Race War
- Thread starter Onder
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Einherjar86
Active Member
If you're asking if I think laughter is "evil," the answer is no. Furthermore, jokes as they concern things such as racism or the ruling political ideology are what I was specifically referring to; in today's social and political atmosphere, government thrives on its being mocked and ridiculed. It's as though we have this delightful arena or space in which we can poke fun at these institutions, and feel as though we're enlightened or actively altering the state of things. Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert have regular spots on Comedy Central; but does anything they say leave any valuable or quantifiable imprint on our current socio-political situation? No; by the next week, we've already forgotten what they said.
All I'm suggesting is that satire of this sort isn't as innocent as it might seem. Racist jokes perpetuate stereotypes, because if we laugh at them (at ourselves, even) we are acknowledging what is perceived as a fundamental truth. As the old adage goes, "stereotypes exist for a reason."
All I'm suggesting is that satire of this sort isn't as innocent as it might seem. Racist jokes perpetuate stereotypes, because if we laugh at them (at ourselves, even) we are acknowledging what is perceived as a fundamental truth. As the old adage goes, "stereotypes exist for a reason."
Dak
mentat
You just sort of contradicted your original assertion. If poking fun alters nothing, then how is it keeping racism going?
Saparmurat_Niyazov
Member
@Dak: Eddie Griffon's jokes about white people are far more racist than anything Chappelle ever did. His white jokes have actually made me cringe, but I laughed, too.
@Einherjer: I'm afraid that you've been negatively conditioned by political correctness. Vulgar humor is essential for public discourse. For example, I'm a father that actually loves my kids, but I still laugh at abuse and molestation jokes. Without off-color jokes, people would be unable to discuss taboo subjects. First you laugh, but then you start to think about what you laughed at.
@Einherjer: I'm afraid that you've been negatively conditioned by political correctness. Vulgar humor is essential for public discourse. For example, I'm a father that actually loves my kids, but I still laugh at abuse and molestation jokes. Without off-color jokes, people would be unable to discuss taboo subjects. First you laugh, but then you start to think about what you laughed at.
SentinelSlain
Suck my joined date.
- Nov 21, 2007
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Actual discussion of race is much more interesting than whining about whether or not it's socially acceptable to make racist jokes.
Vimana
Member
- Mar 2, 2007
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I don't think one has to be racist to make racist jokes. As I said, there is an irony to them that creates the humor for a lot of people. I told the joke "why are black guys so fast?" to a guy who was pretty racist. After hearing the punchline, he didn't laugh. It was probably because he believed the joke and couldn't see it as ironic or funny.
Hell, now that I think about it. He never laughed at any of the racist jokes I made about black people and Mexicans.
Hell, now that I think about it. He never laughed at any of the racist jokes I made about black people and Mexicans.
Dak
mentat
Dak
mentat
Expanding on the point Vimana made, tryign to tell a racist joke about blacks around an actual racist would go something like this:
Me: "Why can blacks run so fast?"
Racist: "That's a fuckin myth, naygers ain't special"
Me:"It's a joke man, Why can blacks run so fast?"
Racist:"Uh, cause they are closer to monkeys?"
Me: "Cause they get so much practice running from the police!"
Racist: "Damn right they do!! Damn naygers always stealin shit and killin people!!!"
etc.
Me: "Why can blacks run so fast?"
Racist: "That's a fuckin myth, naygers ain't special"
Me:"It's a joke man, Why can blacks run so fast?"
Racist:"Uh, cause they are closer to monkeys?"
Me: "Cause they get so much practice running from the police!"
Racist: "Damn right they do!! Damn naygers always stealin shit and killin people!!!"
etc.
Dak
mentat
Onder wins. Was wondering how long it was going to take for someone to say "Derpyn". But when you get tired of being a societal parasite Onder, you can have a legitimate beef with the gypsies or whatever.
Vimana
Member
- Mar 2, 2007
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While that is fairly accurate, I have encountered one racist online who laughed at racist jokes. However, from what I could tell, he wasn't a very serious racist. He said it was "just the way he felt." He was from Texas. He was a pretty cool guy, and told this one black guy on a forum we both posted on that they'd be friends if he were white. I'm guessing he was just raised that way and never consciously made the decision to be racist like some people I met.
Besides, I remember reading about a study that shows that pretty much all Americans, including black people, are racist towards blacks. It's subconscious racism, though. So we don't actually believe racist things, but we are more inclined to subconsciously declare black people as inferior or bad in certain respects if we are not given the time to think it through. I was asked by people doing a sociology project "what's your first thought when you think of a criminal?" My first thought was "a poor black guy," but he was standing near someone black so I said "someone lower class."
From what I remember from seeing a program about the study, it's not racist jokes that create or even reinforce this subconscious racism. It's mainly the media. We are flooded with stories of "this person killed that person" and it's almost always a black person.
Dak
mentat
The crime thing is not a myth. Black on black and black on white crime is much higher than white on white or white on black.
Vimana
Member
- Mar 2, 2007
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That's true. And the difference between being consciously racist and subconsciously racist is understanding this, but deciding for oneself whether or not to believe it's because of the color of their skin of simply their social condition.
Humans generalize for survival. If a human got bitten by a blue snake and got sick, but didn't run from a red snake, they could die. The same principal applies. It's just part of our survival instinct to acknowledge a danger, make generalizations about it, and then do what one needs to to avoid it.
Humans generalize for survival. If a human got bitten by a blue snake and got sick, but didn't run from a red snake, they could die. The same principal applies. It's just part of our survival instinct to acknowledge a danger, make generalizations about it, and then do what one needs to to avoid it.
Saparmurat_Niyazov
Member
Probably because of poverty. White criminals are disproportionally poor, and blacks are generally poor. I'm not saying that poverty directly causes crime, but it is a strong contributing factor.
- Apr 10, 2006
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I am not a "societal parasite" and I dont want to eat together with gypsies. I dont like when they watch me. I can feel it even if Im not looking. Their look is like a huge retten octopus fallen around my shoulders.
Dak
mentat
I would say that crime and poverty are effects, not roots, of other problems.
@Onder: You get free shit from other people at gun point, through a proxy. No different than the gypsies.
Dak
mentat
I like the "high/low time preference" approach to what distinguishes "classes".
Our government schools reinforce low time preferences as do advertising and most other media.
Our government schools reinforce low time preferences as do advertising and most other media.
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