^^^^
Yes, humour can be a great diffuser:
About 30 years ago I was in a speakeasy club with a friend, Nancy, who is a Californian jazz singer. She was taking a break with us on our table and a very large guy came over and started insisting she carry on singing but did so in a very nasty way - It wasn't a polite request. Both myself and another friend at the table (a drug dealer experienced in trouble) calmly asked him to be reasonable but he started getting very threatening. 'Security' was upstairs on the door and not within calling range. We were wondering what to do because we were sat at a table on bench seats under a low vault and getting up was neither easy nor fast - We were trapped and this guy knew it. Then Nancy smiled at him sweetly and told him "Hey darling, I'll sing a special song and just for you, but when I'm ready.... and anyway, honey, your flies are undone!". He looked down to see and was momentarily confused, everyone at the table burst out laughing and it completely changed his mood and he wandered off. His flies weren't undone. Nancy dedicated a song to him and he left us alone.
It's actually quite difficult to laugh at someone if you are feeling riled and it runs the risk of adding fuel to the fire. It always feels good to do though if you can pull it off.
I know this topic is about JT not being a racist but let's take a quick break with Eddie Izzard:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sv5iEK-IEzw&feature=relatedRe the gun incidents, long stories but in the New York incident the gun was pulled by someone on my behalf and the other was just a threat and I backed down, did what I was told and walked away. He was Eastern European, I had called him a poofta and that is a very heavy insult to manhood in some cultures. Lady Luck is a close friend of mine. Another close friend tells me I should write a book.