So I Googled "Racist Mayor..."

...to try to find the article we read in class. Weirdly enough (but that surprisingly) that phrase had a lot of hits. And I mean a LOT of HITS. Many of them were articles about a mayor in Connecticut who said he would help the Hispanic population of his town by having tacos for dinner. And then, of course, there was the one we read in class, about the "rain dance" joke. I found another one concerning a debate over casinos in which a mayor in Michigan referred to a local tribal leader as "Chief Chicken Little" and said that he was being targeted with "bows and arrows."

Objectively, these jokes aren't really even funny. I mean, "bows and arrows?" Even I could think of something better than that. And there are far too many of them--too many instances of jokes gone awry. Clearly, people are not thinking before they speak. And I really don't care how old you are, or where you grew up, or when you grew up, or the fact that you've never grown up. A slur is a slur is a slur.

But aside from that, I'm not really sure what to think. I mean, I definitely oppose the use of racial slurs or racially-derived jokes. But I'm beginning to wonder if the immense amount of outcry in response to some of these comments are more helpful or more hurtful. Honestly, it kind of reminds me of PETA. PETA does great work--that's obvious. But sometimes their methods can be a bit questionable, such as using sex to push animal rights (the two are connected how?). These methods (and the fact that so few people actually understand the importance of the animal rights movement) can work to give PETA and all animal rights activists bad names. However, on the whole, I support the work they do and think anyone working for animal rights should support them as well. They have political power and they use it for the greater good. In the same way, activist groups who call out politicians, celebrities, etc, for using racially charged language or making racist jokes are doing a good thing. They are trying to end prejudice and using their power to call attention to comments that are just unacceptable. However, like PETA, I sometimes wonder if their methods are the best. They can make the rest of us working for social justice look crazy or as if we're just looking for a reason to pounce on someone.

On the other hand, there are always going to be people who believe that working for racial equality, or animal rights, or gender equality, are nuts and should focus their energies on a worthwhile cause. There are always going to be people who believe that racism is dead, so what's the point of activist groups? So maybe there's nothing wrong with being incensed. I know I am.