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I would agree with the Blue Wizard. The topic should not be discussed. In fact, any post that mentions it should be ignored. Including this one.
Posts: 1877 | Registered: Apr 2005
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People should discuss it though, how else will they know? Perhaps people should simply find a way to respect all people...
Posts: 9942 | Registered: Mar 2003
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As people who have conversed on the internet for years, I'm sure all of us are aware of the difference that context makes to the meaning of a sentence.
I can say, "You're a giant butthole. Shut up." to a coworker, in person, because the look on my face tells them I'm joking, and that, in fact, by making the joke, I'm confirming that I do NOT think they are a giant butthole, and I do NOT think they should shut up.
Say the same thing in a post on Hatrack without ample emoticonization, and you've offended someone.
So, I'm sorry to say it, but one of the contexts that can change the meaning of a sentence is the ethnic grouping of the speaker and his audience. A black person can make a "black people" joke when talking to other black people, because they're all insiders in the group, making fun of themselves, and it's an obvious, generally-accepted fact that no harm was intended, and no one actually believes what is being said.
If a white person does the same thing in an ambiguous context, that softening effect on the joke doesn't happen as readily, and the joke has its full offensive impact.
Similarly, the history of tension or racist behavior underlying the relationship between two ethnic groups can have an impact, such that it is okay for the jokes to go one way and not the other.
There is nothing "unfair" about this. It's just the way human communication functions. If context were stripped from every statement, and we heard them all like robots, attaching the same meaning to the same words, no matter how or where or when or by whom they were spoken, then we would completely lose our sense of humor, and the intricacies of communication would be lost.
Ideally, we'll move into a future where all ethnic jokes are funny, because everyone is an "insider" with everyone else, and no one has any fear of racism anymore. But we won't get there by cracking down on jokes. It will be a happy side-effect of a host of other improvements.
Posts: 1907 | Registered: Feb 2000
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quote:Originally posted by Lyrhawn: And sorry Lisa for singling you out, I have no idea who on this board is what race other than eros.
Not a problem. I think I'll start a topic where people can describe themselves physically. A picture may be worth a thousand words, but the words a person uses to make themselves visible without a picture can be so much more interesting.
Posts: 12266 | Registered: Jul 2005
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quote:Originally posted by Lyrhawn: The difference being, if Margaret Cho had ripped on white people, there would have been zero outcry.
Anyone remember the dodgeball episode of South Park? It used Asian stereotypes and then proceded to make fun of white people. Asian stereoypes? Cringeworthy. White stereotypes? Don't even bat an eyelash.
That episode is amusing, especially when Chef said, "It's not nice to make fun of Americans of other ethnic backgrounds, just make fun of people from other countries." So that's what those guys were doing, also they were the Asian versions of that white dood who keeps making off-coloured Jewish and Black jokes and then the other guy says, "Dude! You're going to get us in trouble!"
Posts: 9942 | Registered: Mar 2003
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