Picking on the Christians for humor isn't funny

This will be the most controversial column I have ever written, but it will be what I feel and what I believe is true. I wrote a column on sensitivity a few weeks back and I told America to relax a bit. What I did not realize was there is a lot more to this sensitivity issue than what meets the eye.


Last week Larry David, yes the Larry David from Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm fame, decided it would be funny to urinate on a portrait of Jesus to make it look like he was crying. I watched the scene a few times and I did not find it funny because it was not a funny scene. The more I thought about it the more my mind raced. Larry David is Jewish and if a scene in a television show desecrated a synagogue the public outcry would be ten times the amount it is now for David’s scene.

Why is it alright to desecrate a Christian symbol but not the reverse in the name of comedy? It is accepted that making fun of Italians or the Irish or even blondes is ok, but doing the same to African Americans or Jewish people is not? Neither should be acceptable ever. Growing up with ethnic jokes was a norm for many individuals. Sensitivity and letting things roll off your back is one thing, outright being insensitive is another.

Being insensitive and wrapping it up as a comedy is something that does not mask the underlining meaning. It is wrong to hurt someone’s feelings by poking fun of the color of their skin, their religious beliefs or their physical appearance. Society seems to let certain jokes and comments slide when they are made at the more dominant races or people of Christian faith. I wonder how we allow this. Society generally police’s itself when it comes to this issue. When a television commentator, athlete or Hollywood actor makes a derogatory comment to a minority group, the news media generally crucifies the individual. When it is the reverse, the news media turns a blind eye.

I heard a professional basketball player who is an African American say that white athletes never get any criticism because they are above everything in the eyes of the fans. I do not see this at all. I see that most fans are color blind when they are rooting for their favorite teams. We thankfully have left the days where African American athletes feel like second class athletes.

We as a nation need and should put all of the negativity behind us. Whether I like his politics or not, I am so proud as an American that we elected a person who is half-African American as our President. We need to elect more leaders from diverse backgrounds.

I am also extremely proud as an American to say that whether it is in athletics, politics, or in the workplace, we are turning the tide and making racism and politics a thing of the past.

We still have a long way to go and the Larry David’s of the world just bring back insensitivity to new levels and call it humor. If Larry David had any real stones he would have done the pissing thing to the Koran. Then he would have gotten a reaction.

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