satire

Hi everyone. As you may or may not know, the Pioneer has come under fire recently because of a satire piece printed in the April Fools' issue. I have TENTATIVELY published it, unsigned and unedited, on my Web site, so you can read it by clicking here.

Some students feel that this article is blatantly racist, and worse than the blackface incident last semester. The authors of this article, of which I am one, intended the piece to COMBAT racist ideas about Native Americans, by satirizing the political correctness and inherent racism within the way in which Whitman deals with diversity issues. As a friend wrote to me in a yet-unpublished letter,

"The article meant devalue and satire the prejudices it appears to espouse. What’s funny about the column is the fact that its imaginary writer sees no contradiction between his/her apparent love of “diversity” and the racist views he/she espouses. [The] idiot-writer-persona is essentially saying ‘Yay on-campus diversity!’ and ‘I’m scared of people who are different!’ at the same time. If this sounds uncomfortably familiar on a campus all to willing to shout from the mountaintops of its efforts to raise diversity and comfortably navigate racial identity, then I’m with you."

Regardless, my job as editor-in-chief is being threatened, and many people are very, very upset about the article. Is the art of satire dying? While my co-editor were looking up YouTube covers of "Hey There Delilah" (don't ask), we found this:



Is this funny or offensive? I think it's funny because it makes me uncomfortable about my own stereotypes. I'm curious to know what others think.