Oh my goodness! Reckless Tortuga! I think their "Now You Know" PSAs are normally pretty funny. Their videos that deal with racism are especially insightful. That being said, the joke at the end of that video was so wrong...but I'm not going to lie, I bust out loud when the black guy tackled him at the end.
I don't like racist jokes, but I think this video does make the excellent point about stereotypes. Regardless of whether it's a positive stereotype or a negative stereotype, it's still a stereotype. And I think by claiming some positive stereotypes are true simply confuses folks outside of the racial/ethnic group that the stereotype applies to. I'm black and I'm not a fast runner or a good dancer. But those are two positive stereotypes about black folks...and it still irks me when people assume I'm "naturally" a great dancer or superb runner because I'm black.
I have to say it was funny how the white dude got tackled every time he said something that wasn't a positive stereotype. I make stereotypical black/African/Kenyan/Third world country jokes to and with my friends but I don't know that I'd be too easy about people who are not from those backgrounds making the same jokes. Double standard, maybe it is. I just feel like when a person not from the back ground that is being joked about contributes to the jokes, they may have some ill motive or they may actually believe some of those things to be true even when they may not be.
A couple of years ago, the front plate of my car was my home flag... So this one time I got pulled over by a white cop who asked me what flag it was, I told him. He proceeded to ask me if I could run as the Kenyan marathon runners who won the marathons every time. I asked him if he was joking, he said he wasn't. He said he truly thought all Kenyans were long distance runners. I didn't know what to think.
Being African, in my one on one interractions with people in the US, I now avoid directing any conversation towards my culture. 99.99% of the time I will get something ignorant coming out of the other party, be it White, Latino, non African Black etc. My sister told me that she does not share anything about her heritage or culture with people anymore. I only do this online. I work with Majority Asian and many times they try to inquire about my background but always start with something ignorant that like all Africans men are polygomous etc .No amount of talking can educate such a person, so discussion of my culture is off bounds.
I however enjoy hearing people talk about theirs. They keep trying to prod but I push them away. Its none of their business.
So its tricky, if blacks make those stereotypical jokes in the presence of others, they will in turn use them on you. Its an open field.
My husband sometimes make some borderline jokes. I give him a pass because he has that dry, self-deprecating sarcastic, old-style British sense of humor. Any of my Black friends would be ready to kill him and think that I was married to a racist.
"What do you call a black pilot? A pilot you racist!"
@Anon
That made me laugh harder than I expected to.
Yah, Reckless Tortuga have a bunch of racism skits that are pretty funny and insightful. The best one in my opinion is the "Black Man in an Elevator" one. Here's the link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRfjLfyXYlA
On racist jokes, my friends and me always used to dance on the edge between funny and offensive when we talked about ourselves, each other, and our different cultures. However, we each had the trump card labeled "Uncomfortable Silence" just in case one of us crossed the line. After heavey usage of that particular card, those types of jokes largely went out of style in my circles.
I don't think you're ever going to stop certain people from telling racist jokes. But here's what the rest of us can do about it...don listen and walk away! Remember, if you LISTEN to a racist joke you are just as racist as the person telling the joke--it takes two to communicate.
9 comments:
Oh my goodness! Reckless Tortuga! I think their "Now You Know" PSAs are normally pretty funny. Their videos that deal with racism are especially insightful. That being said, the joke at the end of that video was so wrong...but I'm not going to lie, I bust out loud when the black guy tackled him at the end.
I don't like racist jokes, but I think this video does make the excellent point about stereotypes. Regardless of whether it's a positive stereotype or a negative stereotype, it's still a stereotype. And I think by claiming some positive stereotypes are true simply confuses folks outside of the racial/ethnic group that the stereotype applies to. I'm black and I'm not a fast runner or a good dancer. But those are two positive stereotypes about black folks...and it still irks me when people assume I'm "naturally" a great dancer or superb runner because I'm black.
I have to say it was funny how the white dude got tackled every time he said something that wasn't a positive stereotype. I make stereotypical black/African/Kenyan/Third world country jokes to and with my friends but I don't know that I'd be too easy about people who are not from those backgrounds making the same jokes. Double standard, maybe it is. I just feel like when a person not from the back ground that is being joked about contributes to the jokes, they may have some ill motive or they may actually believe some of those things to be true even when they may not be.
A couple of years ago, the front plate of my car was my home flag... So this one time I got pulled over by a white cop who asked me what flag it was, I told him. He proceeded to ask me if I could run as the Kenyan marathon runners who won the marathons every time. I asked him if he was joking, he said he wasn't. He said he truly thought all Kenyans were long distance runners. I didn't know what to think.
What do you call a black pilot?
A pilot you racist!
Bad.
Or was it?
Being African, in my one on one interractions with people in the US, I now avoid directing any conversation towards my culture. 99.99% of the time I will get something ignorant coming out of the other party, be it White, Latino, non African Black etc.
My sister told me that she does not share anything about her heritage or culture with people anymore.
I only do this online.
I work with Majority Asian and many times they try to inquire about my background but always start with something ignorant that like all Africans men are polygomous etc .No amount of talking can educate such a person, so discussion of my culture is off bounds.
I however enjoy hearing people talk about theirs. They keep trying to prod but I push them away. Its none of their business.
So its tricky, if blacks make those stereotypical jokes in the presence of others, they will in turn use them on you. Its an open field.
Yeah I agree with Grata. You have to be careful when you make fun of racial stereotypes.
My husband sometimes make some borderline jokes. I give him a pass because he has that dry, self-deprecating sarcastic, old-style British sense of humor. Any of my Black friends would be ready to kill him and think that I was married to a racist.
"What do you call a black pilot?
A pilot you racist!"
@Anon
That made me laugh harder than I expected to.
Yah, Reckless Tortuga have a bunch of racism skits that are pretty funny and insightful. The best one in my opinion is the "Black Man in an Elevator" one. Here's the link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRfjLfyXYlA
On racist jokes, my friends and me always used to dance on the edge between funny and offensive when we talked about ourselves, each other, and our different cultures. However, we each had the trump card labeled "Uncomfortable Silence" just in case one of us crossed the line. After heavey usage of that particular card, those types of jokes largely went out of style in my circles.
I don't think you're ever going to stop certain people from telling racist jokes. But here's what the rest of us can do about it...don listen and walk away! Remember, if you LISTEN to a racist joke you are just as racist as the person telling the joke--it takes two to communicate.
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