# David Jason wasn't being rascist **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 26, 2009, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-jason-wasnt-being-rascist/490852 "2009-03-26T11:31:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-jason-wasnt-being-rascist/490852/1 "2009-03-26T11:31:49Z")
Ok, so British actor David Jason (most famous for his role as Del Boy in _Only Fools and Horses_) is in all the papers today about an apparently rascist joke told during a radio interview. The joke was reported as: > [@David Jason](#): > > What do you call a Pakistani cloakroom attendant? > > Me hat, me coat. At first, I didn’t get the joke, but then realised it’s a play on the name “Mahatma”, and so he probably said something like “Mahatma coat”. Erm…so not particularly rascist. Apparently the main complaint about it, seems to be that some think it implies that Pakistanis are more likely to work in cloakrooms: > [@Mr Mohammed Shafiq](#): > > These are inappropriate remarks about a stereotype that may have held a little water in the 50’s and 60’s but is not true to today. > Many top jobs in this country are held by British Muslims, from lawyers, to doctors, politicians and businessmen. Unless there’s more to this situation than I realise (e.g. that Pakistanis used to be stereotyped as cloakroom attendants), I think he told a harmless joke. He’s an old man, and times have changed around him, and he just didn’t realise you can’t start a joke with “Have you heard the one about the [nationality or race]…”, no matter what the punchline. I feel sorry for him being hung out to dry like this. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-jason-wasnt-being-rascist/490852/2 "2009-03-26T12:05:14Z")
Moving thread from IMHO to Cafe Society. ---
**Author:** ![Petrobey\_Mavromihalis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bcef8e/32.png) [@Petrobey\_Mavromihalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Petrobey_Mavromihalis)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-jason-wasnt-being-rascist/490852/3 "2009-03-26T12:26:11Z")
> [@Mijin](#): > > I think he told a harmless joke. He’s an old man, and times have changed around him, and he just didn’t realise you can’t start a joke with “Have you heard the one about the [nationality or race]…”, no matter what the punchline. > > I feel sorry for him being hung out to dry like this. Bollocks, he’s the same age as my Dad, who would never have dreamt of using such a joke at any time in his life. It’s a “don’t these funny foreigners have funny names” kind of joke which reeks of parochialism and ignorance. It’s also not very funny. He should have known better. ---
**Author:** ![Svejk\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@Svejk\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Svejk_1)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-jason-wasnt-being-rascist/490852/4 "2009-03-26T12:35:11Z")
In the interest of fighting ignorance: there’s racism, there’s fascism, but no rascism. ---
**Author:** ![ColdPhoenix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6bbea6/32.png) [@ColdPhoenix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ColdPhoenix)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-jason-wasnt-being-rascist/490852/5 "2009-03-26T12:37:17Z")
> [@Petrobey\_Mavromihalis](#): > > Bollocks, he’s the same age as my Dad, who would never have dreamt of using such a joke at any time in his life. It’s a “don’t these funny foreigners have funny names” kind of joke which reeks of parochialism and ignorance. It’s also not very funny. He should have known better. Pfft! There are plenty of jokes about names. Using such names as: Ivanna Tinkle Amanda Screw Dick Burns etc etc I’m sure plenty of western people use jokes using names such as these all the time. Just because he happened to use a name from another ethnicity he got bashed. It’s not implying anything bad about another race, just playing on words. It shows a little ignorance as he said Pakistani instead of Indian. But not racism. My wife comes from the same state as Gandhi and didn’t find it racist in the slightest. ---
**Author:** ![Springtime\_for\_Spacers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Springtime\_for\_Spacers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Springtime_for_Spacers)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-jason-wasnt-being-rascist/490852/6 "2009-03-26T12:40:02Z")
It’s a pretty stupid joke. Mahatma isn’t a Pakistani name it’s an Indian/Tibetan (Hindu) _title_ meaning someone revered for their wisdom and compassion. There’s no connection between being Pakistani and being a cloakroom attendant either, that’s just there to get the hat and coat business in. It’s a storm in a teacup IMO, more ignorant than racist. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-jason-wasnt-being-rascist/490852/7 "2009-03-26T12:43:53Z")
It’s a small offense as such things go, but it’s still racist. Sucks for him, but he should have considered his audience. ---
**Author:** ![Petrobey\_Mavromihalis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bcef8e/32.png) [@Petrobey\_Mavromihalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Petrobey_Mavromihalis)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-jason-wasnt-being-rascist/490852/8 "2009-03-26T13:00:47Z")
> [@ColdPhoenix](#): > > Pfft! There are plenty of jokes about names. Using such names as: > > Ivanna Tinkle > Amanda Screw > Dick Burns > etc etc > > I’m sure plenty of western people use jokes using names such as these all the time. Not if they’re over six years old, they don’t. > [@](#): > > Just because he happened to use a name from another ethnicity he got bashed. It’s not implying anything bad about another race, just playing on words. But the play on words only works if you are pretty ignorant of the race in question. The joke is based on underlying racist assumptions and lack of knowledge. > [@](#): > > My wife comes from the same state as Gandhi and didn’t find it racist in the slightest. And I come from the same state as Jomo Kenyatta, and I did. How’s this relevant? ---
**Author:** ![Nom\_de\_Plume](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/85f322/32.png) [@Nom\_de\_Plume](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nom_de_Plume)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-jason-wasnt-being-rascist/490852/9 "2009-03-26T13:03:02Z")
> [@ColdPhoenix](#): > > Pfft! There are plenty of jokes about names. Using such names as: > > Ivanna Tinkle > Amanda Screw > Dick Burns > etc etc Don’t Forget: Wakya Pudoff ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-jason-wasnt-being-rascist/490852/10 "2009-03-26T13:03:27Z")
> [@Petrobey\_Mavromihalis](#): > > The joke is based on underlying racist assumptions What are the underlying racist assumptions? ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-jason-wasnt-being-rascist/490852/11 "2009-03-26T13:10:21Z")
> [@Springtime\_for\_Spacers](#): > > \Mahatma isn’t a Pakistani name it’s an Indian/Tibetan (Hindu) _title_ meaning someone revered for their wisdom and compassion. \ I did not know that. Thanks. My apologies for highjacking the thread, but can you tell me something else? I have recently read a book by Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche. I know that Rinpoche is an honorific, but if I were writing about his book, how would I address him? Might I say “Mr. Mingyur’s book …”? ---
**Author:** ![ColdPhoenix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6bbea6/32.png) [@ColdPhoenix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ColdPhoenix)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-jason-wasnt-being-rascist/490852/12 "2009-03-26T13:17:59Z")
> [@Petrobey\_Mavromihalis](#): > > Not if they’re over six years old, they don’t. I didn’t say it was a funny joke or a sophisticated one. > [@](#): > > But the play on words only works if you are pretty ignorant of the race in question. The joke is based on underlying racist assumptions and lack of knowledge. Ignorance is not the same as racism. > [@](#): > > And I come from the same state as Jomo Kenyatta, and I did. How’s this relevant? Because she is of the race that is allegedly being discriminated against in the joke and didn’t find a problem with it. If the “target” race don’t see it as harmful or racist then I don’t think it is. Obviously she doesn’t speak for all the Indian people but was just an example… ---
**Author:** ![Petrobey\_Mavromihalis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bcef8e/32.png) [@Petrobey\_Mavromihalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Petrobey_Mavromihalis)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-jason-wasnt-being-rascist/490852/13 "2009-03-26T13:18:47Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > What are the underlying racist assumptions? That everyone is pig ignorant about Pakistan and India and can’t distinguish between them. That Mahatma is actually a first name. That Coat is a reasonable surname. Are you seriously telling me this is just a “silly name” joke? That we are not being invited to laugh at the funny Pakistani with his funny name? The most telling aspect of it is that the “joke” would not work as “well” if you replaced Pakistani with Indian. This is because there is a recognised genre of “Paki” jokes in the UK, and not Indian jokes. ---
**Author:** ![Petrobey\_Mavromihalis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bcef8e/32.png) [@Petrobey\_Mavromihalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Petrobey_Mavromihalis)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-jason-wasnt-being-rascist/490852/14 "2009-03-26T13:21:51Z")
> [@ColdPhoenix](#): > > Ignorance is not the same as racism. But it’s at the root of it. > [@](#): > > Because she is of the race that is allegedly being discriminated against in the joke No, it’s an anti Pakistani joke. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-jason-wasnt-being-rascist/490852/15 "2009-03-26T13:27:16Z")
While I agree with this: > [@Petrobey\_Mavromihalis](#): > > That everyone is pig ignorant about Pakistan and India and can’t distinguish between them. This: > [@](#): > > That Mahatma is actually a first name. That Coat is a reasonable surname. …is offenderatesque. O’Doors isn’t a real surname, but it doesn’t make the Paddy O’Doors joke particularly offensive. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-jason-wasnt-being-rascist/490852/16 "2009-03-26T13:28:04Z")
What a stupid joke, to start with. Is this what we are reduced to? And yes, it is a “look at the funny name” joke. And faintly racist. All that aside, I think it’s stupid to get in a huff about it. I’d rather be a topic of humor than fear, and humor is how people deal with the alien and the different - that is, once they put the pitchforks away. Signed, -Person with a funny name. ---
**Author:** ![Petrobey\_Mavromihalis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bcef8e/32.png) [@Petrobey\_Mavromihalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Petrobey_Mavromihalis)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-jason-wasnt-being-rascist/490852/17 "2009-03-26T13:31:28Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > While I agree with this:This:…is offenderatesque. You’ve made that word up! It doesn’t get a single Google hit. I think I know what you mean, though. > [@](#): > > O’Doors isn’t a real surname, but it doesn’t make the Paddy O’Doors joke particularly offensive. Would you tell it in a crowded pub in Cork? ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-jason-wasnt-being-rascist/490852/18 "2009-03-26T13:32:09Z")
> [@Petrobey\_Mavromihalis](#): > > That everyone is pig ignorant about Pakistan and India and can’t distinguish between them. I admit, I don’t know much about the differences, but I have heard that Pakistanis and Indians can be very touchy about being mistaken for one another or having their countries/cultures confused with each other. Is that what this is all about? ---
**Author:** ![Petrobey\_Mavromihalis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bcef8e/32.png) [@Petrobey\_Mavromihalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Petrobey_Mavromihalis)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-jason-wasnt-being-rascist/490852/19 "2009-03-26T13:35:48Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > All that aside, I think it’s stupid to get in a huff about it.. I’m not in a huff at all. I never really liked David Jason, but he is a much beloved, national institution kind of a figure in the UK, and this is a dissapointing and wildly misjudged slip on his part. ---
**Author:** ![Petrobey\_Mavromihalis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bcef8e/32.png) [@Petrobey\_Mavromihalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Petrobey_Mavromihalis)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-jason-wasnt-being-rascist/490852/20 "2009-03-26T13:40:56Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > I admit, I don’t know much about the differences, but I have heard that Pakistanis and Indians can be very touchy about being mistaken for one another or having their countries/cultures confused with each other. Is that what this is all about? For a long time, and still to a certain extent, anyone with somewhat “brown” skin in the UK was dubbed a “paki”, a sign of ignorance and highly offensive. So yes, that is what part of this is about. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-jason-wasnt-being-rascist/490852.md?page=2)