We call this “the sensitive times,” where one offensive tweet could cost you your job and one racist (whether intentional or not) status could filter the number of friends you have on Facebook. Stephen Colbert is the latest public figure on the stand after tweeting on Thursday: “I am willing to show the #Asian community I care by introducing the Ching Chong Ding Dong Foundation for Sensitivity to Orientals or Whatever.”
Now, anyone who’s watched “The Colbert Report” knows the host’s humor. He has made his living mocking people… in a smart way. This may have not been the smartest.
The hashtag #CancelColbert has gone viral in the social mediasphere. The now deleted tweet was a riff on a skit Colbert did Wednesday making fun og Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder’s announcement of a foundation to help Native Americans.
In all cases, we can expect ‘tweets’ and sarcastic comments made in jest by Colbert. But this time, perhaps he went too far? Let’s just remember, we were once, and still are, a culture that laughed and impersonated Mad TV’s Asian character, Ms. Swan (which was played by a caucasian woman). The question is, should a host such as Colbert really lose his job over one tweet?
