Dilbert

So I was reading the comics this morning, and when I reached Dilbert, I knew that I wanted to share this strip.

I have loved this comic strip for almost as long as I can remember, and I have always thought it was a funny strip. My mother loves this strip enough that my younger brother is required to have the daily calendar be his Christmas gift for her each year. We have always loved the Elbonians because they make the situations more amusing.

But would we laugh more if it was Indians, as mentioned earlier in the strip? Or American Indians? Or African, Chinese, Swede? Why is it OK to laugh and make fun of a race that does not actually exist when if it had been a real race it could be considered racist and completely politically incorrect?

Also, the reference to "Educated Indians who speak perfect English" being more expensive, and therefore better than the "illiterate Elbonian with poor attendance and an anger management problem" shows an unofficial ranking of races. One is better than the other. One can be literate and important while the other is completely undesirable. If the Elbonians were a real race, this would be a big social issue, but because they are not it's funny. The comment on the Indians also represents a sort of running joke that many Americans have regarding the fact that a lot of companies have outsourced some of their customer service jobs to India and they are difficult to understand at times, which would account for the "speak perfect English" part of the description.