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

[funguy2121]

Your description makes me think of Scott Pilgrim.

Sort of, I guess. I'm not qualified to make such a comparison, as I've never read the comics, downloaded the game or seen any of the movie (beyond the trailer). Look it up. They made 2 games for the Wii and ported the original to both PS3 and XBox. It satirizes anime, wrestling, 8-bit games, gaming in general, Star Wars, geek culture, western culture in general - and then it targets you. The game picks on you and fucks with you at one particular point. It laughs right at your face.

You're a nerd who one a light saber in an internet auction, and you agree kill off all of the world's best assassins...so you can hump a French tart named after a 70's softcore porn star. And when your lightsaber runs out of battery, you have to shake it to recharge. The animation looks and sounds, quite purposefully, like masturbation.

 

[Gigano]

Yeah, nothing wrong with it if it's clear to everyone who'll potentially hear it that it's made in jest, and that there's no actual malice behind it.

If it isn't, it's still well within anyone's right to use them, but it's hardly "ok", and they should of course expect some verbal counterattacks from those who disagree.

Although I generally think that those who are offended by mere words coming from people who they have no personal relation with, and who have no ability or power to influence their lives, are petty and pathetic. And insofar as they're trying to outlaw others offending them, then they are a worthless blight upon any civil rights democracy and the freedom of speech it is founded on, a far greater threat to civil rights than any mere racist could ever be these days.

Thus the offended may well be the true enemy of civil rights. And as that guy who was offended by Portal 2 proved, some people have much too delicate sensibilities that certainly shouldn't be grovelled before anyway.

 

[Tim Mazzola]

Honestly?

That's why when people tell me Duke Nukem Forever is a satire of sexism, I don't buy that. Nothing about how the game was marketted suggests that they are criticising the idea of sexism or using women as sex objects, and the character Duke himself never becomes someone we are expected to dislike or pity. It certainly isn't critizing Duke, if anything it's celebrating all the sexist imagery.
Especially with that whole 'Capture the babe' thing. The game that makes a woman into a human equivilant of the 'flag' in a CTF gametype. One who you have to clam down by slapping her on the arse.
If this was meant to represent some kind of deep and important criticism of sexism, I'm not seeing it. And if this is some sort of joke, I, and a lot of women's rights groups, are not laughing.

Duke Nukem is a satirical caricature of Rambo-esque testosterone-fueled action films. They are not "criticizing the idea of sexism" so much as they're blowing it out of proportion to laughably ridiculous levels, and the way it's marketed plays it straight because frankly the genre Duke Nukem is satirizing does this despite its inherent ridiculousness. The satire is not the elements of Duke Nukem that people find offensive. Rather, the elements of Duke Nukem that people find offensive are satirizing a genre. Is it tasteful? That's entirely subjective. I, for one, think it's clever and amusing. I don't really play Duke Nukem games, but they have a right to be made, and I appreciate the humor.

Not trying to turn this into a "Is Duke Nukem sexist?" thread, but I feel like a lot of people just aren't getting the joke with Duke.

Yeah, but the "Movie Movie" people (in other words, all of the Wayans brothers besides Damon and Keenan Ivory, the only 2 talented ones) do satire too; they just do it poorly. If you want to see satire of over-the-top adolescent-pandering violence and hypersexuality (in addition to a great many other things), done with wit and intellect, may I recommend No More Heroes. Instead of a hulking hypermasculine figure, the hero is (in addition to a badass killer) a nerd. Who doesn't get laid. And has transformer figurines all over his apartment.

Frankly, I a) never said I wanted to see anything, b) never mentioned satire of "over-the-top adolescent-pandering violence and hypersexuality". My entire post was basically trying to point out that that is NOT what Duke Nukem is. If Duke Nukem wasn't a hulking hypermasculine figure, he wouldn't be something that poked fun at Rambo and James Bond and other hypermasculine dudes like those guys. He's supposed to be a classic stupid action movie turned up to 10,000. I honestly don't see how your post responds to mine in any way. Just because the "Movie Movie" people do satire badly has absolutely nothing to do with a discussion about Duke Nukem and adds nothing to your point, so I'm just confused about where you were going with that.

I don't know. Honestly, like I said, I don't really like Duke Nukem that much. I just get annoyed that people don't get the joke of it at all and try and actually take it seriously or think it's what you said it was.

 

[Discon]

Words have the meaning we chose to give to them. When words are used in a joking fashion, they are therefore not INTENTIONALLY offensive. People may become offended at what ever they like.

 

[SSoSFAGTiaCaGwaP]

EDIT: Dumb 13 year old me wrote dumb 13 year old stuff on the internet. So it goes.

 

[Secret world leader (shhh)]

I'm not rascist/sexist/homophobic and i despise any ignorant retard who is. However, when i want to make a rascist/sexist/homophobic joke, I will make a rascist/sexist/homophobic joke.

It's all about the person using it, if a black person uses the word "******" you know they aren't rascist. If a member of the KKK uses the word "******" then that's completely different.

While i think there's absolutely nothing wrong with making rascist jokes i think actual rascism/sexism/homophobia is absolutely disgusting and should be a crime if it isn't already. And besides, everyone knows crime is for niggers.

 

[smithy_2045]

Only if they're funny.

Example in OP was not funny.

 

[Dfskelleton]

They're jokes. If they weren't jokes, they'd be insults. Now, sometimes it's difficult to tell which is which, but it's all in the context I suppose.
Personally, Sexist/Racist jokes can be funny to me, but only if they're moderately clever. I'll make a few myself sometimes, it's no big deal.

 

[Orcboyphil]

Depends on the joke, depends on the compnay and depends on the person telling it.

 

[Byere]

As George Carlin always said, there is no such thing as "dirty" or racist words or so. It all depends on the racist/sexist bastard who is using them. It's all about context.

BanthaFodder got here first, I know, but it needs to be said.

As long as everyone knows it's in jest and in fun and nothing is meant by it, I never see anything wrong.

 

[rokkolpo]

Ofcourse.

As long as you know when to stop.
People should stop whining about getting offended.

I can easily call a black man ******.
If I put ''be trippin!'' behind it.
At least in The Netherlands where everyone doesn't give as much of a fuck as anywhere else.

 

[RabbidKuriboh]

if not then me and my friends are going to hell then

 

[Fledge]

I think they're 100% okay; if 100% jokingly made.
It's a pretty poor way to get offended anyway.

 

[isnosche]

the why are you out of the kitchen jokes and go make me a sandwich make me wanne strangle the person. Seriously it was fun for like 3 days ... and it does not make you funny, original or cool.

 

[Davey Woo]

Me and my friends call it 'casual racism/sexism' and it's fine by us, we don't run the risk of offending anyone by making a 'racist' joke when there's nobody among us that cares. In most cases the jokes people say would work no matter the race/gender of the subject of the joke, but the joke needs someone, and it may as well be a black man, or a white man, or a woman, or a dog it doesn't really make much of a difference.

 

[irrelevant83]

My best advice here is the fewer people around, the better. Know the people who are around you. Also, women are a little bit more sensitive, especially when they don't know you're joking.

Funny thing about jokes is that you could tell a joke on stage in front of an audience of 20,000 and everyone would laugh, but tell the same joke in front of five people, one of whom you don't know that well, and suddenly you're King Douche.

Never tell an offensive joke unless you're in front of people you know well or on stage in front of thousands of people. Anywhere in between is Lewis & Clark territory.

 

[Dr. Win]

On racism:
I have Asian friends and I make fun of them for being Asian and they make fun of me for being white, It's all a joke and I don't think anyone takes it seriously.
But then again, Asians seem to like taking the piss, people like mychonny love to make fun of Asians despite being Asian.

Somewhat related:
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[inFAMOUSCowZ]

A joke is a joke, jokes offend people. It all comes down to if your upset or not. So yes the joke was fine in my book.

 

[diablomaki]

jokes and jokes and jokes and jokes;
spaghetti, spaghetti, spaghetti!

i rest my case.

 

[spielberg11]

Well, I've never been particularly bullied for my ethnicity or gender, so I'm not sure what it feels like, but if it feels anything like the bullying I regularly receive for having orange hair, then no, racist and sexist jokes are not ok.