laughing at the axis of (not so) evil

When I was a kid I got made fun of a lot. It wasn’t so much because of my lack of size or athletic ability, but because of my funny sounding name. An immigrant’s son in Texas with a deeply ethnic name has target painted on his self-esteem. There were lots of Asians and Hispanics, but at the time there were very few Middle-Easterners.

One could chart the increase in jokes. They always seemed to follow major events in the news coming out of the Middle East. When I was in junior high it was Libyan terrorists hijacking planes who were making the headlines, and the jabs flew.

But there was also the steady stream of stereotypes. It was assumed that my father was either rich with oil, or worked in convince store. Either way, it was assumed he beat my mom.

I suppose that over the years I have blocked out or forgotten most of the remarks I grew up with. Most of the time it was people I knew well who made comments to my face. I suppose they thought that because we were friends or knew each other then it was okay to warn people when I walked in the room because “he might get his family to take us all hostage.” My parents used to try to tell me that the only reason people made fun of me was because they liked me. I’ve always thought that was crap.

But I always played along. What 13 year old, who is already tortured with a cracking voice, acne, and the discovery of the opposite sex needs one more insecurity. Just laugh along… maybe even make some deprecating comment as well. In the end it was attention, and if they were paying attention maybe it did mean they liked me. Looking back, I can also see that was crap, too.

I remember one event at church summer camp when I was in the 9th grade. The next to last night was a talent show, and one of the youth pastors was putting on a David Letterman type skit. At one point he started talking with people in the “audience.” Every year he did a shtick like this. He was a witty guy, and everything he said was comic gold.

I was sitting on the front row, and he noticed me. “Hey Omar! Tell your dad I got his Christmas card from the 7-11! Can he still get me free Slurpees?”

The 200 plus kids and youth workers roared in laughter, and so did I. Now that I think about it, I can’t believe he got away with it. If I were Hispanic he never would have said, “Can your uncle come mow my lawn?”

Where is the fine line between being funny and being a bigot? I have often noticed that when it comes to different cultures or ethnic backgrounds, there is room for humor, and even a lot to laugh with (not at). But I have also noticed that the “I can pick on my family, but you can’t” rule also seems to be in play. Chris Rock can say the things he does about African-Americans, but Jay Leno can’t.

So I think that is why I was very interested (and maybe even a little relieved) when I recently read about the first all Middle-Eastern comedy troupe here in America. They’re called the “Axis of Evil” and they are comprised of two Arab-Americans and one Persian-American.

I’m not totally sure what I think of these guys yet, but they’re worth a look. Let me know your thoughts. And until next time… Salaam, Shalom, Peace.