Racist Jokes: Hate Speech?

Senthorun Sunil Raj, a law student at the University of Sydney, wrote an essay called, "Just Joking: Is Racist Humour A Form Of Vilification?" In it, he explains humor and joking as, "way[s] of negotiating 'serious' ideas...[which offer] a mode of engagement that touches topics which are not necessarily acceptable in serious communication." Recently, the popular show South Park has been in the news for an episode that inspired a 'Facebook' event last Friday entitled, "Kick a Ginger Day." The event caused one child near Los Angeles to be beaten because of his red hair. But the South Park episode, in which Eric Cartman generates hatred for all "gingers" seems so ridiculous, as Raj mentions, NOT "serious communication." Humor has the ability to conjure hatred, but really, it all depends on the audience. South Park's intent is to present race hatred as ridiculous--red-haired people as a separate, inferior race--more people watching the show connected that ridiculousness to other forms of racism; a few used it as a reason to actually kick a ginger.