Insensitive humour
"A person reveals his [or her] character by nothing so clearly as the joke [s/]he resents." — Georg Christoph Lichtenberg (1742-1799).
The chosen profession of Lichtenberg was physics, but as you can see by the quote that heads this essay, he also had a way with words. Consider this example of his satire: "A donkey appears to me like a horse translated into Dutch." Well-intended humour can be painful — especially, in this case, if you happen to be Dutch.
Recently, I wrote to the well-known syndicated radio host of the Tom Joyner Morning Show in response to a misunderstanding among some of the on-air personalities during an April 5 segment called "little-known black history fact". In my letter to Joyner, I tried to shed some light on the matter, which had to do with the word "fagot" and its correlation to "rope" in a book title that had been mentioned. I expressed to him my thought that part of the segment had been treated far too lightly by some of the show's other on-air personalities.
His reply was succinct: "Thank you very much for the education. I wanted to let you know that we do take African-American history seriously."
For clarity's sake, let me make it clear that I have been listening to Joyner's show for more than 30 years, in Illinois, Texas and Georgia. As a long-time listener, I can safely say that Joyner does, indeed, take black history seriously. I have found him to be a sensitive man.
Having listened to many morning radio programs over the years, rarely have I found the principal host to be insensitive. (This is not true of so-called "shock-jocks", most of whom usually work alone.) More often than not, insensitivity, whether conscious or unconscious, comes from one or more of the principal's on-air supporting cast members. This was what happened in Joyner's case. On the morning in question, the show's resident male comic, J. Anthony Brown, very insensitively cracked jokes — no less than three times — about a matter that should have been left alone.
Before I go deeper into that, I want to get everybody on the same page with me by letting them know that this essay is also about the US EP-3E Aries II surveillance plane that was forced by two Chinese F-8 fighter jets to land on the island of Hainan.
During the first hours after the surveillance plane landed, George W. Bush approached the matter with the sensitivity of an angry bull running through a china shop (no pun intended). Without even a hint of concern or condolence for China's fallen pilot (hotdogger that he was), Bush told not only the Chinese people but the entire world that, "Our priorities are the prompt and safe return of the crew and the return of the aircraft without further damaging or tampering". That bullish rhetoric was a good example of Bush's so-called "compassionate conservatism".
The truth of the matter is that America and China spy on one another. It is an age-old activity that requires no apologies. Having said that, I will add that from day one, the US president's communications with the Chinese should have been presented with far more sensitivity. All people, be they adversarial or friendly, have feelings and sensitivities that need to be respected — all the more so during times of personal loss.
Several days after the initial incident, speaking from the Oval Office of the White House, Bush had the audacity to say, "Diplomacy sometimes takes a little longer than people would like...", as if he and his officials had been diplomatic from the start.
It is my opinion that those 24 Americans who have now safely returned to their homeland might well have been released a lot sooner if Bush and his handlers had presented America's interests and concerns with the decorum and diplomacy that the situation warranted.
Now then, back to the Tom Joyner Morning Show. When J. Anthony Brown, in reference to this extremely serious matter of the plane and crew being held by the Chinese, quipped, "no apology, no leavee", he treated the crisis too lightly. His stereotypical and racist remark was right up there with the likes of the offensive, "no tikee, no laundry". Such quips are spawned from the same bigoted-waters that gave birth to the n-word and all of its offensive trappings.
The joke demonstrated a significant lack of appreciation for the seriousness of the situation, as well as a lack of concern for the safety of the 24 Americans who were still being held in China, not to mention their families and loved ones here in America. It was painful for me to hear the ill-chosen attempts at humour and those outbursts of laughter that followed.
In conclusion, I can say that I have heard many of J. Anthony Brown's jokes, and most of them make me laugh. By and large, the man is a good comedian. I hope that he will aspire to be better. True comedic genius, in these days and times, is best achieved by going where no one has gone before. Anyone can follow a racist-pack. I hope that J. Anthony Brown is a better man than that.
BY BRANDON ASTOR JONES
[The writer is a prisoner on death row in the United States. He welcomes letters commenting on his columns (include your name and full return address on the envelope, or prison authorities may refuse to deliver it). He can be written to at: Brandon Astor Jones, EF-122216, G3-77, Georgia Diagnostic & Classification Prison, PO Box 3877, Jackson, GA 30233, USA, or email <brandonastorjones@hotmail.com>. Jones is seeking a publisher for his collected prison writings. Please notify him of any possible leads. Visit Jones' web page at <http://www.brandonastorjones.com>.]