A few bigots deserve locking up because what they do so injures society, and there are laws for that. But sometimes it's best to just laugh.
Nothing new in that. In the 70s of my youth, I was never sure about the British champion of the genre, Johnny Speight and his creation Alf Garnett – never sure if the character was drawn as hero or villain. But later when I interviewed the writer, I came to think that Speight was just about on the right side of the line. Alf was nasty, but more than anything, he was afraid of change. Everything Alf knew was changing.
Who didn't laugh at Nick Griffin years later as he infamously hemmed and hawed on Question Time? Who doesn't see EDL leader Stephen Lennon, aka Tommy Robinson as ridiculous – prattling on about the sanctity of British law with his string of previous convictions? Well, perhaps the Today programme, which last week interviewed Lennon as though he were a bona fide politician. Not everyone gets every joke.
The value of laughter as a weapon was reinforced for me last week by a YouTube video posted by Irish writer/comedian Tara Flynn. She's from Kinsale, County Cork, a picturesque fishing village and a place she loves. She returned there recently with her husband, an African American. Alone walking the dog, he was subjected to old-style racist abuse. He faced it down with dignity, but Tara decided to make a point. The result: "Racist B&B" – a comedy skit highlighting the attitudes that people largely prefer not to talk about; those that sit awkwardly with with the welcome promised in tourist brochures.
The owner of the B&B, played by Tara herself, is gentle, all smiles and unequivocally racist, saying: "If they sound a bit tanned, we tell them there's a festival on – that we're full."
"Has anyone ever called you an ignorant, bigoted old bitch," asks the genial spoof interviewer. "I'd like to see them try with a mouthful of award-winning breakfast," comes the blithe reply.
Does the comedy approach work? Certainly the issue is being discussed on Tara's blog, in newspapers, on the radio and on YouTube. Posted last Monday; viewed by 94,000. More than one way to raise a voice.
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