Racial Tension in the U.S.

-Akronite- said:

Again, I don't think it's always a matter of saying we CAN make jokes about one group and we CAN'T about another. I just think you need to contextualize what you say in the reality of race, gender, religion, etc. in this country when you make a joke. Sometimes a joke is funny enough and in the appropriate environment to overcome its poor taste, sometimes it isn't.

Again, the guideline of "punching up," whether you agree or not, will help you understand why some humor feels off limits or taboo. Do not take this as a hard and fast rule, it's subjective and comedians themselves vary greatly on what they think is okay. But jokes about black people often come with the baggage of hundreds of years of oppression. Jokes about gay people comes with the baggage of death threats and family turmoil. When Chappelle does a white man voice, what does that conjure up? For me, nothing much other than seeing stereotypes subverted. But maybe there are white people that take offense.

It's like with trans jokes. A lot of people are up in arms about humor at the expense of trans people. We also now have plenty of people up in arms over the fact that they can no longer do those jokes. But think about it, until maybe 5 years ago it's was pretty commonplace on TV and in movies (let alone in the schoolyard or on the street) to tell a joke where the punchline is "AND THE CHICK HAD A PENIS." I mean Jigo's post history alone can tell you that this is prevalent. Now imagine you are trans. That means your whole life the world has basically reinforced the idea that your identity is a joke. That's kinda fucked up, right? So we're finally seeing push-back because the trans community is getting proper exposure.

I'm not saying all jokes about white people are smart or funny or appropriate, but it's a lot easier to find humor at the expense of white people because of how the system was set up by and for white people to succeed. White straight male is the default in this country. It's all but one president (and maybe Buchanan) and most senators and congressmen and judges and CEOs and on and on and on. The power is held by this one group, so to poke fun at the group in power tends to be funnier and more appropriate.

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David. said:

Bro believe me, I call it out when we do it too. Az made a point of calling someone out over here and I did. I don't say a peep about cnn etc in totality. The source isn't the argument, that's a principle

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pr26 said:

When Sam The Bullshit Whisperer posts a trade rumor....do you get excited or wait for a more reputable source to confirm?

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David. said:

No. You and I have been over this at least a half a dozen times. The source is not the content. The source is utterly irrelevant as to the content and arguments presented. You don't just get to pull a site that attempts to discredit everything a publication writes to refute every argument. It's illogical.

I just poisoned that sites well with another site. By your logic, your site is now discredited according to two other sites. And no argument has actually been addressed using these sites. We can go back and forth on this all day without accomplishing anything. It's not an argument.

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caf said:

I had closed door discussion with some admins who told me I'd easily qualify for them.

It's a sore subject for me because things were very very very bleak in my life for a few years. It was very difficult to find a job (Aero industry is/has been going through some pretty large layoffs). The financial burden of the loans, coupled with the inability to pay, and the lack of job prospects made me seriously contemplate permanent solutions to my problems if you can read between the lines.

So when people belittle me for my stance on the subject, I basically hear them telling me that my life isn't important.

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Wrathe said:

I hate to oversimplify, but it sounds like you're saying it's not fair, but acceptable. Is that the "TLDR" of it?

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-Akronite- said:

What did I say was unfair or acceptable? You probably shouldn't oversimplify it since my argument is against MediumBaller's simplistic view of it (or minimalist, I don't think he's being dumb, I just think he's de-contextualizing things).

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pr26 said:

Hey man , don't discredit sources like the libs. Just join in.

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Wrathe said:

that it's a double standard, but it's a double standard justified by the rest of your quote.

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-Akronite- said:

This is essentially what I'm saying yes, but my caveat is that I don't always think it's funny or appropriate even when considering it's punching up. It's difficult to illustrate because it's such a subjective thing. I'm just saying that I don't believe that all white people jokes are justified, even though I believe there is good reason to treat jokes about different races differently.

I mean, you can definitely argue that it's a double standard because you may feel that it's treating people differently based on their race. But that's almost like saying it's a double standard to talk about how differently races have been treated in this country. Yes, we talk and joke about white people and black people in different ways, not because skin color creates an inherent different in someone's character or aptitude, but because of the reality of our racial history and how it affects people of various races differently.

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TyGuy said:

I'm in the minority and like sac more than SF. There is certainly better Chinese food in sf. But it's not where everybody thinks it is. Hint, it's not China town. I'll give you all the good joints if you're interested.

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King Stannis said:

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-Akronite- said:

Does anybody have insight or an article about solutions to the gentrification problem?

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