Are Aussie racists stupid too?

Well, it does look that way, at least as far as the Hey hey it’s Saturday blackface story goes.

At the Herald Sun, Colin Vickery was hammered in an opinion piece by readers for saying Hey Hey is copping flak and rightly so:

JP of Sydney Posted at 12:43 PM Today
Your poll has over a 1000 votes and 75% believe it wasn’t racist and nor do I. Lighten up and stop being some politically correct do gooder. I am sick of people like you trying to stamp your moral ground on us. Obviously a Labor leftie you also had to mention Rudd and his useless ‘sorry’ to the ‘saved’ generation. You are a twit.

And:

martin of bayside Posted at 12:58 PM Today
Colin Vickery — You idiot ==That skit was NOT racist in AUSTRALIA it only became racist because there was a yank on the show and his reaction was way of the line for Australia ==just look back at newman and ali ==So you want every country to take up the USA standards == == How about doing us a favor you go and live there.

Yahoo readers spewed the standard vitriol towards Harry Connick Jr, mainly telling him to go home, but some perversely calling him the racist. Except for a voice in the ugly wilderness called Baker:

No wonder Australia is always high up there as one of the most racist countries in the world! 80% think it was Ok because they are white and do not know what it feels like to be discriminated against because of the colour of your skin. Let black people and other non whites make fun of themselves.

Then there’s all the readers at News.com.au SHOUTING IN CAPITALS that the skit wasn’t racist and that political correctness has gone mad. Check out poor, misguided reader Sigi:

remember the black and white ministrial show on australian television, this was americans dress and face painted, it seems the americans and australians just see no humor and can’t laugh at anything any more. And didn’t a simillar skit get done with the Lady co-host years ago. I think Micheal Jackson would be proud to think that he is remember, with such good humor by people he knew.
Posted by: sigi of qld 3:28pm today

At 4.32pm, the News.com.au poll results were:

Was Hey Hey’s Jackson Jive skit tasteless and racist?

Yes 27% (2589 votes)

No 72% (6748 votes)

Clearly we’ve got a long, long way to go.

When a Hey hey apology is not an apology

Aren’t apologies odd? Somehow they’ve changed from “I’m sorry” to “if you were offended, then I’m sorry”. Which is really just “I’m sorry I got caught”.

I didn’t watch Hey hey it’s Saturday last night because, you know, I don’t have taste up my arse. But after an offensive blackface skit, host Daryl Somers said to guest judge Harry Connick Jr:

“I think we may have offended you with that act and I deeply apologise on behalf of all of us – because I know that to your countrymen, that’s an insult to have a blackface routine like that on the show, so I do apologise to you,” Somers said, appearing embarrassed and stammering his words.

Which means ‘I know blackface is offensive but we did it anyway’.

The Herald Sun reports:

Somers said he respected Harry Connick Jnr and said he was right to hold the view that he did. But he said he believed there would not have been as big a controversy if Connick Jnr had not objected to the sketch on air.

So it’s only controversial because someone pointed out how offensive it was?

“If there were any Australians who were offended … on behalf of the show I apologise,” he told SkyNews.

‘If anyone was offended, I apologise’ is very different to ‘I apologise’.

“To most Australians I think it’s a storm in a teacup.”

Which means ‘most normal people don’t have a problem with us putting a racist skit to air on a family show, probably because most Aussies don’t realise they’re racist’.

Somers said he did not want to diminish the incident but said he believed it had been blown out of proportion.

“I think it was a light act … they were going to be gonged off,” he said.

It was a light act – it was meant to be funny, so how can it be racist? They were going to be gonged off – so we’re not to blame for calling the group and getting them to perform a skit that may have been appropriate 20 years ago but now we know better. Gimme a break. Even the group knew it was dodge, and put their faith in the producers – who let them down, because they were either too stupid to realise it was wrong, or because they wanted the controversy and hung them out to dry.