Quote:
Originally posted by DeltAlum
I wonder why it's OK to tell jokes about your own race, but not others. You're still perpetuating the stereotype.
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It is NOT okay to tell jokes about your race within your own race. And you are right, the stereotype is still being perpetuated. For example, there has been a tremendous (?sp) effort within the Black community to discourage the use of the 'N'-word among us, whether in jest or not. But, for those within the race who continue to do so, I am just not as offended as I would be if a White person referred to me using the 'N'-word. See, to me when a White person says the 'N'-word, then the image in my mind is of post-Civil War America when the KKK was started and their main objective was to kill all 'N's. Recall 'Birth of a Nation'. Not to mention film footage from the 1930's - 1960's which showed that lynching Black people was the 'norm' in some communities and the sentiment by some of the White population was 'A good N is a dead N'.
So, if a Black person uses the 'N' word, there is no harsh connotation (i.e., image) that comes to mind when he/she says it, the converse is true for a White person.
Or, I'll try to describe it this way. Say you (general) have a blood brother or sister and sometimes y'all argue. The argument gets heated and you call your brother/sister stupid. Eventualy things cool down, the fight is forgotten and life is back to normal. All in all you and your brother/sister really understand each other, so your brother/sister was not that offended when you called him/her stupid. But, if I had a fight with your brother/sister and called him/her stupid, then both of you would want to beat my a$$. I don't know if this makes sense, but I hope you see my point. An 'insider' is not going to offend you more than an 'outsider', because you have a common bond with the 'insider' that you don't have with the 'outsider'.