Sarah Silverman Jokes about Race

We finally had a chance to read this week's New Yorker profile of Sarah Silverman, and it was excellent. Lots of great Sarah Silverman facts-- for instance, she's lived in LA for about 10 years (that confused us, because her brand of black comedy seems so New York), and that she wet the bed well into high school (TMI?) The article really heats up towards the end, when it starts exploring her jokes about race and racism. In the interests of continuing our discussion about race here on Gothamist, check a few of them out:

I, this past summer, sent fifteen really fun cowl-neck sweaters to this village in Africa, in really fun colors—expecting nothing, by the way—and they culled their money together, whatever they call it, and bought a stamp and sent me a postcard thanking me, and it said thank you and that they had enough sweaters for every single member of the village to get one and that they were delicious.
I was raped by a doctor... which is so bittersweet for a Jewish girl.

Everybody blames the Jews for killing Christ, and then the Jews try to pass it off on the Romans. I’m one of the few people that believe it was the blacks.

I got in trouble for saying the word “Chink” on a talk show, a network talk show. It was in the context of a joke. Obviously. That’d be weird. That’d be a really bad career choice if it wasn’t. But, nevertheless, the president of an Asian-American watchdog group out here in Los Angeles, his name is Guy Aoki, and he was up in arms about it and he put my name in the papers calling me a racist, and it hurt. As a Jew—as a member of the Jewish community—I was really concerned that we were losing control of the media. Right? What kind of a world do we live in where a totally cute white girl can’t say “Chink” on network television? It’s like the fifties. It’s scary... there are only two Asian people that I know that I have any problem with, at all. One is, uh, Guy Aoki. The other is my friend Steve, who actually went pee-pee in my Coke. He’s all, ‘Me Chinese, me play joke.’ Uh, if you have to explain it, Steve, it’s not funny.

Lots of people find these jokes pretty offensive, because they don't see a difference between a joke about racism and racism itself. Sarah's work seems pretty hilarious to us-- what do you think?

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jake Dobkin in Arts & Entertainment on October 19, 2005 9:50 AM

Comments [rss]

bee wasp

She's not funny nor pretty. She's the funny version of a "shock jock". Old news. been done to death, no one cares.

period.

Stacey London of TLC's what not to wear has more wit, style and humour.

thank you very much.

Solomon Grundy

People need to stop oversimplifying.

If you can't see the difference between a racist joke and a joke about racism, then you are hopeless.

Silverman's jokes about upper middle class white girl racism have the potential to be very biting social critiques. Sometimes they land and sometimes they don't. And a couple times they cease to be about racism and just lazily indulge in racism. But only a couple times, and not the times most of the people here are complaining about.

The 'I love chinks' joke, for instance, is a smart critique of white liberal racism.

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Lisa

I am a product of an invasion. The invasion of Christopher Columbus. For all you ignorant individuals who lack education, read a history book. Columbus raped, burned, tortured and eliminated the Native Americans that lived in the island where I was born. Then he brought African Americans (not by their choice) to work as slaves. If you have the audacity to support someone that actually create racist jokes about blacks and Hispanics then obviously you are not educated. Sara Silverman – get a real job! I speak of the Hispanic race and I am not here because I want too…I am here because my ancestors were forced to live here and with time, I was created. The only logical explanation to Sara Silverman’s behavior is her lack of self-esteem, and not being able to find work with integrity. Two wrongs don’t make a right – however, today I will make the exception. Sara Silverman should be whipped, stoned, forced to bite into cement, raped by 20 Jewish men, have a metal pole be inserted up her ass 100 times until her ass splits into two. Then, have a comedian joke about her experience. I think this will be a fantastic idea!! You know what I mean!!! Cool. . .

Karlik1

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jewish

i've never found the word kike offensive... it sort of reminds me of cake or a kite, both of which i like.

Vas Deferens

The more you hate who you are, the more a slur against you will sting.

Chris

The question is....what's NOT funny about rape?

david

I like Sara, She's funny and hot looking too. The only thing that bugs me about her is she dates Jimmy Kimmel! : )

some bitch

At the same time as it can be sort of funny and everything, it's too bad becuase there are still people in this world that are very hurt by racism everyday, and there may be this weird attitude of oh, we are not racist, whatever, we are so up there that we can laugh about it, but I think that that is just ignorant. It may have got her a few laughs and whatever all this money and fame --- well I think she should share some of her money with some chinese immigrants struggling against horrible and unfair odds today.

bb

Why does anyone give a shit what silverman has to say? She's just an entertainer.

I think she's funny. You think she's racist. Someone else thinks she's not funny and a hack.

We'll see who wins.

fh

margaret cho just wishes she was a chink.

Sherry

I'd be down with her take-no-prisoners schtick if it actually was funny. Margaret Cho does so much better.

anon

She is not funny. There is plenty to laugh at without being offensive. Words like "chink" or any other racial epithets are not cool.

jamon

She's the kind of person who's like "See I just dissed my entire race so It's okay if I diss yours cause I just said my ass was hairy cause I'm Jewish so that makes me saying CHINK alright". Her logic is the suck.

flanagans_dumber_than_andrew

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ebony and ivory, and filthy, and racial, and unforgiving, and relentless.

throw in eddie murphy and chris rock too

everybody just needs to shut the fuck up and laugh...

white jewsih boy

rev pays

carlos mencia??? did he say "kike"?

I suggest people google mencia, first off he's not mexican, second, he steals jokes.

unless there are racial slurs for hondurans.

sp

That guy Carlos Mencia (Mind of Mencia) makes pretty horrible race jokes and he's latino, so Flanagan, I think your point is moot.

Flanagan

As for Sarah Silverman, all I have to say about her schtick is: the day I, as a black guy, can run around the country and use the word Kike in a lot of my jokes, and get exposure and laughs, that's the day I'll think it's okay for her to say the word chink so freely. That day is never. It will never be okay for a non-white comedian to run around stages and use the word KIKE freely.

Jake, I'm disappointed. Would you really be okay if you were sitting at a comedy club next to your friend Jen and someone starting going on about Koreans, chinks, kimchee, etc. and making Engrish jokes, and maybe even singled Jen out in the crowd. No, I don't think you'd find it very funny. I also can't imagine many jews in new york taking any joke with the word kike in it as casually as people seem to be taking chink here.

You guys need a wash.