Ethnic Humor

Around mid-March of 2016, New York’s most popular Spanish-language radio show, El Vacilón de la Mañana, aired a series of jokes ranging from mocking Mexicans who illegally crossed the United States-Mexico border to calling them robbers and prostitutes. These jokes unleashed the outrage of the Mexican community, which staged protests, condemning the jokes as offensive and xenophobic. In an online petition with over 2,200 supporters, Mexicanos Unidos of Nueva York argued that “there is no place for racist speech” targeting Mexicans; the organization believes that Mexicans deserve respect because they are “intellectuals, writers, journalists, homemakers, and educators” who work hard to improve their lives and provide a better future for their
But the question of how to maneuver the audience disapproval remains a mystery to comedians who believe that their jokes are harmless and should not be taken personally. Furthermore, some comedians and critiquers believe that ethnic humor can lead to catharsis and can be a way to initiate conversations about traditionally taboo topics. However, the increasing political and social tensions interfere with the idealism of jokes being seen as simple jokes. In this essay, I argue that the use of ethnic humor should be restricted to in-group membership because the sociopolitical tensions frame every joke in political terms and lead to a heightened audience sensitivity, forcing us to analyze all jokes in terms of the current political events and their potential political implications. Thus, the need for partial censorship in which radio hosts are only allowed to make ethnic jokes about their particular ethnic group is a direct result of our tendency to use politics to frame every discussion and shape our