# Confronting racism in oneself **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [May 19, 2026, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/confronting-racism-in-oneself/1030215 "2026-05-19T17:58:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Showing post:** 235
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2026, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/confronting-racism-in-oneself/1030215/235 "2026-06-03T12:19:02Z")
> [@Eonwe](#): > > Probably another thread, but this kind of joking, even in a ‘good natured’ way, is inherently an exercise of power/dominance. In terms of power/dominance, there’s a piece of it that is true, but it’s more about belonging. It’s about maintaining your own status in the group. Good natured ribbing is how some groups of immature males bond. It isn’t about establishing dominance over others, it’s about elevating your status so that you’re not excluded as unworthy. If you want to be in the group, you need to be cool, and tough, and funny, you play rough and tumble games, make fun of each other, and as long as you’re all good in the end, you’re worthy. --- _[View the full topic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/confronting-racism-in-oneself/1030215)._