You must not watch any adult comedies.
He doesnt qualify yet. 
Several years ago, I was at my father’s funeral visitation. I’m standing at the coffin, looking down at the man who, before being spirited away at the age of 50, once dove in to my grandfather’s pool, clothes and glasses and all, to pull his stupid middle child back up to the surface. Somehow, this little scamp didn’t realize that an inner tube around one’s waist wasn’t sufficient to keep him afloat when he jumped from the top of the ladder into the water. And no one saw or heard him. Until my father looked over, and saw the tips of a few fingers poking through the surface of the water, and saved his son’s life.
I was thinking about all of this, when my stepmother walked up. She grabbed my dad’s hand, and was crying and stroking his moustache, wondering how she was going to go on alone.
I stood there for a second, and then I looked at her. After a second, she looked up at me. Before I knew I was going to say anything (well, that’s not true. I know I was going to say something, I just didn’t know what that would be), I looked at her, and said, “so…you’re single now, huh?”
But I’m not saying you find it offensive because you’re PC and hypersensitive. (Which would make no sense anyway, because you’ve said that you don’t find it offensive, as you note.)
But your point was that it’s the type of thing that racists would say. To that particular argument I’m observing that a very high percentage of such remarks tend to be made by racists, due to non-racists shying away from racial humor because of concerns about PC hypersensitivity.
Couldn’t it also be that non-racists shy away from such jokes because they are racist? Like the idea of linking Obama’s skin color to a component failure that must be replaced?
Non-racists shy away from racist jokes, but they’re also likely to shy away from jokes which are not racist but which might be perceived as such. Racists are far over the PC-line anyway, so they say both types.
There are plenty of popular comics who makes non-PC racial jokes and yet somehow they succeed at not looking racist. Louis CK is one of them. I’m not saying he doesn’t attracts his share critics, but he gets away with a lot. I think its because wit is the backbone of his humor, not low-brow prejudice or stereotypes (“Obama is black, get it??? Harharhar”).
It’s really not hard to spot the difference when you see it in action.
I think it’s because these people are professional comedians, and get cut more slack.
This is very possible in general, but that doesn’t mean that the lightbulb joke wasn’t a racist joke. It also seems reasonable – I don’t want to offend people, and I don’t know exactly what might offend everyone, so I try to stay away from things (and jokes) that I think have a higher than tiny chance of offending my audience.
Right. But it also doesn’t mean that it is. YWTF was trying to use “it sounds like something racists would say” as the basis for declaring it to be racist, and I was questioning that.
That’s fine. And that attitude is part of why that joke sounds racist, as above.
I think the joke sounds racist because it is – equating Obama’s skin color with a component failing and needing to be replaced is racist.
I said more than that, though. I explained why a racist would find humor in that kind of joke, while others would not.
You seem pressed to deny that that the joke itself racist, as if that is the most meaningful question. To me, it is more meaningful to ask what does this joke reveal about the person who is telling it.
If you asked a random adult to tell you the funniest joke they knew and with zero irony, they responded with the old gag “why did the chicken cross the road”, you would probably think this person was either intellectually stunted, socially deprived, and/or severely humor-impaired. This despite there being nothing wrong with the joke at all in an objective sense. In fact, one could say it’s a great one given its staying power and widespread circulation. But the vast majority of the human race ceases to see it as funny once we’re older than 4 or 5. I don’t know why, we just do.
Now let’s look at that lightbulb joke again. You’re trying to say on an objective basis, nothing is wrong with that joke. Okay, let’s go with that. There’s nothing objectively wrong with that chicken joke either. Yet only someone who is a bit off would think that joke is worth sharing. Likewise, only someone who is a bit racist would think that lightbulb joke was worth sharing.
Some of my best friends are chickens.
Thanks, ywtf, for putting your finger on why I dislike some humor. The joke might be okay…but. But it’s the kind of thing that a sexist/racist/classist jerk would say.
Anecdotal evidence:
I was at a Bible Study [alt Pit text: “The fuck? I was at a goddamn Bible Study!”] and the pastor makes a comment about all the babies killed by Herod after Jesus was born. In fact, he was referring to doubts about the historicity of the event. So, serious comments about a horrific act by a known Evil Overlord. Started a heady discussion. No time to be an ass.
But Redneck Friend has to pipe up with “Good thing Herod just beheaded all those babies with swords! If he’d used guns the liberals here might not like it!”
[cue Zero Laughter][cue Awkward Pause][cue Pretending Noone Heard That]
The problem isn’t just the comment (can’t bring myself to elevate it to “joke” status) – it’s what effect the comment has on the listeners, and the assumptions the commenter invites about themselves.
And I never analyzed my feelings about it until now. So thanks, all.
Yup. A punch line like this tells you that gun politics are such a deep part of his consciousness that his brain will force connections between the topic and everything else. Like he’s just sitting them waiting for an opening to bring up his pet issue. Once he has that opening, he will take it, no matter how small it is.
Are you worried if anybody is offended or if a certain threshold are offended?
The only problem with the light bulb joke is it’s not funny. Humor is subjective but the light bulb joke might actually be objectively unfunny it’s that bad. That’s the problem. There are tons of offensive jokes that are funny. And in comedy that’s what matters. If the audience doesn’t like it they can leave.
Yes, I have. I suspect you missed the point. I’m not saying there’s non-racist racial humor out there. I’m saying that, if it sounds at first blush like a racist joke, it either is racist or anti-racist.
If you disagree, all you have to do is give a counterexample. Offer a joke that is less racist than the bulb joke that sounds racist at first blush, but doesn’t carry a racism is bad message.
And I’m not counting anti-jokes. I don’t think they sound racist at first blush.
And, since I don’t want to create another post: I consider Louis CK is a rather PC comic, especially considering his material. I’d heard so much about how he wasn’t PC, but then I listened to a few of his sets. He says a lot of stuff to couch his jokes to avoid offending people. That’s pretty much the definition of political correctness.
A non-PC comic might be someone like Gilbert Gottfried.
I don’t tell racist, ethnic, sexist etc jokes on the internet because I’m a sensitive soul. That said there are plenty of jokes that make fun of stereotypes either real or imagined that aren’t rooted in the belief of inferiority.
When and where I grew up Polish jokes were the big thing. Funny yes. Do I think Polish folks are somehow defective? No.
Perhaps, it’s hard for me to distinguish a joke that is racial but that some won’t consider racist.
I try not to offend people. Not a huge deal – it doesn’t take much effort. If I think someone’s sensitivity is too high about a certain topic, I may choose to avoid the topic altogether or (if I don’t like the person and don’t think their concern is valid) I might ignore their sensitivity and not care.