David….you’re an ass.

Harry Connick didn’t speak out because of how it would make him look back home if he didn’t
He spoke out because… he was born & raised in New Orleans (highly populated with black Americans)so he was defending his countrymen, neighbours, colleagues, friends & “family”.
The act was racist whether intended or not – end of story.

Great Article by the way.

Terrible Article, but great responses! Wanted to a long winded opinion but realised no one on this thread including myself is going to change their opinion on whether or not a group of doctors/lawyers (who put the well being of others infront of their own everyday) sat around and decided not only to poorly execute a an unfunny skit aimed at the most talented entertainer (and family) the world has ever seen, but to go further than that and take aim at black slavery and mistrel plays…..
serisously get a life kids. The title of the article is more offensive than that skit. Maybe ignorance does hide in itself. But real intelligence come when people compare a half ditch costume and make up attempt with the branding of swastika on someone……sad and delusional really.

The Jackson family has said they were not personally offended by this skit, though they did agree with Harry Connick Juniors comments.

The performers were of MIXED backgrounds, they weren’t “white people”, that is a racist comment in and of itself.

This is hardly anything like a minstrel show. The one and only comparison is the faces painted black. Something I might add, which countless other comedians, included many Americans, have done and continue to do. Also similar things for asians, whites, hispanics, etc, get done.

Does anyone actually disagree that this was actually very similar to a real Jackson Five performance? Have people forgotten what they were like?

“Jackson Jive” was not a term invented by this group. It has been used many times in the media completely seperately from them in past years about various members of the Jackson Family. Obviously you’re going to have a hard time finding this out now as the net is swamped with Hey Hey references.

The only thing this skit proved is that it is “too soon” to make fun of black people and the racism that was attributed to them. You can make fun of the Holocaust, the KKK, disabled people, fat people, asians, rich people, stupid people, politicians, celebrities, Nazis, etc, etc, etc. But not black people. Although this is obviously a racist attitude and in the end does blacks more harm than good, it at least gives us insight into the real state of race relations in America. Their claim of being “Post-race” is quite obviously bollucks. Race is still an extremely sensitive issue in America. Many of their Liberals champion racist policies for Blacks (That is, special treatment policies, lower taxes, lower requirements for universities, etc). On the other side, many conservatives still harbour a deep set hatred of other racial groups, mostly towards blacks and muslims.

If Obama did not have such an extremely high level of security he would have been dead a long time ago. He is still in extreme danger from people who would kill him because of his race, no doubt about it.

Having been to America severals times, and whilst cities such as New York are quite liberal, if overly sensitive about issues such as race and religion. There are many other large parts of America were you would be completely shunned from society for being black, muslim or even just a white Atheist. Atheists and muslims are considered worse than black christians though, for sure.

Most young Australians these days do not even have a notion of what real racism is, or just how religious and racist many parts of America are. Whilst we have had serious issues with racism in the past, especially with Aboriginies, race relations in Australia are as good now as anywhere else in the world. We don’t get rated consistinently near the top spot for the worlds best place to live by the UN for no reason. And certainly if racism was as rampant as some people are making out this would simply be impossible.

We really are not “racist” towards Aboroginies anymore, on the whole, certainly not on an individual level. I have never encountered anyone who thinks Aboriginies are “lower” than the rest of Australia, the general consenus is they have been hard done by and their current situation was not of their making. Policy is a whole different kettle of fish and is mainly down to a lack of knowing what to do and a past history of bad policy, rather than being racist.

Even in places where words such as “Black Fella’s” and “Gins” are still used and many people use lots of “non-pc” language and put across quite a racist view of “not liking black fellas”, this doesn’t stop them actually being friends and getting on perfectly well with some of them.

What Samuel Webster said makes no sense. America has a huge white majority and they found it offensive, whilst Australia has a relatively small white majority in comparison and didn’t find it offensive. 1/4 Australians were not born here. Most of our immigration is from asia and the pacific. Most people have a mixed background nowadays, if not in the direct family certainly in the extended family.

Anyone who thinks that Australia is more racist than America, needs a serious reality check. Australia does have it’s issues with race, but honestly, it’s nothing compared to America’s issues regardless of the fact that their president is black.

Yes, that was a hell of a rant, but there are so many news reports these days how “Australia is Racist”, what with the Indians and now this stupid Hey Hey skit. We have our issues, but on the whole Australia is one of the safest places to live whilst at the same time being one of most multicultral countries in the world, no mean feat, but can be improved. It’s nice that this skit opened up some debate, but let’s keep it in perspective.

I cant believe are still questioning whether this is racist or not. IT IS!!! It does not matter the intentions of the performers, their ethnicity or the context (Australia not America). America was built on racism – and it was the ‘tools’ like presentations of black people as lesser people (in relation to Social Darwinism – Anthropology, and Ethnography – presenting blacks as primitives etc)that set up and reinforced the power structures to perpetuate control of minorities. This is prevalent in Australia as well! Colonization, imperialism, slavery etc, etc, etc – have all set up structures of power that have led to the oppression of people all over the world…and especially in Australia and America. Please watch the First Australians, fantastic documentary about OUR history – which in a broad sense is not too different from America! If you want to understand any of the implications of representation and race – please read some books on postcolonialism, power structures in society or critical perspectives of ‘Whiteness’…If you are not willing to do this then you can live in the bliss of your ignorance. If you have ever encountered any racism – or any form of discrimination, then you will understand the implications, otherwise you could at least try to develop some sympathy for those whose lives have been affected by it.

A lot of comedy is “racist”, but generally we just let it go as it’s good to bring everything out into the open, regardless of it if offends some people. Tell me that Little Britain is not extremely racist or that it doesn’t offend lots of people. However whilst we’re still prepared to let other racial groups be made fun of, sometimes in a very tasteless way, there has been huge backlash against one particular skit because it offends one particular group in a certain way. Simply put, it’s too soon, give it another couple of decades when America has calmed down and the old generation of racists have done us all a favour and died, and no one will care about skits like this. Personally, if anything, I would have thought the skit was a stab at the old minstrel shows, rather than trying to recreate one. But to be honest I don’t think there is anything to be read from a few people doing a stupid skit, certainly not that our country still harbours deep set racism towards blacks.