well, that depends.i have a mixed racial background, and i guess it's easier to differentiate between humour and malignance masquerading as humour for me than some. still, i realise that any sort of racism will be ill-received, no matter what the intention.
it's even tough to address racism as a concept for some people, because they are rather touchy or believe others around them are sensitive. for me, it's all about intent. if a person seems out to demean others, i'm less tolerant of the 'joke', but much of humour depends upon differences, perceived and real, so racial humour need not be offensive (though it often is).
and stuff.
(it's even tough to address racism as a concept for some people, because they are rather touchy or believe others around them are sensitive. for me, it's all about intent. if a person seems out to demean others, i'm less tolerant of the 'joke', but much of humour depends upon differences, perceived and real, so racial humour need not be offensive (though it often is).
and stuff.
postbear has metal knees,
Thu 29 Dec 2005, 0:44,
archived)
i reckon you've got it there.perhaps paedo/rape/death jokes are tolerated here because they are blatanly not aimed to offend. But with racist slurs it's just too borderline?
(
grey matter,
Thu 29 Dec 2005, 0:54,
archived)
I dunno, I think maybe that's a bit optimistic. I'm afriad the truth is probably more subjective than that.I think, realistically (and depressingly), it has more to do with statistics - when we post a 'hilarious' rape/disability 'shop, we kinda know we're statistically unlikely to be mortally offending someone on the board at that time who has direct experience of those things. that's much less likely with racial stuff. so actually, we're just doing what we feel we can probably 'get away with' - and, as such, our reluctance is arguably based more on selfish cosiderations than altruistic ones.
/devil's advocate.
but yes, even with that being the case, i comletetly agree that they should be kept off the board. apart from the many more highbrow arguments, they're just never funny.
(/devil's advocate.
but yes, even with that being the case, i comletetly agree that they should be kept off the board. apart from the many more highbrow arguments, they're just never funny.
grey kid is breakdancing to save a community centre,
Thu 29 Dec 2005, 1:00,
archived)
some of the funniest humour ever has been race related... perhaps the cardinal example being richard pryor, but similarly the mass of jewish humour that's been made over the years
lemony,
Thu 29 Dec 2005, 1:05,
archived)
richard pryor for cardinal!lenny bruce for pope!
me for god!
(me for god!
postbear has metal knees,
Thu 29 Dec 2005, 1:14,
archived)
well......paedo jokes are allowed because the incidence rates of paedophilia are perceived to be so low that it's unlikely that anyone here is guilty. rape is more common, and there is controversy with rape jokes as well as the racial ones. death, though, is universal. if i make a diana car crash joke, i do so fully knowing that after i gack, someone might well make a joke about me (and let's face it, those sort of jokes are more at the expense of celebrity that they are about her).
racism's just too invisible and is (and is perceived as) far more common than most other societal trauma, so it's a touchier subject to deal with.
(racism's just too invisible and is (and is perceived as) far more common than most other societal trauma, so it's a touchier subject to deal with.
postbear has metal knees,
Thu 29 Dec 2005, 1:05,
archived)
ooh, you said the same as me. :) grey kid is breakdancing to save a community centre,
Thu 29 Dec 2005, 1:07,
archived)
heh.five minutes later, too. i type slow.
( postbear has metal knees,
Thu 29 Dec 2005, 1:14,
archived)