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The ABC has a tradition of mocking the powerful. Now, after the Rinehart furore, it risks creating a comedy no-go zone | Alan Sunderland

Media | The Guardian · Alan Sunderland · last updated

I didn’t think the Race Around the World segment was funny, but does the ABC really need to change its editorial policies to make sure violence and humour sleep in separate beds?

I grew up on Bugs Bunny and Tom and Jerry. Most of my best-loved childhood TV friends were regularly shot at, beaten up, squashed under anvils or exploded in many and various ways. Many years later, I watched Basil Fawlty regularly attack Manuel, his hapless Spanish waiter, and of course the Three Stooges were little more than a relentless series of violent gags.

Violence and humour may seem strange bedfellows, but they have been sleeping together for a very long time. So what are we to make about the latest round of outrage and handwringing over an ABC joke that clearly went too far?

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