Is this joke funny?
*Warning. This joke contains racially insensitive material.*
http://stroganoff.tumblr.com/post/1062186845
(This is where I found the "joke.")
This is a spoof on the childhood joke that goes as follows:
Why was six afraid of seven? Because seven eight nine.
However, this joke is offensive. I found multiple comments on this joke talking about how funny it was and how hilarious this is, especially because of its stereotypical nature. Notice that seven has a bucket of KFC in one hand, a television in the other, and is almost impossibly "black." His skin is very, very dark, and six is looking at him with a mixture of what looks like confusion and disdain.
My question, I suppose, is not "Why does this image exist?" It exists because there is still racism in the world, no matter how much we'd like to deny it. My question is "Why should we fear blackness, or African-Americans?" Is there something inherently frightening about African-Americans that makes them subject to being the butt of jokes like these? I suppose the same answer could stand and that we can say that we fear African-Americans because this is a racist society that we live in today, but I feel as if that's a cop out. After reading Wideman's "Free Papers," I've started to see more clearly the fact that race does still play an important part in society. Sure, the article may not have been written a month or even a year ago, but there are parts of it that still ring true today, unfortunately.
This joke isn't going to make or break the world, but I had to stop and think when I saw it. What about you?
How did you initially find the "joke"?
ReplyDeleteI think you might want to have a warning on your post before people click on the link and are offended by what they see.
I was offended by this but I wasn't angry or saddened. Instead I feel pity and disappointment for the ignorant bigot who posted this image. Wildman was right that racism is still alive, yet we've made long strides since the birth of Obama. I'm confident that the progress we've made as a society will only go further and one day end the intolerance that has plagued humanity.
ReplyDeleteI initially found the joke while scrolling through the homepage of my Tumblr. Someone had reposted it because they thought that it was funny, and I took action against it.
ReplyDeleteI believe that we're making progress toward stopping jokes like these in society, David, but I'm also concerned because I'm not sure exactly how society can continue to go forward if jokes like these continue to be found "funny" in the eye of society.