Comments on: Racism in Comedy

By: Jenna Gainsboro

Jenna Gainsboro — Tue, 15 Nov 2016 23:02:01 +0000

I agree with Cassie’s comment. I don’t think it’s valid to say that it is a “stereotype for a reason,” and with the man who opened for Pete Davidson and otherwise, there are some things that I will never find funny.

By: Sofia Montgomery

Sofia Montgomery — Fri, 21 Oct 2016 19:46:20 +0000

I totally agree with who can make certain jokes, because they are coming from lived, personal experiences that do not necessarily harm other groups (or, are less harmful). I’ve had conversations about how certain racist and sexist comments aren’t funny, even though they are passed off as comedy. I usually get the response that, “oh, it was just a joke” or “you’re being too sensitive” or “you can’t just joke anymore these days”. It’s quite annoying, because it’s usually coming white men. It’s easy with white privilege to ignore what these jokes actually mean to someone of a marginalized group who hears them. Side note: I’ve spent about 30 seconds listening to one of the comedians at Brew Works and their (racist and sexist) jokes were definitely off-putting, so I left.

By: Cassie

Cassie — Fri, 14 Oct 2016 01:50:57 +0000

Very insightful! I particularly liked how you brought stereotypes into the conversation. I often hear the argument, “It’s a stereotype for a reason” when people try to explain why it’s okay to make jokes that center around a stereotype or make racist assumptions based on a stereotype.