Ahmer Rahman may elicit laughs, but he also conveys powerful ideas about how power moves across the globe. In this comedy sketch, Ahmer flips the notion of reverse racism on its head by suggesting that the global is inextricably related to individual events and interactions. He asks the audience to imagine a world where Europe was colonized, suffering as the victim of generations-long exploitative behavior at the hands of Asia, Africa, and the Americas.
For him, individual actions are meaningless unless considered in the context of global processes that perpetuate inequalities along national and ethnic lines. The forcible movement and exterminations of peoples are important events with long-lasting and far reaching consequences.
Though comedy, Ahmer defines racism in a manner that encompasses imperialism, slavery, ideological subjugation, and other transnational processes.
American Literature in the World 
I was impressed to see that this idea about how racism is institutional and systematic could be shared through humor. I had never heard of Aamer Rahman, but I know of Indo-Canadian comedian Sugar Sammy who also uses humor in order to point at stereotypical views of different races and ethnicities. His humor, even though very different, becomes a means for him to express what it is like to not adhere to white identity in America.
-Andreanne
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It’s interesting how often comedy serves as a platform for examining the transnational experience! One of my favorite comedians Russell Peters is another Indo-Canadian comedian who often pokes fun at his own experience growing up in a strict Indian household in a Canadian city. Maybe comedy serves as the best platform for vocalizing immigrant experiences because of how absurd and ridiculous those experiences can often be?
– Joe Joseph
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