el Hing
Tien Tran
And if you flip that, if it was Chinese New
Year or something and there was an Irish
comedian, dressing up in a conical hat and
a Chinese outfit, it would be so offensive.
I would be so horribly offended. But for
some reason, people were just politely
applauding. As a result of that, it made thing
a lot about ethnic comedy; the positions of
power that people occupy from the position
of their performance. For some reason,
I was ‘allowed’ to do that thing, but the
opposite of that couldn’t have happened
without it being offensive”.
Hing’s anecdote brings to the surface the
issue of what is and isn’t offensive, what
is deemed appropriate and inappropriate,
and how difficult it can be to see the line
therein. What is ok and isn’t ok to say and
do can be a very confusing and subjective
issue for many comedians, and indeed,
society in general. “That’s kind of weird,
because the Irish are kind of oppressed
themselves, aren’t they?” asked Tien Tran,