Jokes about Minorities...

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Samurai Guy
DO NOT POST A JOKE IN THIS THREAD! That will get this thread closed, and that is bad. This is to debate whether or not jokes of the aforementioned nature are a form of racism.

I personally feel they are not. I have asked around, as this debate was getting interesting, and those who I questioned said, "No, they are just for fun. They make me laugh."

I asked my brother, and he replied in kind, stating furthermore "Some of the best 'Black' jokes were told to me by my black friends."

Rebuttle, anyone?

I apologize if anyone is offended by me referring to coloured/african american/etc. as black.

frodo34x
This just goes to show what soceity has got to...

Samurai Guy
I just dont want to step on toes... the last thread I made like this was closed because people were throwing around racist jokes. I made on, but posted it in spoiler form... big grin

But, I agree. Society has made us scared to say anything that might be the least bit offensive.

T.M
i have been informed that saying black is not racist

pr1983
saying black isn't racist at all.

The Inkeeper
Ok, you think they are funny, because they point out a stereotype which seems weird or different Mocking it is a form of racism

Mane
If black people call each other n*ggers and us white people cr*ckers, than why is it socially unacceptable to call fellow white people cra*kers and other black people n*ggers?

Clovie
i don't think i know any jokes of this kind confused

i'm not sure if blondes are to be count as minorty confused

The Inkeeper
Mane, could you edit your post please, and remove the word n****** or at least censor it?

ETK
I cannot stand racism, we are all the same on this earth.

However, I don't like when people pull the race card every single time something happens.

Example: Coach of Notre Dame is fired after having 3 subpar seasons. We was fired because he could not bring Notre Dame football back to greatness, not because he was black. Notre Dame is already getting in hot water of the termination of this coach.


As for jokes, they are not needed in society, many funny jokes can be said without involving race.

Though I am german (born in Germany and moved to the USA a few years ago) I am not offended by an racial comments one can come up with. It's all just words anyways.

The Inkeeper
but racism does not stop at words. Birmingham is a prime example of that. An English channel did a documentary on it, very racist, full of abuse against them

ETK
You are so right! Words are just a form of expression for racism. A shame that people can't like someone for you who they are, not judge them by the color of their skin.

naybean
Everywhere in Englands got rascism of some kind. infact i doubt you could find an area without a rascist person in it. Race jokes are ok if they are told as a joke and not meant derrogatively. Theres a difference between metelling my black friend a joke about black people and having a laugh and someone walking into a BNP pub and saying the same joke.

What gets me is if ecery race is equal why is it ok to have programs like 100 greatest blacks in history yet not have 100 greatest whites or 100 greatest Chinese people? If everyones equal shouldnt it be 100 greatest people in history? If we keep on putting people into categories then we're saying theres a difference between them but its difficult not to.

The Inkeeper
Exactly, as i said before, if you woke up tomorrow and belonged to one of those 'ethnic groups' that come under scrutiny, would you not still be yourself, a human who deserves equality

naybean
yes totally. but in my opinion the only way to get rid of rascism is through integration. Educating people about different races too much IMO does more harm than good. But, if everyone knows decent people from other races theres nothing they can say against them if theyve got a friend from that race. people learn more from actions than words.

lil bitchiness
No, racist jokes are not ok. They are a form of racism, and i dont understand how can people claim that they hate racism and everything about it, then turn around and support racist jokes. Those are NOT jokes - those are excuses to insult and descriminate anyone who is different to us.

Racist jokes are underlining the differances between us! They call themselfs humour so that they can freely just get away with it!

When you tell a racist joke, you are making fun of and laughing at the fact that certain group is different. You are underlining the diefferances between us, and for some reason some people who claim are not racist, find that kind of behaviour - funny.

The Inkeeper
clap well done lil

Afro Cheese
So should racist jokes be banned then? And I've got a question for you... what if the jokes are made by a minority? What if a black guy points out the flaws in his own race? Is he promoting self hate?

The Inkeeper
i posted what i thought of that myself. A black man doesnt make jokes and abuse himself, he points out the way others discriminate against him in a humourus way, as if he said it in a serious way...nobody would listen.

Thats why a majority of their jokes are about things going badly for them because they are black or whatever.

Arachnoidfreak
Goddamn. Jokes are jokes. When something is funny, laugh at it. Humor is there to point out absurdities of every kind, whether they are political stereotypical, or otherwise. I hear jokes about hispanics every day, but I UNDERSTAND THAT THEY ARE JOKES. They make jokes about me and I joke about others. Who cares? Live a little for ****'s sake. Words are words. They aren't bullets, they aren't chainsaws, they shouldn't be offensive.

Humor is there to make people laugh. Unfortunately, there's always someone who finds something "wrong" with the damn joke and they go and ruin the fun.

Elastigirl
If a black man makes a joke about how the whites are oppressing him, is he being racist?

Also, if a white man makes a joke about how the blacks are oppressing him, is he being racist?

The Inkeeper
A person talking about their own race in a negative way or however is not racist

Mr Zero
The debate about racist humor often gets sidetracked into the debate about political correctness.

People confuse our dislike of racist humor with a desire to censor. I don't like racists or racist jokes: that doesn't mean you can't have humor that involves minority subjects - what that means is that "jokes" that degrade an entire minority are treated like the thinly disguised hate rants that they are.

It's not a question of which demographic is allowed to say "N" words - it's what's behind what you say. I refer you to Lenny Bruce - (i'd quote him here, but I'd get banned) a man who went to jail for trying to take the sting out of "forbidden words"

edit ~ sorry, no links or jokes or pics of any kind that are racist in any way

pr1983
i'll admit when i was too young to know better i laughed at jokes that would be considered racist. i grew up and learned from my mistakes, but i dont see anything wrong with a joke as long as its made in good faith and doesnt offend the person your telling it to (ever see an eddy murphy show?). if its too offensive then it shouldnt be told.

thing i hate is that nowadays like naybean and ETK have said, the race card is played way too often. we have a huge foreign community here in ireland. i (just to reitorate) am white, and not so long ago i got into a disagreement with an african guy. race wasnt an issue until HE brought it up. he called me racist because i took offence to him acting like and as*hole. that does my head in, it really does. i told him anybody can be an idiot, no matter their colour or culture, which is true. the fact is him calling me a racist made me want to kill him right there and then. i think its one of the most offensive things to call anybody.

problem is nowadays if i want to celebrate my heritage i'm branded a racist because i'm white. black, hispanic and asians can do it, why can't i?

naybean
because its a joke. if i took it seriously itd be different. i tell blonde jokes all the time and i'm blonde (i know its not exactly the same but...) if it makes people laugh and im laughing about myself then i dont see the prob with it.

Afro Cheese
Well not always. Black comedians don't just go on stereotypes and ways that white discriminate against blacks, many times they point out flaws in black society that they came up with themselves. In Chris Rock's "Bring the pain" he said "There's a civil war going on between black people. And there's two sides. There's black people, and there's n******s. And n******s have got to go." He went on to talk about how black people are normal respectable people, while "n*****s" are the ignorant thugs and gangsters that give black people a bad name. Was he racist in making these remarks, or was he just calling it like he sees it?

Arachnoidfreak
Lenny Bruce was SSSOOOO awesome.

Afro Cheese: N*****s vs Black People is one of Chirs Rock's greatest skits.

pr1983
thats open to interpretation. btw i saw that, one of the funniest ive ever seen.

Afro Cheese
Well I do think black people can be racist against black or white people can be racist against white by hating their own race. But I think that if they are on stage telling a joke to a mostly black audience who's loving it people need to let it go.

lil bitchiness
Number one, banning something isnt going to stop people from doing it /saying it. People need to change their attitude and not allow those kind of jokes!

Minorty or majorty makes absolutely NO differance!! It still udnerlines the differances between us and support the fact that its funny to make a joke based on skin colour, creed or nationality!! Are you not reading my posts?

WindDancer
The issue rises again....I see. Well, this time I'm going to keep it short. Jokes are jokes and if they offend anyone...to bad. But isn't it contradictory that certain people make jokes about Americans being fat and stupid and that's consider funny (Which I do find it funny) and yet it is offensive to Obese people. Oh noooo...someone makes jokes about Blacks or Minorities and that's wrong. Utter BS I said!

wuTa
if someone doesnt find a joke funny than dont laugh but to say we need to change or censor jokes because someone doesnt like them is ****ed up

lil bitchiness
Than you have no right to argue if someone calls you racist - because you seem to find rediculing people for their creed, nationality or colour funny.

WindDancer
Any wahoo out there can call me a racist all they want. I, deep inside know I ain't no racist. So I laugh at racial jokes therefore I'm a racist? HA! This is too funny.

Afro Cheese
Yeah I am reading your posts but I wasn't completely clear on your views on the subject. I couldn't tell whether you were only talking about white on black jokes or black on black jokes too.

I understand that discrimination is wrong but when it comes to comedy a lot of it is making fun of some group of people. I'm not saying all, but a large amount of comedy is at somebody's expense. Whether it be on race, sexuality, profession, physical appearance, what's the difference? We all have differences and race is one of them, so why exempt the racial factor from comedy? I mean if it is a black person on stage telling jokes about black people to a mostly black audience who is loving the jokes, why is that such a bad thing?

Arachnoidfreak
I don't even bother getting offended anymore. It isn't worth the trouble.

The Inkeeper
ok if its so acceptable- you go into a crowded area, and start saying 'n****** have got to go'
see what happens

wuTa
where's the punchline?

The Inkeeper
there isnt one, im commenting on afro-cheeses post

Mr Zero
The punchline is when you get the shit beat out of you and we laugh.

Mr Zero
It's not funny at all. Do you understand what "tacit agreement" is?

The Inkeeper
you might think its not racist, but say it in a public place, see what they charge you with.

Then comes the bit thats 'too funny'

WindDancer
Well, Mr. Zero like I said. People can call me names all they want. I don't get offended easily and to a certain extend don't care much for what people think of me. That's my persona outside in the world. Here I do gotta follow a code of conduct.

Adam_PoE
Words or phrases that express, either deliberately or unknowingly, hatred or contempt towards a group of people, based on areas such as their ethnic, cultural, religious or sexual identity, or with reference to their physical or mental health, represent the personal thoughts of the individual who uses them; Speech is the expression of personal thoughts.

wuTa
yep...thats gonna happen

The Inkeeper
we can always hope

Afro Cheese
Didn't quite get my post now did you? What I asked you is was is acceptable for Chris Rock to do that on stage in joke form in front of a black audience who all seemed to love the joke. If not, then why is it not acceptable?

FeceMan
If you let your 'other' speak for this one, I would have been strangely aroused. laughing


Wow! It's like he read my freakin' mind!


So, what you are saying is that we should ban all jokes about human beings because almost all of them are underlining differences between us. No more blond jokes, no more "your mother is so fat" jokes (heh, my grammar made that joke not worth telling), no more anything that could poke fun at humans?


Same.


An excellent point.

BackFire
Then the creators/writers of The Simpsons, South Park, Family Guy and other such shows shouldn't complain if they get labled racist because all of those shows make jokes about racial stereotypes quite often. Same with Chris Rock and Dave Chapel, they both make jokes based on race (both white AND black) so I guess it's fair to label them racist too. No, sorry, it's illogical bullshit.

Racism is racism, jokes are jokes, there are differences between someone making a good hearted joke about a silly jewish stereotype that is harmless and skinheads passing out hate flyers, they are only related in the fact that they both have to do with race. However, a racial joke isn't meant to actually put down another race (usually), it's meant in good fun and humor.

Someone calling anyone who makes a good humored joke about a race a racist is just silly, and false, and bullshit, and stupid, and idiotic and shameful and funny to the point of being pathetic. If that person who told the joke goes to a KKK rally after telling the joke, then call them racist. If we can't laugh at our own differences, then what can we laugh at?

Arachnoidfreak
Excellent Backfire. What a way with words.

The Omega

Arachnoidfreak
Nonononono, let's set something straight here. It isn't a joke if it isn't funny. An offensive racial slur or comment isn't a joke, it's blatant racism. A joke is something funny to laugh at. Getting offended at a joke is stupid.

BackFire
Omega: Obviously, but it's silly to say anyone who says any joke, no matter how harmless or playful, about a race should be considered racist and shouldn't complain about that label.

The Omega

BackFire
Indeed.

Mr Zero
All the shows you mention are satire BF; None of them pick on race, they pick on people as a whole. It's broad-spectrum hatred.

Afro Cheese
There are jokes I feel are blatantly racist, like the one liners that were posted in the other thread. Jokes that suggest people are better off dead or should be hated or are somewhat less of people is being racist in my opinion. But if racism is anything in which race is a factor than we are all racist in some way, whether it be deliberate or on a subconscious level. Nobody is completely racially unbiased. I think that just being racially aware is different that racism. Knowing the differences between two ethnic groups is not being racist, but considering one group to be less than another because of their differences is.

BackFire
all of those shows has made jokes specifically about a certain race or religion or ethnicity, especially South Park. They're satire, but they still HAVE targeted specific groups of people at one point or another.

Mr Zero
My point being they have targeted EVERYONE at some point or another, so i dont see parker/stone as racist, I see them as filled with contempt for the world as a whole: A philosophy I can get behind!

The thing about racist humor is that is makes racism acceptable. I don't feel able to make the distinction between 2 liberals laughing archly at a jew joke and two nazis laughing at the same gag. So i err on the side of caution.

I'm not saying everyone who makes or laughs at racist humor IS a racist, i'm just saying they aren't part of the solution. If they are happy with that - so am I: but I wont be in the same room as them.

Afro Cheese
So what exactly is the solution?

Mr Zero
Pick on fat people.

BackFire
There are jokes out there about everyone as well. So if a person makes jokes race related AND jokes about other things that aren't race related their racial jokes are okay because they've also made jokes about other topics? Am I missing something? Trey and Matts jokes that target specific minority groups are acceptable just because they also at other times have targeted other things?

Most good humored racial jokes don't endorse racism, they endorse recognize the common differences between different groups of people and laughing and accepting those differences. The fact is, alot of black people act different then most white people, most asian people act different then most mexican people, most mexican people act different then arabian people, there's nothing wrong with acknowledging these differences with simple jokes poking fun at the differences and bringing them to light.

Jackie Malfoy
To answear your question no I don't think it is.JM

Dwarfdude
Here here!!

As a mexican comedian once said


And I ditto him.

lil bitchiness
You know, i cant take any of that into consideration or seriously, after I have seen at what picture you have laughed at and ultemately gave your support to yesterday. Im not Middle Eastern, but i was offended.

And its not silly or bullshit! its absolutely not - racist jokes are there to make recism seem as something thats funny and acceptable - oh its ok to be racist, its ok to comdem people for being different to us - its ok - as long as you make it a joke.

See, thats bullshit!

BackFire
"And its not silly or bullshit! its absolutely not - racist jokes are there to make recism seem as something thats funny and acceptable - oh its ok to be racist, its ok to comdem people for being different to us - its ok - as long as you make it a joke."



You're right, that comment you wrote is bullshit as is the idea you're portraying. Because that's what very very few people think of when they say those jokes. no one is laughing at racism when they tell a good humored joke about a particular race or ethnicity. It's not like they're saying "yeah, funny joke huh? Lets go kill mexicans now!". Most of the time it's just in good fun, and it isn't untill stupid people blow it out of proportion that it becomes a problem and looked at as more then it actually is - a joke.

Making a joke about a persons difference is not condemning it, holy hell, it's a joke, it's laughing at the differences different people have, it's bringing them out in a POSITIVE manner. It's not condemning it or showing it in a negative light, it's making it FUNNY.

Again, I ask you, are the creators of The Simpsons, South Park and Family guy all racist too you because they make jokes dealing with race, ethnicity and religion? I'm willing to bet you're going to say "no". Because you find it funny when THEY do it, but as soon as someone says a joke that YOU don't like it's fair to falsely JUDGE them as a racist because, oh, they laughed at something you deem offensive, so it's okay to blindly insult them and say they're racist, and it's not okay for them to object to such idiocy on your part because again, they laughed at a joke you didn't like.

Damn them all for having a sense of humor.

Oh, and what does you being or not being middle eastern have to do with you getting offended by the gag you're reffering too? It wasn't even a joke about middle easterners.

Darth Revan
Like that episode of South Park where the town flag was of the white guys lynching the black guy and the kids did a debate on it in school and one group didn't even notice that they guy was black and thought it was stupid that they were trying to ban it and the other thought it was the most racist piece of trash they had ever seen and... j00 know what I'm talking about. no expression

BackFire
How ironic, I just watched that episode last night. Good stuff.

lil bitchiness
Read the thread before you start bleating like a lost sheep - already adressed the issue.

lil bitchiness
You know whats really worrying - that there are people out there who have the attitude you do - and all other ones who have posted in this thread with the ''yeah lets have racist jokes''

You are approving racism - you have nothing else to say. Your points are not valid - they are all mindeless blealing about ''its funny lets laugh at it'' - thats all your argumens are about. Its simple to you - and in reality, it hardly is so.

Discrimination, racism or prejudice of any kind are repulsive in people.

Adam_PoE
There is a clear difference between the use humor as social commentary, which presents the incongruity between perception and actuality and the absurdity of stereotypes, and humor at the expense of others, which presents a group of people as inferior, base, or worthless. Speech, including humor, is the expression of personal thoughts. Likewise, one cannot find humor at the expense of a group of people to be entertaining unless he, knowingly or unknowingly, holds similar attitudes or beliefs about that group.

FeceMan
Um...you were thinking that one would be offended because one is of Middle Eastern ethnic background?

You're joking, right? I mean, because, what with the...you know, the planes crashing into the World Trade Center and the explosions and the people dying and the making light of it...and you're worried about BEING OF MIDDLE EASTERN DESCENT?

Seriously.

Dwarfdude
Thatsright lil. People. Humans. With flaws. One of those flaws is, I'm afraid, the natural reaction to laugh at the expense of others. Don't deny that you've ever done it, because we've all laughed at someone who's tripped and fallen. The expense of others includes races. And wether you like it or not, most of comedy is based around race pregdeses (I cant speel), just right now, I'm watching Friday Night stand-up, listening to a black guy make fun of white people, because they walk right towards a gunshot. And I'm laughing. You know why? Cause its funny, cause its true. Most white people not from the city have no real common sense. I can admit that. Thats what comedy is all about. The ability to laugh at yourself.

Obviously, lil, you do not have that ability.

FeceMan
^ Worded very well with a snappy zinger to go out on. smile

Fiery Eyes
Well....I think it's just for fun. My husband gets on to me cause I make jokes about other denominations but i'm just kidding around, and baptist say them about us too LOL A very good friend of mine is Baptist, she told me a bunch LOL I just laughed.

Ajax66
Whatever happened to Polish jokes? I'm half Croatian, and we don't even rate our own humor genre. Well, maybe next century...

ChickinMeat
i couldn't have worded that better, i completely agree with this statement.

if people just take a pinch of salt with what they hear, they might actually enjoy themselves, thats right, they might actually have fun and laugh.

a joke is a joke, and most people can tell the difference, it seems some people on here cant.

frodo34x
If it's OK for black men to make n***** jokes, but not white men, isnt that a form of racial discrimination?

naybean
it all depends on the context of the joke and the joke itself u cant label all race jokes racist jokes. It all depends on the situation surrounding it. I wouldnt post a joke bout race on here because i dont know who will read it and yes it might offend someone so its considerate to keep those kind of jokes between you and people you know will have a laugh about it. If you dont know somebody well enough to know whether it would offend them or not its not worth it saying it to them.

Afro Cheese
No. It's OK for a fat guy to jokingly talk about him being fat, but if you go up to him and say "your so fat! ha ha" you've just crossed the line from joking to insulting.

FeceMan
I call my friend fat all the time. He jokes and complains about being fat all the time.

"I have to be careful walking up the steps--I could have a heart attack at any time. I'd fall over and people would probably step on and kick me."

(And yes, I know this doesn't really contribute anything to the argument, but I felt like posting it anyhow.)

Dwarfdude
What I think is really funny is how no one gets mad at the black guy making fun of white people. Its always the white guys whos racist. I dunno, thought I'd mention that.

FeceMan
I am so proud of myself--I just created an entire diagram of the Calvin cycle in MS Paint. It took forever, but I think I understand it now...since the book sucks at explaining anything.

Df02
people seem to forget that racism, sexism and every other 'ism' works both way stick out tongue

Afro Cheese
Yeah.. reverse racism is more accepted. It's because it's racism in response to racism, which isn't justified, but definitely more understandable. Black people are bitter towards white people as a result of centuries of racism and oppression, where white people were first racist towards black people as a sense of racial superiority. They thought Africans were less of people, and had no problem enslaving them. If a white person were to tell a joke about black people, some would still interpret that as the white person still feels they are superior, where if a black person tells a joke about white people, it's interpreted as harmless humor. It's unfair but still understandable.

lil bitchiness
Indeed. We're gonna agree there AC, but you know why, because its exactly what im trying to say.

You are in reality, not gonna hear a Jew saying ''im a jew, i just heard a tasteless joke about us and nazis ha, ha, ha''

Racism is not simple ''bashing and insulting of people of different color in front of you'' - if it was that simple, then we could all fight it, and there would hardly be any racism. In reality, racism is built in the very structirure of our social upbringing, and most of you have proved that just by saying ''its only a joke, so its ok''
Its not ok - racism works throu jokes - its making itself be acceptable, because ''its only a joke''

Where did these jokes come from in the first place? Just think about it. They came from one or another form of racism - if there was no racism, such jokes wouldnt exist.

Df02
but its not harmless humour we are talking about.... Black people are just as racist as whites, asian, latino, etc etc. some people cant seem to grasp that.

if i shoot ur dog is it somehow acceptable for u to shoot mine? no, neither of us is in the right, we're BOTH wrong

erlaughlin
hello

erlaughlin
well where r the jokes

Afro Cheese
I agree to a certain extent Lil. I don't promote jokes that degrade a whole race, those aren't the types of jokes I laugh at. I promote jokes that take issues that are uncomfortable to discuss seriously and show a lighter side of things. If anything I believe that would decrease racial tension. If we look at race like it is something that doesn't matter and shouldn't be discussed, we are only trying to silence an issue that everyone is going to have in the back of their mind anyways. Just my opinion of course.

erlaughin we aren't allowed to tell racial jokes on this forum.

erlaughlin
have you ever went from soft to hard hahahahahahahaha

FeceMan
/e bans erlaughlin.

frodo34x
Jokes about Disabilities. Can you make jokes about people who are not disabled?

FeceMan
Haha, both of your legs work.

WindDancer
What really worries me is that people similar to your views on racist jokes want to censor the rest us for laughing at a joke. In a way you're telling people that you shouldn't laugh because is NOT funny. And you didn't even answer the question. Do you think the creators of South Park, The Simpsons, Dave Chapelle, and Chris Rock are racist because they use racist jokes?

Adam_PoE
There is a clear difference between television programs like "The Simpsons" and "South Park" that use humor as social commentary, which present the incongruity between perception and actuality and the absurdity of stereotypes, and humor at the expense of others, which presents a group of people as inferior, base, or worthless. Speech, including humor, is the expression of personal thoughts. Likewise, one cannot find humor at the expense of a group of people to be entertaining unless he, knowingly or unknowingly, holds similar attitudes or beliefs about that group.

Afro Cheese
Yeah south park makes fun of stereotypes more than actual groups. Like mr slave, gay guy wearing leather with a lisp.. chef, fat black guy who sings in a deep voice about having sex... etc. But race related jokes on stand up comedy can be hilarious. I was watching Richard Prior last night on comedy central.. that guy was a genius.

lil bitchiness
In absolute agreement.

I wanted to add something, but there is nothing to add really, your comment pretty much explained it. thumb up

FeceMan
Not true. There is a kid in my first hour who is very liberal, but he makes joke about his political standing all the time.

"Hey, I'm a Democrat--I'm lazy!"

Likewise, I'm incredibly conservative, but I can laugh at stuff like:

"Hey, Lois, it's the two symbols of the Republican part: an elephant and a big, fat white guy who's threatened by change."

Arachnoidfreak
Some people here are taking comedy way too seriously.

By taking something negative, putting a lighter, more positive spin on it, and making it socially acceptable, you take the negative connotation from it. Why is it wrong to take something that was frowned upon, make jokes, and make people laugh? What's wrong with pointing out differences and laughing at the absurdities? No, it's not ok to degrade an entire group of people, but jokes aren't meant for that. If it's degrading, it isn't a joke.

Some of you may be confusing a joke about race with racial slurs.

lil bitchiness
There you go. The key words written all by your little self. You're taking the racism, making it into a ''so-called'' joke and with that making it socially acceptable.

What better way to get racism in society than to disguise it. THIS is how racism survives to this day - because racism (just like power) doesnt have one form - it changes around, it shifts. Just like above.

Making fun of people different colour and making it socially acceptable is exactly what racist jokes do.

erlaughlin
yeah im wit lil
smile

Afro Cheese
Well... nobody is really budging on this topic at all.. including me. The bottom line for me is, many of my favorite comedians tell racial jokes and I think it's hilarious. If you want to label me racist go ahead.. I'm not going to pretend something isn't funny to me just to avoid people calling me racist.

Arachnoidfreak
Jokes about race aren't about their actual skin color, if you haven't noticed. It's about the general differences in what the races do.

You haven't told me about what's wrong about making it acceptable. If you take a negative, and turn it into a positive, where's the downside?

Again, if you must say "so-called" then it ISN'T A JOKE. A joke is always undeniably just that, a joke. If it's blatantly questionable in nature, it isn't a joke anymore.

FeceMan

feral cat

Adam_PoE
In racial humor, race is a component of the joke. In racist humor, race is the joke.

Afro Cheese
What exactly is the difference? Give me an example of racial humor and an example of racist humor. Don't give me specific jokes just shows/comedians/that sort of thing.

Ajax66
Behind the smiles and happy faces, most comics are angry people. They use humor to even the score. Chris Rock, Richard Pryor, Lenny Bruce, and others...very angry people.

Imperial_Samura
I remember, and know quite well, all the Irish jokes, mainly as I am technically Irish (Australian Irish, don't ask). I find them incredibly funny, although they poke fun at Irish culture, intelligence and so forth. However I never the less enjoy them because they are, quite frankly, jokes, sometimes with a great deal of wit, other times with insight. Now I dislike racism immensely, but I don't think a person making a joke in the spirit of humor is being racist. In fact these jokes can often be a form of observational humor, or as a way of showing, perhaps, how unusual some things are. There is a difference I feel, of telling a joke that is aimed to hurt and filled with racial hate, and just telling a joke to be funny. Sounds naive perhaps.... But an important thing is tact, and consideration, humor is a personal thing, and I can see why some people could be offended, even when a person telling a joke has good intentions. An example I guess could be a person falling down. Not that funny? People seem to laugh a lot never the less. Does that mean we like seeing people hurt? Or that we enjoy pain? Not really, just that some people have strange sense of humor (curse Australia's funniest home videos, worst show on tv I think)

FeceMan
I highly doubt that.

phinney6
the way I look at it is, ANY type of teasing or insulting is hurtful. Calling someone a Bit*h or a *ick or ass is very mean, but society says its alright and you wouldn't be considerd a bad person, but the minute you use race, you become bad, and a racist. Jokes are Jokes, but I do not see how saying racial things are any worse than calling people non racist mean words like the before mentioned ones, they are both hurtful, actually I consider mean words like ***** or Dickhead to be just as bad as Nigge* they both are mean't to hurt but people consider Nigge* so much worse because its based on race, well those other mean words are based on things like looks which are just as bad as racial jokes

phinney6
Oh and blacks being enslaved was very terrible but Jews were enslaved by Egyptians thousands of years and it doesn't seem to be a problem that people of Jewish religion have with Egyptians.

KidRock
I hear people getting called a cracker on a daily bases...but if I were to say n*gger... thier goes the neighborhood ill have al sharpton at my door by noon

Adam_PoE
phinney6>

There is a clear difference between insulting someone because you are offended by his character and insulting someone because you are offended by his identity, i.e. one can help being a dick but he cannot help being black.

BackFire
"one can help being a dick but he cannot help being black."


Tell that to Micheal Jackson.

FeceMan
^ big grin

Afro Cheese
The n word is worse than calling someone a dick because of the hate behind the word. Cracker was initially meant to be hateful but never quite gained the notoriety because it wasn't associated with slavery, lynching, the oppression of a whole race, etc. We only hear of the Jews being slaves as ancient history. The fact that blacks in America were once slaves still effects us today, that's the difference. Also slavery was a common practice before any of that, but it wasn't the same slavery that blacks in America experienced because the slaves weren't treated as cruelly before that. They were basically servants who didn't get paid. While the whites in America treated the blacks almost as if they took pleasure in seeing them suffer.

Arachnoidfreak
"Cracker" did actually come from lynching, it comes from the "crack" sound the whip makes.

FeceMan
I think you misspoke.

Arachnoidfreak
Hmm...Did I? Point it out. I don't feel like thinking after a day of skipping school. I can do that tomorrow.

"Cracker" is short for "whipcracker" which comes from the "crack" sound the whip makes.

Clearer? Yea, I skipped that whole shortening thing, but so what.

Afro Cheese
Really? I always thought it had to do with the color of crackers. Where did you learn that?

FeceMan
Lynching is a hanging...the whip sound to which you are referring to comes not from this but from the whipping the slaves received.

I think.

Afro Cheese
They were abused before they were hung though. From what I know they were tarred and feathered but that could just be in the movies/books.

FeceMan
Well, I suppose that works, then.

Arachnoidfreak
Wait...lynching is hanging? Someone lied to me. Didn't they get flogged before they were hung though? I dunno. whatever.

Anyway, Afro Cheese, I learned it from a very very odd man. By odd, I mean he researched relatively useless information daily, and then spewed it to our class, instead of teaching us English like he was supposed to.

FeceMan
laughing

lil bitchiness
Whats wrong with making it acceptable? You are making racism socially acceptable and you're asking me whats wrong with it?

If you dont think there is nothing wrong with it, then i certanly hope there are less people like you in United States.




Thats bullshit. Not everyone laughs at the same jokes, what are you talking about? Just because you find the racist joke hilarious, does not mean that the people of that colour will too. Pointless.

FeceMan
It doesn't matter if it goes over well or not; its intent was still as a joke.

He could say precisely the same thing to you.

Arachnoidfreak
If it's accepted, the 'sting' is taken out of it, and noone becomes offended anymore. Well, where's the downside?



Yea, that part where you quoted me, it didn't say everyone would find the joke funny, just that you'd understand that it's a joke. You've never had that experience? "Oh, yea, I get the joke. It's just not funny." Everyone's been through that.

FeceMan
Next time quote me! smile

Arachnoidfreak
Ok!

Samurai Guy
Like I said before... it is all in the manner it is told.

WindDancer
To quote myself from another thread:



Same with Racist jokes.

Linkalicious
Wow, this thread is educational...

The only thing I've learned is that the British have no sense of humor because they're too busy being politically correct to laugh at a good joke when it's represented....

period

pr1983
hey, whoa, america is way more pc than britain... look at the janet jackson 'indcident'. over here we take things with a pinch of salt, alot of americans don't.

we have a decent sense of humor...

Linkalicious
nudity on public television during a family broadcast is an entirely different animal than verbal humor.

pr1983
yeah, but america genuinely seems to have gone pc overboard...

WindDancer
Speaking of British Humor:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1972565.stm

Bernard Manning says it all with this statement:

""You never take a joke seriously," he says. "It's a joke! "

Words of wisdom.

pr1983
there are people like that everywhere...

bernard manning... excellent.
a joke is a joke, plain and simple...

finti
USA the capitol of double moral.

British humor is awesome

Samurai Guy
The more you think about them, and if you actually understand the "stereotype," it is funny.

I mean, just because a stereotype applies to a certain minority, that does not mean that you feel a repressed hatred for said minority group. It is merely a joke at their expense, and I would hope that the minority group would understand there is "no hard feelings." However, sometimes the intentions behind a joke of the aforementioned nature are to belittle an ethnic, religious, what-have-you group, and that is when it becomes prejudice.

As I stated in the past, there is a fine line.

WindDancer
Mr. Manning said it best "You never take a joke seriously," is as simple as that.

Linkalicious
PC overboard?

Like not allowing gay marriage?

Samurai Guy
confused

wuTa
no...like saying happy hollidays instead of merry christmas or someone afraid of arguing with someone of a different race because there afraid of the race card....we are PC overboard....its like people are walking on egg shells

lil bitchiness
God I just love when people randomly assume! Im not from the United States, so no he couldnt say precisely the same to me. There are plenty more reasons why he couldnt say precisely the same to me, which are not subject of this thread and im not going go into them.

Either develop an argument that is worth reading, or stop following me - my replies are rarely addressed to you.

Linkalicious
The politically correct thing to do would be to allow gay marriage. Since the US is soooo PC overboard...why haven't they allowed such things?

Why is racial humor all over just about every television channel?

why are women stilled joked at for being inferior to men?

The Omega
... (Completely lost track of post seeing Lil Bitchiness' new Hayden Christensen picture...)
I'll... be back later...
big grin

lil bitchiness
So basically your argument is that the racism is wrong because its not sociably acceptable? So as long as you socially accpet KKK, no black people would ever get offended?

Heres the thing - you think and believe what you like - the racism in America is inherited and to be perfectly honest, after reading some of the replies here, its mind numbing.
You go on believing that if you make racism socially acceptable, noone will get offended, but dont come bitching when that attitude comes back and bites you in the ass (not you specifically but people who think like you, generally)

Im sure in the slave days in America, what has been done to the Black people has been socially acceptable, and im also sure none of the blacks were offended. Right.

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