comedians get a pass to “go in” on white people because of the complex historical relationship between minorities and whites. In fact, I have watched comedy shows where black or Asian comedians have made jokes about white people that white people may consider to be offensive. To be even more honest, I know I have laughed at some of these stereotypical white jokes.
However, I do have a rebuttal for the second statement regarding the issue of sensitivity. The racial jokes made at the comedy show sponsored by the Muslim Student Association were way out of line, especially for an event being hosted at a campus that prides itself on diversity and the acceptance of all people without regard for race, gender or capabilities. If it would have been held at an off-campus venue and advertised for what it really was, fine, have at your racial jokes. Secondly, the way this event was promoted was very misleading. I came to the event expecting to be introduced to a new culture, not to hear the all too familiar (and whack) jokes about Asian eyelids and ‘ghetto,’ scary black people.