Everybody knows how famous racist jokes are. Anybody who watches stand-up comedy would immediately recognize Russel Peters for his racist jokes. They might be at times be humiliating (for the humiliated) but are funny as hell. What about Maz Jobrani, the Iranian- American stand up comedian? Most of my knowledge about the middle-east comes from him. Come down. You don't need to judge its veracity. He is perhaps the most truthful Iranian (no one else from Iranian descent would agree they had a nuclear program). The entertainment world is too full of racist comedians and I have no need to list them to prove it.
While most racist jokes define people as stereotypes, they also show an identity as part of a culture. What are we Indians proud of? Of brains? Being capable of working 12 hours a day? Even a joke makes a point. These comedians are also the most truthful and fearless critics of people. Who would tell you how bad you are at faking the accent or why the world needs to get out of its stereotypical description of terrorists? I see these guys as mediators promoting friendship and tolerance amongst people of different countries across the world. They act as links between cultures and show us the way we are, instead of the way we are perceived. When we are free and confident about our identity and in the same way learn to accept people of other cultures with different traits, there will be no instances of racist attacks or communal ill-will.
I love being seen as an Indian and confidently agree to it when someone points out to my Indian traits. When ordering in a restaurant in Malaysia and the waiter tells me that particular item is spicy, I always loved to say, "Bring it on! I am from India".
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