TV Tokenism in Comedy?

On the CBS television show How I Met Your Mother, Barney Stinson (one of the 4 main characters in the show) has always wondered who his father is. Barney also has a half brother named James who is African American and clearly has a different birth father. Despite this, when James finally meets his birth father, Barney is convinced he has also found the father he has dreamed of meeting for decades. At this turning point in the episode, Barney takes racist stereotypes that pertain to blacks and apply them to himself (basketball, gospel singing, etc.).

Although this episode does not apply to the TV Tokenism thesis created by Mr. Bolos specifically for network dramas, I found it interesting that the show chose a white man to deliver racist stereotypes and jokes to amuse their audience. Barney and the audience can both justify the offensive things the character is doing because of the mentality that if you are the minority, you can make fun of yourself, right? In the image above, Barney is inserting himself within his "fellow African Americans", as if saying "It's okay! I'm one of them!"
 I believe that comedies use racist stereotypes and jokes as a "cheap shot" and is an easy way to obtain laughs from their viewers. I personally find How I Met Your Mother a hilarious, light hearted comedy, but I admit most of their jokes lack sufficient depth. Barney, for example, saying that his newfound race explains why he was so good at basketball, is a prime example of an easy, racist one-liner. Barney was clearly talented at basketball before he "discovered" he was black, so why is it funny that he justifies his talent now? A caucasian man does not have to be African American in heritage to be good at a sport, such as basketball, but the audience still reacts to this mindless joke and encourages them to create more. To watch the clip for more examples, click the video above this text.
Enjoy!!!