On Danson: In Defense, and More Offense

Ted Danson doesn’t have to defend his performance at the Friars Club (“Ted and Whoopi’s Outrageous Adventure,” Oct. 14”).

Why is it something done in fun that happened to be targeted at one particular person has to be turned into a racial attack on the entire black population? Besides, his appearance in blackface was poking fun at a very stupid stereotype--which in turn poked fun at the white people ignorant enough to believe that stereotype.

By the way, I don’t seem to recall any of my Jewish friends being outraged at Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall appearing in whiteface in the movie, “Coming to America” and portraying two little old Jewish men in a very stereotypical role. No, they all found it all hysterically funny--and it was.

There is no hope for America if we become a nation of paranoids too afraid to laugh or poke fun for fear of not being PC or being called a racist.

JOAN M. HURST

Los Angeles

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In the early 1960s, my wife and I attended a New York City Ballet performance by Geoffrey Holder, the dancer and choreographer. The ballet was based on an old Haitian voodoo tale about the return from the dead. Half of Geoffrey’s face was painted white. The white half was the devil. No white was offended. In fact, the ballet and Geoffrey’s performance were widely acclaimed.

Don’t you feel that blacks are overly sensitive? As far as the watermelon incident, which wasn’t mentioned, what is wrong with poking fun at ethnic food preferences? Jewish comedians talk about Jews’ affinity for chicken soup, borscht and lox and bagels. Have you ever seen a movie or sitcom about Italians without Momma in the kitchen making sauce? So Poles like kielbasa . . . Germans love sauerkraut . . . Japanese love sushi. So blacks like watermelon. So what?

Jews, Italians, Poles have the facility to laugh at themselves, thus destroying racists with self-directed humor. Perhaps African-Americans might do the same, to ease their pain and make racism look ridiculous.

MARVIN HAAS

Banning

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Perhaps some member from the Cathedral of Correctness could enlighten me, the insensitive politically misbegotten, by differentiating between Ted’s minstrel satirical “crime” (written by Ms. Goldberg, no less) and Mel Brooks’ satire of the equally taboo Nazis--especially the hilarious “Springtime for Hitler” musical set piece from the movie, “The Producers.”

This bit raised eyebrows along with guffaws, but was seen for what it was: satire! It would be interesting to see if Mr. Brooks would even attempt to pull the same bit in today’s overly sensitive climate. People need to lighten up. Does the PC crowd have any sense of humor? Perhaps one should get a thicker skin and don’t sweat the small stuff.

LELAND P. HAMMERSCHMITT

Ojai

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Try this on for size: “If my woman had pulled that stunt, I’d have given her a pair of black eyes. . . .” How’s the fit? About as offensive and politically correct as blackface on Ted Danson, right?

But--with a tiny little gender change!--it’s perfectly OK for an indignant Michelle Williams to use those very words in her commentary, lambasting Danson and Goldberg for having the audacity to joke about their relationship in the context of America’s racial history.

Ms. Williams won’t tolerate jokes about that kind of thing--good heavens, no! But she feels comfortable making a light-hearted sexist comment about how she’d give “her man” a couple of black eyes if he did what Danson did.

Isn’t it wonderfully amusing how she exhibits the same light-heartedness regarding the issues of sexism and domestic violence that she so criticizes in Danson and Goldberg regarding race?

JEANETTE MUNRO ANDERSON

Glendale

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I’m an African-American woman with a European husband, and had he even thought of doing something along those lines--hurtful, harmful, disheartening, debasing, insensitive--he too would have had a couple of black eyes to match his soon-to-be skin tone.

This obscene act by Whoopi and Ted does today what it did in the 19th Century--damper spirits, arrest development, hinder courage.

KARA-GAIL MEREDITH

Oceanside

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Three cheers to Michelle Williams in reference to the Whoopi Goldberg-Ted Danson fiasco. No elaboration necessary.

BLANCHE DAVIS

Los Angeles