“Who would’ve thought a means of communication limited to 140 characters would ever create misunderstanding?” – Stephen Colbert on Twitter
A truly brilliant satirist never blinks. Even when a bunch of mouthy dumbasses miss out on the joke and marshal the full weight and power of Twitter to rail and rattle against the perceived wrong, the brilliant satirist is thrilled because this indeed makes the joke even better.
You’ve heard the news: In response to NFL owner Dan Snyder forming the “Washington Redskins Original Americans Foundation” designed to ameliorate concerns over the racial offensiveness of his team’s name (the foundation itself sounding almost like a funny Onion parody already), Comedy Central’s Stephen Colbert launched his own fake “Ching Chong Ding Dong Foundation of Sensitivity to Orientals or Whatever” on The Colbert Report. Predictably, there was much outrage and harrumphing. Hashtag Cancel Colbert! I can’t prove it scientifically, but it seems like the crying over Colbert’s satire was louder than it’s ever been against Snyder. This is the world we live in.
Well, last night, Colbert responded for the first time to the hubbub by declaring defiantly “I’m still here!” He went on to say, however, “I’m not gonna lie. This was close. We almost lost me. I’m never gonna take me for granted ever again.”
And then Colbert satirically shuttered his fake satirical organization and satirically fired it’s only satirical employee. This is funny because, ironically Snyder’s ridiculous foundation charges ahead unscathed.
As the world, and especially the news media that reports on it, descends further into absurdity, we need more Colberts.
I’ve just spotted this one today. . . .
Besides being outside US, a non-US national, I am not following Colbert on Twitter or anything regarding the racist-sounding foundation’s name as part of the so-called parody. I guess, for some reason the Asian/Asian American community (and native American-related organizations) in US couldn’t make real impacts a la African American counterparts et al regardless of our third-party perception as to whether or not it’s racially offensive.
I personally think the joke is tasteless. But Colbert must have had some sort of Two Broke Girls’ (one of my favorite shows) nonsensical air because it’s relatively easier to shrug it off (and for some Asian Americans, I guess, to, well, “forgive” [those who simply find it funny regardless of their ethnic origins of course would say, there’s nothing to forgive]).
JPNS, sorry it took me so long to get to your comment.
I can’t (and wouldn’t) tell you not to be offended by what Colbert said, all I can try to do is clarify what I thought his intentions with the joke were. You obviously are free to agree or disagree with my interpretation.
I assume you know the story of the controversy of the name of the Redskins football team and the teams’ owner’s response which led to the Colbert satire?
On the surface, what Colbert said was offensive, but it was supposed to be. Out of context “Ching Chong Ding Dong Foundation of Sensitivity to Orientals or Whatever” should be offensive to everyone, Asian or non-Asian.. But that’s the point. A lot of people don’t see the word Redskin as being offensive but it’s just as outdated and bad as Ching Chong Ding Dong or Orientals (or whatever). Colbert’s satire was drawing a clear link between the two under the guise of comedy.
It’s true, Colbert could’ve used offensive terms for black people or Jews and made the same point and it’s also true he likely would’ve been taken off the air if he had. Unfairly in my mind, but nonetheless. It’s unfortunately it’s for some reason more OK to risk offending Asian Americans than it is African or Jewish Americans, but that’s a fact of life that Colbert himself is not responsible for.
The truth is, he mean only to offend people who cling to the idea that “Redskins” is a suitable name for a football team.