Sometimes the toughest thing to do is to do nothing at all.
That's the case when it comes to Kazakhstan's Foreign Ministry. They've threatened legal action against British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen for his portrayal of a faux Kazakh TV personality, Borat Sagdiyev, who depicts the central Asian state as a country populated by drunks who enjoy cow-punching as a sport.
Here's a sample of Borat's musings on his countrymen:
* Earlier this month, Cohen's Borat character hosted the MTV Europe Music awards show in Lisbon, telling the audience that he arrived on an "Air Kazakh" aircraft, a propeller plane flown by a vodka-swilling pilot.
* On Cohen's "Da Ali G Show," Borat has claimed that the United States "treats horses like we in Kazakhstan treat our women...they feed them two times a day, they have them sleep on straw in a small box, and for entertainment, they make them jump over fences while being whipped."
According to Kazakhstan's Foreign Ministry, they "reserve the right to any legal action to prevent new pranks of the kind."
Oh dear.
Plenty of comedians dish out jokes and pranks that offend certain ethnic groups. Cohen is an entertainer who's trying to make a name for himself. Cohen's Ali G character made him a star, but the worldwide news of Kazakhstan’s Foreign Ministry threatening legal action has suddenly made Cohen a superstar.
And their legal threats have publicized Cohen's unflattering stereotype of Kazakh citizens.
I admit it. Before watching "World News Tonight" last night, I had no idea that Cohen had a character named Borat. I had no idea where Kazakhstan was located. I definitely had no idea they were the ninth largest country in the world. And, most importantly, I had no idea that their countrymen were stereotyped as being alcoholic sexual deviants.
But thanks to Kazakhstan's Foreign Ministry, I'm aware of all of these things—whether they're true or false.
The Foreign Ministry has no one to blame but themselves. The proper action was to simply ignore Cohen’s character and not draw any attention to his stereotype.
But they did. And the story landed in newspapers, TV and radio outlets across the world. They even gave me some nice material for today's blog.
And millions of others, I’m sure.
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