# Racism in SNL **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 26, 2001, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racism-in-snl/78161 "2001-08-26T04:32:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Palve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a698b9/32.png) [@Palve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palve)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2001, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racism-in-snl/78161/1 "2001-08-26T04:32:31Z")
Is anybody watching tonight’s episode of Saturday Night Live? It’s a re-run that I haven’t seen yet. I think the writers are trying to see how many races they can degrade in the alotted time. It’s about halfway thru, and they’ve already made fun of Polish, Greeks, Hispanics, Irish, Asians (especially the Chinese), plus more! Come on, people! This is really a step down from what it has been recently. ---
**Author:** ![drm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e57/32.png) [@drm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drm)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2001, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racism-in-snl/78161/2 "2001-08-26T05:12:08Z")
I didn’t watch it but the NAACP and the like didn’t complain the first time it was on (or I didn’t hear anyhow) so I don’t imagine it was too big of a deal. ---
**Author:** ![techchick68](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ea5d25/32.png) [@techchick68](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/techchick68)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2001, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racism-in-snl/78161/3 "2001-08-26T05:27:05Z")
Hell if they make fun of everyone, then how can you complain? ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2001, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racism-in-snl/78161/4 "2001-08-26T05:30:39Z")
They told really old jokes as if they were true. Which leads me to believe that they were actually making fun of the JOKES, not the races involved. Incidentally, if you don’t make fun of SOMEBODY, how do you make it funny? ---
**Author:** ![techchick68](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ea5d25/32.png) [@techchick68](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/techchick68)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2001, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racism-in-snl/78161/5 "2001-08-26T05:39:23Z")
I’m watching it now and “what’s the big deal?” Yeesh, PC has gone too far in my eyes…oh and I am a mutt, I am adopted I would dig it if they had a skit on the unkowningness of us adopted people that haven’t a clue. BTW, I suspect I am Irish… My mother was part Russian and English, my father Swiss and German…oh and I would love to see “The Producers” while it doesn’t depict the “typical German” it is funny in it’s right…written by Mel Brooks, a Jew. Sometimes you just gotta learn that jokes are just jokes, in my eyes. \< I am blonde and if you said a blonde joke to me I would laugh with you…and that’s not exactly “fair” if you think about it…you can say things about certain people but not others? that’s crap. \> Get a funny bone, geez. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2001, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racism-in-snl/78161/6 "2001-08-26T20:03:40Z")
In my opinion it wasn’t a particularly hilarious skit, but the joke wasn’t that [Polish/Italian/German/Greek] people are stupid, or whatever. The joke was that they were cramming as many offensive stereotypes into one skit as was humanly possible. You were supposed to laugh at how ridiculous it was that there were so many of these obnoxious jokes all put together at once. Like I said, not terribly hilarious, but in my opinion, not offensive either. ---
**Author:** ![gorewonfla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/da6949/32.png) [@gorewonfla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gorewonfla)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2001, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racism-in-snl/78161/7 "2001-08-26T20:23:23Z")
I think it actually showed us how stupid those stereotypes were by showing us that they’d never happen in real life. I mean, black soldiers wouldn’t start dancing in combat, it’s ridiculous. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2001, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racism-in-snl/78161/8 "2001-08-26T20:44:29Z")
That’s exactly it. The skit was SATIRE. It was intended to make racist jokes look stupid. God, you politically-correct types just have to learn to develop a sense of humor. And perspective. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2001, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racism-in-snl/78161/9 "2001-08-27T03:02:45Z")
There used to be a Canadian variety show, “Bizarre,” (Super Dave Osborne started on “Bizarre”) where they had a recurring skit called “The Bigot Family.” Everyone in the family was a racial stereotype and they’d just sit in their living room making jokes about each other. The funny thing was that every week they’d more or less just switch the jokes around, so every ethnicity was hit with the same jokes. Great fun. ---
**Author:** ![pldennison](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9fc29f/32.png) [@pldennison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pldennison)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2001, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racism-in-snl/78161/10 "2001-08-27T13:35:03Z")
**RickJay** , I remember watching “Bizarre” on Showtime when I was in high school. Pre-SNL Victoria Jackson was a frequent guest, often standing on her head and reciting poetry. Along the lines of the the OP and your contribution, MTV’s comedy series _The State_ had a great skit called “The Jew, the Italian and the Redhead Gay”: > [@](#): > > _The Jew, the Italian and the Red Head Gay, we all live together on Avenue A, we have zany adventures from day to day._ > > Jew: Come on Ken, it’s the end of the month. We need the money for the rent, where’s the money? > > Italian: Oh, I’m sorry Dave, I spent it all on pasta. I’m gonna make a big tomato sauce. > > Gay: Oh, I would help you with that Ken, but I’m busy picking out these pretty curtain patterns for the apartment. > > Jew: Fine, I’m gonna go get some bagels, I guess. > > Gay: Okay. Toodleoo schnookums! > > Italian: All right Dave, Arriverderci!