sambo & bimbo!

Dear Bob,
I've been puzzling over my reaction to some jokes you've shared, trying to figure out whether the fact that they bother me means that i'm too uptight. George Carlin said that one can joke about anything, so do my negative reactions simply mean that my head is too far up my ass? The first joke assessed the last Democratic Presidential primary as "Sambo vs. bimbo". The second one explained that Indian women have a dot on their forehead so that Indian men can rub the dot off to find out whether they've won a 7-11.
Innocent silliness?
I wish George were here to help. He used the example of rape. He said he thought it was hilarious, and offered up the image of Porky Pig raping Elmer Fudd. It wasn't one of his funnier jokes, but i understood his point.
Is "bimbo" a good word? Sure. I don't believe there's any such thing as a bad word, only bad intentions. "Bimbo" is descriptive, even playful. Would i want to live in a world where i couldn't say, "At 31, to the suprise of no one, Giuseppe married a bimbo"? I would not...though i can understand how hurtful it could be. It's possible i've never even used "bimbo" to reference a specific person.
And "Sambo"?
It makes me almost re-think my "no bad words" stance. I was even surprised to hear it being used north of the Mason-Dixon (incidentally, the history of Sambo's Restaurant is worth perusing, not least of all because the owner wants to bring the chain back).
Bob, you maintain that you're not a racist. On some levels, you're probably right. You're certainly less racist than the generation that preceded you, and maybe even in the world of your intent those jokes weren't racist/sexist.
The image associated with "Sambo" is that of a head-scratching, clueless, happy-go-lucky fellow. Hm. Well, there are worse fates than that. In fact, if we could remove the racial aspect, i'd even be open to reclaiming the word. I'm sure we've all known a clueless, happy-go-lucky sort. Cosmo Kramer could be the poster child for the new sambo. Paris Hilton? A big ol' sambo. Or the world's first bambo!
But at the moment, "Sambo" cannot be anything other than a racist slur. Does Obama fit the image? One could argue that he's clueless, but head-scratching? I've never seen him look like he didn't understand what was going on. Happy-go-lucky? Though i've seen him smile, he comes off as a serious-minded fella who understands the gravity of his place in the world. So no, he's no Sambo.
And Hillary? Can she reasonably be called "physically attractive but unintelligent"? I suspect that if you'd found her attractive, Bob, we'd have known, as your "admiration" for Governor Palin was never in doubt. As for intelligence, the idea that Hillary isn't at least average seems kinda ridiculous.
So what's the substance of the joke? Can it be anything other than racism, and vile sexism? The 7-11 joke struck me as one of the most destructive, xenophobic things i'd ever heard. You took one billion people who are every bit as smart and loving and decent as anybody on the planet, and reduced them to a servile punchline. That wasn't your intent? Imagine the Indian child who overhears their non-Indian schoolmates making that joke. Do you think for a second that their self-worth wouldn't forever bear a scar that no amount of healing could erase?
There's a problem with everything i'm saying, though.
I'm wrong.
Imagine, if you will, a late night at NOW headquarters, a boozy office party perhaps, with impromptu shouts of "Goooooo bimbo!" and "Gooooooo, Sambo!" suddenly bouncing back and forth. If you can't imagine it, i submit you've never been to NOW headquarters.
There is, in humor, an inescapable element of perversity. The more perverse one's world, the greater one's need for perverse humor. And kids, we live in a world where staggering amounts of non-humorous perversity assail us every single day.
So what might be offensive coming out of one mouth, can be innocent coming out of another.
Go bimbo.
I myself found both jokes repugnant. But earlier today, i was telling an Indian-American friend about this article. I shared the 7-11 joke. I gave it no kind of funny delivery. He nonetheless smiled immediately, and in a couple seconds we were both giggling away.
Make no mistake...the majority of those who laugh at "bimbo/Sambo" are white men with a deep problem. Whom does that joke hurt other than Bam and Hil, Bob? Only any woman who might dream of being President. Do you know what you're telling her? You're telling her that even if she graduates from college with honors, gets a Yale law degree, becomes one of the 100 most influential lawyers in America while embodying marital fidelity, you'll be out there in the tall grass, ready to call her a bimbo.
And Sambo, Bob? Please tell me you don't need me to figure out whom that might damage.
Of course, that doesn't mean that our current Secretary of State doesn't call POTUS "Sambo", in private meetings. And that Barack doesn't give her a good "bimbo" right back.
It even makes me feel better about the world, knowing that they might.