- Target:
- Those humourless organisations who seek offense where there is none
- Region:
- United Kingdom
Recently the Philippines Foundation took offense at a sketch by the Harry and Paul show on BBC Television. Their petition can be found here http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/dignity-and-respect-for-the-filipino-worker.html
The foundation accused the BBC and the show of "inciting stereotyped racial discrimination, vulgarity and violation of the maid's human rights", and said the sketch was "tantamount to racism and [the] worst sexual abuse and exploitation of the hapless young Filipina domestic worker employee,".
The sketch clearly plays on exaggerated stereotypes, particularly of the southern family where the sketch parodies the thin thread of prejudice against 'other' people of lower standing, which common culture suggests Southerners posses. The sketch is funny precisely because it plays on stereotypes, and doesn't cross the, quite definite and clear, boundary into cruelty.
This petition is for all those people who are fed up with humourless and politically correct individuals and organisations, epitomised by the liberal commentariat and political circles, who look for insults where there are none and seek out offense.
Too often nowadays such organisations feel obliged to identify violations of human rights, usually by misunderstanding comedy and thus failing to understand from where the humour is derived in such performances. The public don't need to be exposed to the arrogant moral superiority of these organisations, who grasp the wrong end of the stick and direct attacks towards undeserving targets.
No doubt there are genuine, and far more serious, abuses, towards which the time and energy of these organisations would be far better focussed.
The signatories of this petition, believing in genuine human rights and fair treatment for all people, condemn those individuals and organisations who twist, distort and abuse the informal moral right to complain and seek redress against the unfair treatment or portrayal of minorities.
We oppose the humourless and politically correct individuals and organisations, who feel compelled to take offense where none is intended, and who wrongly target comedy performances by misunderstanding the nature of the humour.
We call on these organisations to focus their effort towards genuine and far more serious abuses of minorities, and not to inadvertently strip the humanity from common culture.
You can further help this campaign by sponsoring it
The Against the Humourless and Politically Correct petition to Those humourless organisations who seek offense where there is none was written by Vindico and is in the category National Affairs at GoPetition.