Are Racist and Sexist jokes ok if they are used purely in a joking manner?

[Swifteye]

I read from a joke book that jokes that can hurt people should only be done in the company of people who understand and will not be offended. Seeing as most places don't want you to say offensive things because of the wild variable of how random people might react (sure it's funny but a emotional scar is still none the less painful) it's always best not to do it unless your a shock jock comedian in which case. I guess make sure you come off intelligent less you be carlos mencia.

 

[Magicman10893]

As long as it really is a joke, compared to someone who is actually racist/sexist/homophobic and using the joke as to mask their real feelings.

 

[Ice Car]

Yes it is. In fact one of the local comedians in Hawaii, Frank De Lima, primarily uses ethnic (Not racial or sexist, but it's in the general area) jokes for his comedy, and even though they are often stereotyping and possibly offensive, it is very obviously in jest and literally no one, even the parties being addressed, are offended and often find it funny. Of course, someone eventually has to be offended, and IIRC it did happen.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_De_Lima

You might not get a good amount of jokes or even understand some of the language (Pidgin English) if you are not familiar with the culture in Hawaii or the atmosphere. He often makes jokes, usually in the form of songs, on local events or happenings. These usually aren't ethnicity-related though.

 

[Richard Po]

That depends, if the joke is around mature people that know better then sure a joke it a joke. But, on the other if the joke is pass by immature people who can't tell joke from fact then yes it is harmful. Ignorence is anyfrom bliss and stupid joke just make the stupid more stupid for lack of a better phrase.

 

[w00tage]

No. No it is not. Even if you're friends with someone of a different race, even if you've dated people of that race, even if you make a joke that a) is about your friend who is of that race and physically present, b) is not racially insulting at all, c) has everyone of all races in the room laughing (including other, non-friend members of that same race),

but d) uses words that that some members of that race finds offensive from others (even though they freely use it among themselves) for the delivery of the joke...

... it can and will be held against you. Officially, as in on official records. And that's pretty much forever now.

So no. Don't do it. Regardless if no one else will be hurt by it, YOU can, and for a long, long time after the moment has passed. Just drop the thought and wait until another joke comes along.

 

[Grabbin Keelz]

If everyone's cool with it, its cool.

 

[Choppaduel]

Well what does "OK" mean? People may still think you're sexist for saying it, even as a joke, while others will think it only a joke, and not representative of your beliefs. What matters is what you actually believe, which you should make clear, especially if you're going to go crack sexist jokes.

 

[A random person]

My friends and I make racist and sexist jokes frequently, so I'd say yes. Of course, the basis of their humor is that they're utterly absurd.

 

[Naix99]

Its ok, until its not anymore.

 

[ERase]

Many people just say"Don't be so serious,it's just a joke",but bad jokes surely hurt certain people.All jokes that is intended to making fun of kind people should be avoided.

 

[UberNoodle]

Jokes have to come from the right place. It's a simple rule. If your motivation is to hurt or disparage others, then you've broken the rule. If your motivation is ignorance, then you've broken the rule.

And, 'It was just a joke' is not a pass against responsibility for your own words and actions. Regardless of your intent, if you hurt somebody, that's at least partly your responsibility, and you should take that responsibility. It doesn't make you 'wrong' or mean you are pandering to anybody. It just means that you accept that other people live in this world as well and they are possibly affected by your own actions within it.

Whether those people accept your explanation or attempts to take responsibility is their own matter. If you haven't broken the rules above, that is. Besides that, you must possess the eloquence, respect and care required to communicate. If somebody doesn't understand your words and their intent, chances are it's because you inadequately expressed yourself.

 

[magnuslion]

Nothing wrong with it at all.

As long as no one gets offended

No. absolutely not. If you want to get offended about something that has nothing to do with you, be my guest. But do not infringe on my right to free speech because you are "easily offended".

 

[funguy2121]

A few weeks back I was in Social Studies with my friend and I see this vocabulary word. The word was Equal Rights Admenment. (The one for women). I then go "Hey wanna see a good joke." And then I point at the word. Is this okay that I did this. I don't think there is anything wrong with equal rights with women. I just thought it was funny. So opinions?

If you can't explain why you thought a joke was funny, then you don't have enough of a command over the art of humor to make that judgement call. It's like Michael Bay deciding that he's a comedian and putting racist monkeyesque transformers with gold teeth in his movie. The end result: it's not funny, it is racist/sexist, and the only accomplishment is that you look like an asshole. I'm not suggesting that you deconstruct the joke, as that would ruin it (if there really is a joke in there). But if you can't explain at all what makes you laugh about it, and you know you said something bigoted, regardless of whether you meant it, then you must have laughed because you were very naughty and said something derogatory towards a large group of people.

There's 3 types of jokes I've encountered that deal with bigotry. There are those that simply pander (see: Larry the Cable Racist and Jeff Dunham), there are those that pick on people who actually behave sterotypically and make fun of dipshits of all races, religions, genders, sexual orientations etc. (Family Guy, Chappelle's Show, Yahztee, who's review of 50 Cent: Blood in the Sand addressed this very issue better than I've ever heard. Seriously, watch that video right now), and there are those jokes by sophisticated comics who are very good at coming behind someone who's swept some subjects they'd rather not acknowledge under the rug and say, "Hey, what's this ya got here under the rug?" (David Cross, Bill Hicks, Sarah Silverman). What you described above definitely belongs in one of the former categories, and if you can't or won't define why you laughed at equality for women, it would seem that it's an instance of pandering, like when I get to hear all of the wonderful "******" jokes when the black people leave the room (for the irony-impaired, that was sarcasm).

 

[Alade]

All jokes should be allowed no matter how horrible, as long as the intention of the joke is to make people laugh and not call out someone. And for people who do take such stuff serious, please get a sense of humor.

 

[UberNoodle]

I'd like to paraphrase the late, great, George Carlin here for a moment.
words CANNOT hurt you. take the word "******" for example. it's JUST a word! what you SHOULD be worried about is the racist asshole USING the word.

I'll make jokes about people of all races, religions, and genders, but that doesn't mean I'm a racist/sexist asshole.

Mr. Carlin (RIP) was one of the greatest comedians and minds ever to grace with world, that's for sure. However, I take his meaning there perhaps a little differently.

He was not saying that JOKES grant a pass against offense. He meant that, being offended by the JOKE ITSELF is pointless. Indeed, what people should be worried about is the statement MAKER and his or her motivations for making that statement.

My take-away is that, you can make STATEMENTS about people of all races, religions and genders, but they aren't automatically 'jokes' because they have an inserted punchline. What makes them jokes is WIT and an intense INTELLECT, things which Mr. Carlin had in spades, which together transform simple words to something far beyond that.

So many 'jokes' I hear lack even the basic requirement of WIT. To see genuine intellect behind them is getting rarer with every passing day. So, yes, to be offended at the words is to miss the forest for the trees. The real threat is mentality that drives such statements. To do this, one must find the motivations of the speaker. However, for most people, it is far easier to focus on the words. They are simple and require no interpretation or discourse.

 

[Snotnarok]

Of course it is okay. I'm more offended by people who want to censor that kind of stuff.

 

[Estocavio]

Yes, its fine.


As a comment though, the legal system is already biased in Favor of Women, so it isnt as funny as it may have been about two decades ago.

 

[cainx10a]

Ah, those jokes are always funny when you don't happen to be part of the 'stereotype' being made fun of.

 

[Caligulove]

It's not so much if they are ok, but CAN they be ok. Everything's about delivery, context and working your audience.

Anything can be funny, well done comedy has the ability to address a subject that might have some fear or too much serious connotations attached to it in a familiar, comfortable way. A good comedian, or just someone who knows humor very well is capable of making you laugh at things that would ordinarily make you blush or never think of.

 

[Oly J]

so your question is, is it ok if it's purely a joke with no hatred behind it...yes...yes it is, I for example am disabled, and find Stephen Lynch hilarious