Hey Hey "Racist" skit.

I didn't watch the Hey Hey comeback sketch at the time as MasterChef was on, but have seen the it about a million times since.
Honestly I'm not sure I'd call it racist necessarily. It was shit, I'll pay that, But racism usually involves hate. It wasn't hateful as such and we are a nation of piss-takers.
In their defence, it wasn't the first time it aired. That skit had been shown previously in the 80s except back then even the Michael Jackson character was in blackface. (newer one it was painted white.)
I don't think it would have been such an issue had Harry Connick Jnr not reacted, which then caused media to jump over it.
We had a show out here a couple years ago called Skithouse (2003) which had a running skit about "gingers" who ran, hid, cried & screeched like banshees if they were caught in the sun. Personally I don't see how that is different. it is still taking the piss out of a group of people who have been given shit & sometimes beaten for being different.
Then we have Summer Heights High (2007) which had Chris Lilley playing a number of characters including Jonah Takalua who is of Tongan descent. His face is darker, he has learning difficulties, he has atrocious language and he is a menace to society. This doesn't seem like a fair portrayal of Tongans.
Then we can go back to way back when...
In the late 1980's there was a TV show called Fast Forward in which Steve Vizard played an Indian rug salesman named Roger Ramshett. In this clip with Peter Moon as his assistant they completely take the piss out of people from India again, how is this any different? It didn't cause such an outrage.
View Clip

I'm not saying whether I think it is right or wrong. what I am saying is there are plenty of examples of someone taking the piss out of a different denomination and getting away with it. these were the first few I could think of. We're also not the only country to do such a thing.
It seems to be PC you are only allowed to take the piss out of your own race or sexual orientation. I really wonder if this would have been such a big thing if the competing networks hadn't jumped on board to make it an issue.
I'm not a "hater" but I think we need to put things in context. They weren't taking the piss out of black people, they were taking the piss out of Michael Jackson like so many have before.
Either way, if you're an Australian resident you know what sort of crap will be on Hey Hey it's Saturday, Chaser's or any show like that. If you don't find inappropriate things funny... Don't watch the damn show!!! The more you talk about it, the more media the shows recieve.
And I'm done.
*sigh*
PS. I didn't find the skit funny, not because it was racist or anything, but because I think the entire show is a recycled piece of crap. there is a reason it was canned years ago. IT WAS OLD, RECYCLED & CRAP. let sleeping dogs lie for Pete's sake.
Ok, now I am done

UPDATE - (Apparently I am not done.)
Wow judging by responses I have already received via Twitter DMs and a couple emails I have drawn 2 conclusions.
1) A lot of people have opinions for both sides of this subject but not so many are willing to voice it publicly and...

2) I have been misunderstood in my beliefs. I do NOT condone discrimination of any kind.

The points that I was trying to raise were that this wasn't a one off. I may have come across anti-Australian as well by only giving Aussie examples, this crap happens all around the world and don't try to pretend that it doesn't.
The questions I have are...
-Why is this any different from the other cases?
-Why is this only an issue after an international celebrity raises it as an issue?
-Why do people still find the need to "Hate"?
In my personal experience Hating is something done by those who are uneducated.
I copped a lot of shit back in my school days for being different, first it was because I had pommy blood, then because I was a little chubby ("What's the difference between Trish and a matchstick? a match stick is skinny Uhherrr herr herr") then because I wore a trenchcoat to school, which automatically meant I was part of the "Trenchcoat Mafia" of course it couldn't have been because it was freakin' cold waiting at the bus-stop. Plus I have ALWAYS copped it for being a red-head. And no, I'm not trying to say I have copped discrimination as bad as some although yes I have been attacked a number of times both verbally and physically for being "different." To me it just shows what a lesser person the attacker/name-caller is.
When something is different we must draw them out. Yes idiots because I am sure they hadn't realized they were different before you tormented them.

Through my eyes I don't actually see colour or sex or sexual orientation or anything like that. I look deeper, I look at the attitude of the person. It's true what they say... It's what is on the inside that counts, you could have an absolutely beautiful person with a perfect body and yet they could be the ugliest person inside.