Paul Henry should have worn a coconut bra

There is something to be said for having to take zero responsibility for your actions - being able to blame any wrongdoings, misdemeanours and potentially life-shatteringly embarrassing events on someone else. It is a rare opportunity, indeed, and is to be grabbed with both hands at every available moment.
That is why I attend every costume party I'm invited to.
Costumes are magical; if not for the fact that it's nice just having a socially accepted reason to act like an idiot, costumes are like a personality transplant you can hang in your wardrobe and put tassels on. The effect of playing dress-ups on even the most cripplingly boring people never ceases to amaze me. It's an outlet, an excuse for doing everything you've always wanted to do but are normally too embarrassed/shy/sober to carry out.
I can eat stir fry with my hands and burp out my nose because I'm David Bowie. I can insult my elders and dance inappropriately because I'm Lamb Chop the sheep. I can get arrested, jump off tall buildings and run from the police because all costumes make ordinary human beings impervious to the law, gravity and all other forms of social justice and logical order. The actual costume is irrelevant.
The last formal dress-up event I went to was loaded with pirates, pimps and naughty people. A woman dressed as Miss Muffet vomited in her bonnet and had to be carried out. Yet no one cared. Miss Muffet could go home and coma in peace knowing her reputation was intact, despite shattering a few childhood impressions about nursery-rhyme characters.
In fact, the power of disguise is so great there have been moments in history where I can't help thinking a little effort in the costume department wouldn't have gone astray.
While I can't guarantee a lei and coconut bra would have got Stalin out of his little political situation, I feel someone should've given Paul Henry a heads up on the costume trick.
Revisualise, if you will, the statement that cost Mr Henry his job. A touchy approach for sure, but nonetheless a valid question and something a fair few less famous people have probably asked. Now, imagine him in a different "costume" of sorts, a comedian, a radio host, a person of Indian descent like Anand Satyanand. In fact, imagine almost anyone other than a slightly obnoxious middle-aged Pakeha who delights in tinkering with the delicate minds of the slightly more PC members of society. Different outcome, perhaps? I think so. Paul Henry got in trouble because he's Paul Henry and as the host of such a *cough* (heavy sarcasm implied) pivotal media outlet in the political decision-making of everyday Kiwis *cough* his words are apparently meant to be taken as scripture.
TVNZ chief executive Rick Ellis even went so far as to claim that Henry's words "split the community" and wrecked New Zealand's international relationships. I'm sure poor Paul wasn't expecting to have such international impact when he signed up for a show that has also covered the world's largest toast mosaic and Alison Holst's all-time best lolly cake recipes.
The only inconvenient thing with costume parties is that you can never dress as two things at once and, as such, Henry's persona was his making and his downfall. While half the country accepted that entertainers are paid to entertain and revelled in Henry's outlandish statements, infantile giggle and generally ridiculous demeanour, the other half placed him in a position of international political authority and were then shocked when he said something that did not reflect a dignified, balanced and socially responsible representation of our country.
It would seem that in the media world, if it's broadcast, it's not only true but must be taken as an accurate moral portrayal of entire racial groups, companies and even countries. Only an elaborate disguise can save you. Someone should have warned Paul.