Why is this ok?

Great Debates
41

I think something that needs to be taken into consideration when telling a joke, especially a potentially offensive one, is who you’re telling it to. If you know someone would be offended, then of course keep it to yourself! What’s the point of offending them? And if you don’t know for sure if someone would be offended, why take that chance? Isn’t it just common courtesy to try to respect other people’s feelings?

I took offense at the Jerry’s kids remark because it wasn’t even a joke, it was a put down, plain and simple. If someone is in a wheelchair, I understand if they like to joke about it. It is a way of dealing with pain. My dad was in a wheelchair the last few years of his life, and he liked Calhoun’s < sp? > cartoons poking fun at life in a wheelchair.

But for someone to just lip off like Byz did, without taking into account that a reader might be disabled or have physically or mentally impaired children at home and that such a remark could be offensive, that just seems thoughtless and careless. Especially from someone who seems so touchy about people making thoughtless or careless jokes and remarks about fat people. She can make fun of people who are different from her, but no one makes fun of people like her.

I know, she probably wasn’t thinking. It’s hard to monitor everything that comes out of your mouth 24 hours a day, and I know I’ve uttered or posted more than my fair share of thoughtless, careless, or un-PC remarks, I’m sure. But call me on it, and you’ll get a most heartfelt apology because I don’t mean to hurt anyone.

So why is it ok for people to deliberately make hurtful remarks and cover for it by saying, “Hey, it’s just a joke, lighten up”?

“I hope life isn’t a big joke, because I don’t get it,” Jack Handy

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42

Why do people tell jokes in the first place? Why do people even laugh? Why do people feel pain other than physical? These are questions that will probably never be answered, but are good to think about. If you finally do come up with an answer, keep it to yourself. For the most part, nobody wants to hear it and it won’t be their answer. It’s your answer and as such is satisfactory only to you.

43

I remember an article I read maybe ten years ago in the New Republic. It was by either Michael Kinsley or Andrew Sullivan, I think Kinsley. He analyzed racial jokes and concluded that some were just hateful and some were generally good-spirited.

As an example of a hateful joke, he gave:

How do you stop black kids from jumping on the bed?
Put Velcro on the ceiling.

The author disliked this joke because it insulted people based on their physical appearance.

As an example of a good-humored joke, he gave:

How come so many blacks got killed in Vietnam?
Because whenever the sergeant yelled, “GET DOWN!”, they got up and started dancing.

The author did not find this joke offensive because 1. it referred to a real problem (a bigger percentage of blacks got killed in Nam than whites) and 2. it referred to a stereotype of blacks widely held among blacks themselves (that blacks have a better sense of rhythm and music than whites).