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Dancing like an Egyptian is racist and bigoted

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Because a group of non-Egyptian people dressed up as Egyptians

Dressed up as ancient Egyptians. There is not a single person alive today who practices the culture that the skit performed.

and proceeded to act in a way which mocks Egyptians.

Err, how does it mock Egyptians? I don't think any fair-minded observer would think that. You must have a hair-trigger for taking offence if you do.

However, if you cannot understand why people might find it offensive you're either saying that because you automatically take the opposing position to the protestors, or because you have a serious lack of empathy.

Or I know that there is actually no real basis for complaint against this skit, that the people who are flipping out over it are oversensitive crybabies who are addicted to feeling outraged, and comparing it to real racist skits (like blackface) is laughable and pathetic.

Reply 21

CurlyBen

Original post by AlexanderHam

Dressed up as ancient Egyptians. There is not a single person alive today who practices the culture that the skit performed.

Err, how does it mock Egyptians? I don't think any fair-minded observer would think that. You must have a hair-trigger for taking offence if you do.

Or I know that there is actually no real basis for complaint against this skit, that the people who are flipping out over it are oversensitive crybabies who are addicted to feeling outraged, and comparing it to real racist skits (like blackface) is laughable and pathetic.

Well as a starter, Tutankhamun was a pharaoh and the pharaohs were revered as gods - it's not hard to see dressing up as a god, prancing around and singing a particularly stupid song might be considered offensive by some. Ironically, I'm actually quite hard to offend. I will happily tell jokes many people would find offensive, but I do understand why people might be offended by them. (As far as this video is concerned, the only thing I find personally offensive is that people thought it was worth broadcasting something so dull.)

Anyway, I'm not interested in having a discussion about whether it is or isn't offensive, not least of which because it's highly subjective. I find the professionally outraged exceptionally tedious. I don't think anyone has the right to not be offended and I dislike the idea of banning anything simply because it is offensive to some. However, when one person says "this is offensive" and another says "no, it's not offensive" all you get is an argument, not a debate.