sarahmichigan | Blogging Against Racism Week

I've seen it noted in a few places that this is "Blogging Against Racism Week."

Of course, I think Racism is Bad. And I can come up with a fistful of personal anecdotes as well as statistics to counter anyone who says that racism is a thing of the past and isn't a problem today.

But there are so many issues where I just don't know what to think. Here are some issues I'm conflicted or confused about:

-Racism and humor. What's the difference between a joke about racism and a racist joke? Who's allowed to make jokes that are racially charged? Should white people lose their jobs over making racist jokes?

-Racism and "The N Word". For the most part, only white people who are rednecks (yes, I know this is a racially charged word as well- I come from redneck stock and think I'm allowed to use it) or blatantly racist use this term with any regularity these days. Should Blacks stop using it as well? Should there be MORE use of it to diffuse the charge of the word, kind of like diffusing other epithets like "bitch" or "slut" or "dyke"?

-How to talk about race. How do we start a dialogue about racism and race without ending up in accusations, shutting people down, and making people feel like they can't talk about it at all?

Maybe some of the blog posts I'll read this week will shed some light on one or more of those issues. I'm not sure if I'll post more about the topic or not; it seems like there are plenty Guilty White Liberals posting about race already.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I sometimes go a little too far in my belief that most questions have black & white answers (hah!). But on this one, it seems easy. Don't do it at work. You might have the funniest racially-charged joke on the planet, and if you told it, everyone within earshot would be convinced you were the wittiest guy alive. Don't tell it at work. Seriously. Why is it necessary?

Other than that, do what you want to. Unless you're a public govt offical(sorry, anything you say in public counts as being "at work" - you get plenty of other perks to make up for it), what you say on your own time is your own business.

But what about comedians who address racism through humor (i.e. Lenny Bruce, Chris Rock, Carlos Mencia, etc.)?

This is what I mean about the difference between a joke about race and a racist joke.

To what extent does Mencia (as a blatant example) make jokes aimed at bringing discussions of race to the forefront, and to what extent does he make such jokes because he also happens to be a bigot*, but since he's a Latino bigot, he can get away with it?

I don't know the answer (and I reckon that's something like what you're asking, too).

* I'm not saying he is, by the way.

Yeah, I stick to what I personally am going to do. I mean, it's easy to say now that anyone going to their shows KNOWS they're going to hear that kind of racially charged humor - but I wonder if their first few crowds were very tense, or mixed reactions?

Comedy is SO hard because it kind of relies on being outside your comfort zone in some respect just to be funny in the first place.

This gets back to my point about how to have a discussion about race/racism without shutting people down or pointing fingers, but I am really tempted to unfriend you right now.

I can't believe anyone would come on my journal and say that it's OK to discriminate in hiring based on race.

oops, that last comment wasn't directed at you, k. the comment was for a different thread.

Rofl, I was sooo confused!! Glad I scrolled down before I started trying to figure out how badly I'd misphrased. *grin*

Blogging Against Racism Week

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