Speaking live on air on Tuesday, Sir David said: “What do you call a Pakistani cloakroom attendant?”
After a pause, he said: “Mahatma coat.”
From the BBC.
It’s a play on the word “Mahatma” which is from Sanskrit meaning “great soul” and personally I would associate Sanskrit more with the rest of the subcontinent where Hinduism is the primary religion. But this is a joke that I would consider normal conversation among my relatively ‘diverse’ (to use an unpleasant doublespeak word) peer group — why are the rules different on the radio?
Surely a racist joke should be in some way critical of the other culture or racial group?
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#1 by The Political Thinker on April 12th, 2009 - 7:06 pm
It’s ridiculous. The greater issue is that no complaints have been received, meaning more so no apology was required.
The little play on words, while silly, is harmless and not offensive in the least.