Is the song, Banditos by The Refreshments, unknowingly racist?
So I was invited to a Karaoke house party by some of my Filipino friends and one of them encouraged me to pick a song from the 90s which I grew up with but wasnt one that was popular enough that they would know. So I picked the Banditos by the Refreshments, a song I thought was funny when I was a pre teen, but midway in the song, I sang the lyrics which made me feel awkward, especially infront of Filipino nationals:
"So give your ID card to the border guard
Your alias says you got Jean Luc Picard
Of the united federation of planets
'Cause they won't speak English any ways
Everybody knows
That the world is full of stupid people
So meet me at the mission at midnight
We'll divvy up there"
When I first listened to it in the 90s, I was too young to really realize what the lyrics really meant, but now as an adult, I feel like it implied that foreigners who didnt speak English or know American Pop culture were stupid people. While my friends didnt say anything, I felt like they werent amused by the choice of song. Is this song racist? If you think so, should it be banned from most karaoke song lists?