Interesting video with comments on it that make me want to punch a bear

(that saying doesn't make sense, no.  I picked it up from my sister.)

Anyway, I was browsing Youtube a minute ago and found this video about the interesting prospect that two caucasian parents could have a dark-skinned child.  According to the woman interviewed (and this makes sense to me) it's completely possible for this to happen, since there are a lot of genetic traits, race potentially among them, that can lie dormant for a very long time and then show up because of weird genetic stuff that happens.  If it can happen with freckles, or with eye or hair color (I can vouch for eye color - my uncle and I have hazel eyes but neither of his and my mom's parents had hazel eyes, nor did his parents' parents) why not race?  It's an interesting idea with interesting consequences.

However, a lot of the comments were extremely derogatory, usually along the lines of "she just slept with a black guy admit it" (note that the clip is about a FICTIONAL BOOK people).  That would be annoying, but wouldn't be enough to piss me off this much.  What made me want to punch a bear was the following comment, which incidentally has been voted up three times.  (this is why you don't read comments on Youtube if you know what's good for you.  Warning for hate speech/language.)

What does N.A.A.C.P stand for?

N*ggers Are Always Causing Problems.

Why do n*ggers keep chickens in their back yards?

To teach their kids how to walk.

Why do police dogs lick their ass?

To get the taste of n*gger out of their mouth.

Why does Alabama have n*ggers and California have earthquakes?

California got first pick.

Did you hear that the KKK bought the movie rights to "Roots"?

They're going to play it backwards so it has a happy ending.

Really world?  Really?

Edited by Prof. Buckmire

Race: The Power of an Illusion

We're going to watch a clip from the PBS documentary Race: the Power of an Illusion in Friday's class as we discuss how race is a social construction, especially in the legal sphere. You should read both articles by Law Professor Ian Haney López (White By Law, The Social Construction of Race). You might want to check out other clips from this excellent documentary on the web.

I'm looking forward to multiple comments from students on this topic!

Let's Talk About Race -- Tricia McGown

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?