Are we busy losing our sense of humour? I ask this in the light of the storm that was brewing around Pick 'n Pay last week.
The retailer’s Observatory store (which happens to be my local regular) was found to be stocking these coffee mugs with the words “The Maid” and “The Gardener” on them; and, of course, social media lost its mind almost immediately.
One commentator suggested sensitivity training, while others threatened a boycott if the mugs aren’t removed immediately.
Even my favourite South African, Thuli Madonsela had a few choice words for Pick n Pay, demanding an explanation and intellectualising the matter more than was necessary.
Most people thought Pick 'n Pay had lost the plot and wanted to know how something like that could slip pass its supply chain management.
It turns out the Observatory store is a franchise that ordered the mugs independently, without the knowledge of the head office.
I find it a little suspect that a store of Pick n Pay’s size and reputation would allow franchisees to stock whatever they liked without oversight.
But that’s a conversation for another day.
There were also a few people (mostly black people) who failed to see the problem and were clearly not offended by the mugs.
On Twitter, one woman explained how the mugs triggered nasty memories of her time as a domestic helper in a white household.
And a tweet by Jamil Khan explained: “In SA, domestic labour has a long history of dehumanisation and racism attached to it.
One method was and still is to deny helpers’ use of household crockery and cutlery as they were considered unworthy and unhygienic. This labelling encourages that idea.”
I get all of the comments and I don’t mean to trivialise them.
But I do think some of us are overly touchy when it comes to this issue; a severe case of sense-of-humour-failure.
In my opinion, this was a classic example of an attempt at humour being misinterpreted.
And let’s just be honest, academics are not always capable of appreciating ironic exaggeration.
The very fact that these things used to happen in our country is why this was such effective satire. It ridicules the stupidity of it all.
The only way it could’ve been even funnier is if the mugs were made of enamel, and made to look chipped and well used.
Admittedly it was a little tasteless, but not racist!
Our problem isn’t that we miss humour like this.
Our problem is whether the messenger has the right to see the funny in our historic pain.
In other words, whites are not allowed to do it, especially not for profit.
But let’s not throw one bad joke out with the entire comedy show.
The reason those mugs were as hilarious as the “Whites Only” bench at the District Six Museum, is because we all see how dumb it was and we know it can never happen again.