Should the Sikhs Lighten Up About Jay Leno’s Jokes?

COMMENTARY | Even though satire is a time-honored form of humor, groups that are victims of hate crimes are less likely to be amused by what some comedians considers harmless jokes. Such was the case last month when Jay Leno featured a skit about the Republican presidential candidates' homes on "The Tonight Show," during which a fake news anchor showed a picture of the Sikhs holiest shrine, the Golden Temple, and identified the glittery edifice as millionaire Mitt Romney's summer home on Lake Winnipesauke.

PLAY IT NOW: Is Jay Leno's skit about Mitt Romney's summer home being a Sikh holy temple funny or disrespectful?

A Sikh doctor in Bakersfield, Calif., was so upset with the skit he filed a libel lawsuit against the big-chinned comedian. Dr. Randeep Dhillon claimed the joke resulted in "loss to his reputation, shame, mortification and hurt feelings." Given that Leno made another questionable quip calling Sikhs "diaper heads" in 2007, the talk show host has demonstrated a pattern of mocking members of this Indian religion.

A group called Sikhs for Justice recently hired lobbyists to educate NBC and the public about its concerns, including perpetuating negative stereotypes about Sikhs that could lead to hate crimes. It will ask NBC to air a prime time documentary about the Sikh religion to raise awareness. The group recently cancelled a protest at the NBC headquarters in New York City at which it planned to demand the loose-lipped Leno be fired.

Verbal taunting and even violence against Sikhs since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks have been no laughing matter. Though Sikhs are not Muslims, they are often mistaken for them because they wear turbans on their heads. Last March, two Sikh men were gunned down near Sacramento, Calif. in an incident thought to be a random hate crime.

Of course, the loquacious Leno is not averse to making fun of other religions if he can reel in a few laughs. He recently ridiculed Catholics, joking, "Isn't it amazing the bishop of L.A. confessed to fathering two children? But, hey, he didn't use birth control, so at least he followed the church rules." The avid car collector has also made many cracks about priests being pedophiles.

Given their situation as hate crime victims since 9/11, should the Sikhs have a special exemption from being spoofed? A practicing Catholic on the Belief Net blog said no. "If Christians were to sue every time a late night comic offended them it would be, well, pretty comical," wrote John W. Kennedy. "The fact is this is America and there is something we value very highly. It's called free speech. People can offend us. We can complain. We can even offend them. But to turn every offense into a legal case is a huge waste of everyone's time."

The difference could be that Catholics and other Christians are not randomly killed or targeted in the United States.

Sources:

"Jay Leno Sued Over Religious Joke" omg! Yahoo!

"Jay Leno's remark on Golden Temple, India (19/01/2012)" You Tube

David Badash, "Catholic League: Jewish Rabbis Even Greater Abusers Than Catholic Priests" The New Civil Rights Movement