Racial stereotypes belittle people on the basis of appearance. Satire is a mirror into the soul, i.e., it is deeper than any form of bias; bias is natural in human beings, it should be actively opposed.

There is a reason to every sterotype, some times they are unfair and/or unjustified, but there is a reason behind them all.

Ethnical(I will not use race when speaking of humanity) may be even more unfair than national because we each ethnic group has their own ones and we can't see the others reasoning for them. As a european the way other ethnicities are stereotyped is largely result of the colonnial age when europe was technologically more advanced than rest of the world, thus giving a feeling of superiority.

Then again I don't think skin color should count for jackshit, after all Italians are often labeled in "White" category... As Berlusconi said himself "He has a nice tan.", he spoke of Obama, but from a north mans POV, Berlusconi was the tanned one .

But stereotypes in general are fun to use, and there's allways a reason why that one exists.

Racism is a blight upon the earth.

i think the problem is how discriminated against black people were in the past, whereas the only person who has ever maybe discriminated famously against countries was John Lenon, who wanted to get rid of 'em all (i know, frontiers not countries, but you get my drift).

different countries have beaten each other up so much that there is no real discrimination against one country to another, except countries that really hate each other, and i think you'll find that if you made some jokes about some countries in some other countries, it would be considered unacceptable.

...Because most are offensive/racist and no race has one "generic" person in it?

I think it depends on the scope. If we were to talk about someone sipping a 40 and sitting on their stoop blasting Fiddy Cent as they collect benefits, we'd be bitched at for saying "Black people" do this. If we said "hood rats" do this, the number of people getting upset practically vanishes. Why? Because we've differentiated the subset of people from the group as a whole. Try to describe white people in redneck/bogan/chav/ned terms sometime, and the same thing happens - they get butthurt and say only he hicks do that - if you highlight you're talking about rednecks/bogans/chavs/neds from the start, no one gets upset. Same with cholos vs. Latinos, ABCDs vs. Indians, ricers/AZNs vs. East Asians etc. As long as you indicate you are not talking about the group as a whole, no one gets upset.

Nationality stereotypes are more acceptable because they're on the whole less negative. They're usually playing on cultural quirks - English politeness, rigid German discipline, Russian/Ukranian stoicism, etc. However, there are plenty - PLENTY - of national stereotypes that are offensive. Talk about a stupid Pole, Irish drunkard, violent Scot, lazy Italian etc. and you're going to take heat just the same as you'd take heat for talking about the thieving Gypo.

It all depends on the intent and scope of the stereotype and whether it is intended to poke fun at its target or whether it's intended to denigrate its target.

Overactive awareness raising lately. still preferable to underactive. It's a fact that on average jews have better payment, and blacks unemployed, but then again thats all blue eyes brown eyes.

Why can't comics be more like hinomoto oniko anyway?(a japanese racial slur turned into a meme by em.)

Stereotypes are bad because they generalize an entire group of people based on one arbitrary thing or other. They are also self-perpetuating, because people tend to internalize stereotypes about themselves, even if they are negative ones, and start to behave in ways that are "expected" of them. Stereotypes aren't really true as such, they're mostly a product of prejudices and confirmation bias.

Why not countries? [link] [link]
Why races? [link] [link]

That depends on the intent mostly.

Things get complicated mate. Just do a Jamaican and light one up.

Stereotypes are always pretty screwed up.
What goes on when you shove someone into a category is you make them into an object.
People are living beings and are infinitely complex, ignore that and you make a stereotype.

Stereotypes are fucking stupid that's why.

Everyone in Australia is not a surfer.
Everyone in Australia is not crocodile Dundee.
Everyone in Australia is not Steve Irwin.

I don't know how many times stupid Americans have told me 'throw another shrimp on the barbie.'

Australian's don't even call them shrimp. We call them prawns.

Probably because people have no choice in what race they are born as. It's the same reason why it's wrong to generalize people who are handicapped in a negative way, or even homosexuality (even though people only started caring about that in recent decades, before then it was OK to treat gays like shit and preach that they chose that lifestyle ).

Race, disabilities and sexual orientation are probably the only features someone can have and not have any control over, that's why it sucks to be generalized for something you don't do just because most others in your group do. Other aspects of life can be changed if the person is dedicated enough. If a person is tired of everyone assuming they are dumb just because they live in the country then they could always move into a more urban area if it bothered them that much. If a person got tired of stereotypes about being fat, then they could put down the burger and start exercising if it bothered them that much etc. But you can't expect a black person to stop being black, a gay person to stop being gay, or a disabled person to stop being in a wheelchair

Some people just get all riled up over nothing. Most stereotypes exist because they're true to some extent. Ok, so what if it doesn't apply to you; get over it. This world would be a heck of alot better if people didn't pitch a hissy fit over every little stupid thing that could even come close to hurting their feelings. People are idiots

Racial stereotypes tend to be negative, are focused on skin rather than culture, and are usually used offensively.
*humon makes jokes and tends to present them in a lighthearted way.

Stereotypes are often the MAJORITY of the group.

That means, somewhere, there is a part that is not like that group and thus offensive.

That, or the stereotype is intentionally offensive, or just old.

It gets complicated.

I think one of the other commenters hit the nail on the head. Racial stereotypes are based on a skin color or birth that can't be reversed. If you're born white, you will remain white, barring some obsessive tanning.

Granted, many people from the same cultural background have been brought up with certain values and behaviors. But, it's not good to attach that generalization to each individual you meet. In the realm of politics, it's not right to pass laws pertaining to a certain racial group based on the idea that everyone of that racial group has some characteristic.

Also, a European making fun of European stereotypes does not have the same historical ties that American racial conflict has.