02-20-2004, 07:26 PM
It can be tough... I have a habit of making fun of asians because my best friend for many years is Chinese. We'd trade back and forth jokes. But of course, if I say something like that to an asian that I haven't been good friends with, they may interpret it the wrong way, and it's hard to explain that I'm good friends with a mixture of races. My father is a racist, and the thing about racists is that they don't make that many jokes, they make straight up prejudiced and hateful statements. I think EVERY joke should be taken lightly, no matter the subject, but often it's best to keep it private because it may offend certain people. Among my friends I am known for a very crude humor that some might find offensive, but to me it's just something that triggers laughter and I find funny. I had a teacher that made sexist jokes a lot, as well as some stuff about native americans... several complained while several laughed. Many failed to understand that he's married to a native american woman. Lighten up! He doesn't mean it!
Bottom line, be careful where and to whom you say things, because you have to respect some people getting offended. But no, telling a joke doesn't make you anything, because it's a JOKE. Sometimes there is an imbalance in who makes fun of who... this is why I like Chapelle's Show, because he's a black guy that makes fun of EVERYone, including blacks. And he exaggerates it all so much that it's hard to take offense to it (especially when you're laughing so hard you forget to be offended).
Bottom line, be careful where and to whom you say things, because you have to respect some people getting offended. But no, telling a joke doesn't make you anything, because it's a JOKE. Sometimes there is an imbalance in who makes fun of who... this is why I like Chapelle's Show, because he's a black guy that makes fun of EVERYone, including blacks. And he exaggerates it all so much that it's hard to take offense to it (especially when you're laughing so hard you forget to be offended).