A joke sometimes reveals not a person, but the mindset of an era.
Sometimes a joke can convey in just a few minutes what a book on politics, sociology, or history—hundreds of pages long—cannot. This is because people often reveal the world they carry deep within their minds not in their prepared speeches, but in the moments when they relax, laugh, and make others laugh.
A joke told by Rahmi Koç at a hospital opening a few days ago sparked public debate. Following the backlash, an apology was issued, and the issue eventually gave way to other headlines as the news cycle moved on. However, one important question remains unanswered:
Why would someone choose a Kurdish woman specifically to make people laugh?
This question is not just about a joke; it is about a mindset.
Because in society, no choice is entirely random. If a woman—rather than a holding company owner, a bank executive, an industrialist, or a person in power—is chosen as the protagonist of a story, there is a reason for it. If it is not just any woman but specifically a Kurdish woman who is chosen, that too has a meaning.
That is why the issue is not merely a word or a joke. The issue is the historical and cultural context on which that word is based.
Throughout history, hegemony has not been established solely through states, armies, or capital. Hegemony has also been established through language. It was often those in power who decided who was intelligent, who was ignorant, who was civilized, who was backward, who was at the center, and who was on the periphery.
Humor has also become one of the most effective tools of this invisible power.
That is why, throughout history, women, the poor, peasants, different ethnic groups, immigrants, and minorities have often been the subject of jokes. This is because those in power do not merely seek to rule; they also seek to define. They regard themselves as the standard and judge others by that standard.
Here we encounter a very old way of thinking: a mindset that views oneself as the center and others as beings revolving around that center.
Those who do not view women and Kurds as human beings…
A perspective that views the other not as an equal subject, but as an object to be discussed…
That is precisely why the issue is not merely the content of the joke being told. The real issue is why such narratives are still viewed as natural and ordinary.
More importantly, this incident took place at a hospital opening.
Because a hospital exists to alleviate human suffering.
It exists to heal people’s bodies, tend to their wounds, and protect their lives.
In a context where pain needs to be alleviated, the fact that identities that have borne the burden of various forms of discrimination throughout history are turned into the butt of jokes is a profound contradiction.
On the one hand, the claim to be able to heal the human body…
On the other hand, a language that can unwittingly wound human dignity…
On the one hand, the goal of healing…
On the other hand, the risk of causing new injuries…
This situation reminds us of a much bigger problem.
The modern world has changed beyond recognition.
Technology has advanced.
Cities have grown.
Companies have grown into giants.
Hospitals have become more modern.
Life expectancy has increased.
But despite all these changes, why do humanity’s fundamental problems still persist?
Why does discrimination persist in different forms?
Why do women still have to fight for equality?
Why do peoples and identities still remain overshadowed by stereotypes?
Perhaps the reason for this is that we confuse change with transformation.
Change happens outside.
The transformation, however, is taking place within.
Change drives growth.
Transformation helps people grow.
Change drives technological advancement.
Transformation cultivates a sense of conscience.
Change creates institutions.
Transformation gives rise to a new morality and a new consciousness.
The great economic power, advanced institutions, and modern structures we possess today are not enough to prove that humanity has truly matured. For the true measure of civilization lies not only in what we build, but in how we view humanity.
The progress of a society is measured not only by the technology it produces, but also by the respect it shows to those it considers the weakest.
A person’s greatness is measured not only by their wealth, but by the kindness with which they treat those who are different from them.
Therefore, what needs to be discussed here is not whether a person has good or bad intentions.
Because the issue is bigger than individuals.
The issue is the culture of domination that has persisted in various forms for centuries.
The issue is a mindset that places itself at the center and claims the right to define others.
The issue is a mindset that still divides people into categories rather than viewing them as equal individuals.
Perhaps humanity is facing its greatest contradiction here today.
We have achieved great success in treating diseases.
We have learned how to heal the body.
We have improved the technology.
We’ve built new worlds.
But we have not been able to achieve the same success in transforming that age-old mindset that views humans as superior to other humans.
So the question still looms large before us:
We’re building hospitals, so why can’t we still build people?