What would you say is right / wrong in comedy, in a "poking fun at foreigners" way? For instance, if there was a line in a modern sitcom script about Jews being tight with money it'd probably never make it to the screen. But put a line in about the French being garlic-sucking war cowards and we can't get enough.
Similarly, jokes about the Irish are very rare nowadays, whereas it's still open season on the Welsh. It's fine to call the Americans gun-toting, obese war-mongerers, but don't ever laugh at Pakistanis.
Chris Rock balances his act with attacks on both blacks and whites, but a white comedian would never get away with it (not a mainstream one, anyway). Goodness Gracious Me's "Going For An English" sketch is very funny and clever, but it's basically taking the piss out of drunk British people and the appalling way they behave in Indian restaurants. Which is absolutely fine by me, because it's true. But a white sketch troupe would never be able to do a piss-take skit about Asians.
So I was just wondering what you guys thought about it. Do you think it's right that we should choose our comedy targets very carefully, or do you think the world would be a easier place if comedy was on an even playing field?
Personally I'm on the fence on this one. I'm not sure what I think. How about you?