Are we becoming too racially sensitive?
Since when has it been considered inappropriate to play dress ups?
I am, of course, referring to much talked about ‘Hey Hey’ jive that ended in Australians being universally labelled racist and Darryl Somers giving an awkward and somewhat half-hearted apology.
To both my amazement and bemusement, a simple re-enacted red faces skit from Aussie television in the 90s became the most controversial issue in the world.
What made this performance even more heated was the wide variety of opinions that followed. Every second person was of the firm belief the skit was derogatory towards African-Americans. The other 50 per cent of the population thought the hoo-ha was just a storm in a teacup.
So what to make of the infamous sketch?
The thought of racism hadn’t occurred to me until Harry Connick Junior openly indicated the ‘Jackson Jive’ would be lucky to escape the studio alive in the United States.
‘Who cares?’ I originally thought. This isn’t America. And God bless Australia for our unorthodox, laidback outlook on life.
Little did I know, millions of Australians sitting in their living rooms agreed with Harry.
Let’s stop it right here.
I’m going to ask you a question. If an African-American tried to impersonate Ronald Reagan by dressing up in a suit, dying their hair grey and painting their face white, would they be considered racist?
How else should they pretend to be a white man? Perhaps they could leave their face unpainted? But then, hang on, that would be racist wouldn’t it?
As bumbling biologist Andrew Steyn from the Gods Must Be Crazy would say: “eh, eh, eh, eh, eh”.
Let’s flash back to the 1990s shall we. The sketch had the audience in hysterics. The ‘Jackson Jive’ was deemed so popular the group was crowned ‘Hey Hey’ red faces winner.
No one mentioned the word racism. No one thought of the skit as being racist.
So what has changed between now and then?
Is it the election of the United States’ first ever black President?
Was it the aggressive taunt between fallen Australian cricketer, Andrew Symonds, and Indian off-spinner Harbijahn Singh?
Are people scared of the severe punishments that await those who are taunted ‘racist’?
Or was the skit simply inappropriate and the rest of the world has matured while us backward Aussies have kept living in the past.
Some of the comments left by our American friends on the Sydney Morning Herald’s website last week raised an eyebrow or two.
To my surprise, quite a number of Americans were quick to label Australians as among the most racist people on earth. “Want proof?” One blogger wrote. “Just look at the way they continue to treat their indigenous population.”
The comment struck me as somewhat hypercritical. I’ll be the first to admit the way white Australians have treated the Aborigines since that fateful January day in 1788 is nothing short appalling. It’s a nasty mark that dims the beautiful country Australia really is.
But to hear this from an American was a little odd. This is the country that shipped Africans half way across the world to be slaves for more than 100 years.
A country where the divide between African-Americans and white Americans continues to cause serious angst.
A country where the Ku-Klux-Klan is still very much active.
A country where a little political party called the ‘Nazis’ still exist.
I don’t know.
If you ask me, we are becoming a little too ‘politically correct'. Maybe we should spend a more time learning to accept cultural differences than jumping at anything or anyone who mentions a different race, be it in a derogatory manner or not.
As I see it, the whole ‘Hey Hey’ saga was a storm in a teacup. In my opinion, the sketch was not meant to be derogatory. I do, however, feel for those who watched the skit and were left fuming. But what we really need to ask ourselves is, what were we enraged about?
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