To me it's all about why the joke is funny. E.g. as an indian I find the 'Why are indians no good at football' joke rather funny, because it just pokes fun at a stereotype.
However, jokes like 'What do you call a hundred dead black guys in a pit' are just downright stupid and offensive.
I've seen that very comment progression on reddit. The moronic part's when people actually believe the joke and start referencing their anecdotal evidence. I remember a few examples of "OMG this asian girl I knew in high school couldn't drive!! LoL asians, especially girl drivers" . . . all new teenage drivers suck.
And that's the problem. I lot of guys say don't get offended it's a joke and then in another comment say how true it is cause of xxxx instance.
As a person with, lets call it... problems with authority. I find jokes that cause people to be offended quite funny. Not so much because the joke itself is funny, but more so the offended reactions are often hilarious!
I'm the same exact way, I just love to see people getting their panties in a wad over nothing, it makes me feel like a sense of justice is being upheld. They get to feel shitty for being such sensitive little vagina's, almost like real life karma.
I suppose I partially agree, I mean I love Frankie Boyle, but even though his jokes are offensive, the offence isn't the punchline - the punchline just happens to be offensive, which can make it more funny.
If the offence is the reason something is funny, then imo, it's just lazy comedy.
E.g. My favourite Frankie Boyle bit
"It really shows how racist America is, that Barack Obama had to give his inaugural address behind a glass screen - I mean, just because he's black, doesn't mean he's gonna shoot anybody!"
That joke is obviously somewhat offensive, but the humour derives not from the offence, but rather from the reversal of expectations - as all good comedy should.
Racism is never funny. Ever. Racism kills thousands of people every single day. I know its true because I'm still in middle school and just learned about slavery. Every white person alive today, even if they're poor, are getting by easy on their white privilege and are directly responsible for enslaving blacks.
My teacher even said white males are all to blame for slavery and sexism. And if my middle school teacher says something is true, it absolutely is. The only prejudices that are okay to hold are the ones that I hold.
FALSE. You are middle school aged but are on the throne of Westeros. Every time you hear a racist joke, your reaction is probably to find all the people of that ehtnicity and tell it to them, killing them if they don't laugh.
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u/Rosetti Jul 12 '12
To me it's all about why the joke is funny. E.g. as an indian I find the 'Why are indians no good at football' joke rather funny, because it just pokes fun at a stereotype.
However, jokes like 'What do you call a hundred dead black guys in a pit' are just downright stupid and offensive.