Are Racist and Sexist jokes ok if they are used purely in a joking manner?

[Aabglov]

The rule is simple, you can make a racist or sexist joke, but you must belong to the party you are mocking. If you're a woman you can make jokes about women, if you're a man then you can make jokes about men. It doesn't matter what percentage you are, but you have to be part of the group. Having a "friend" of the group doesn't cut it if you don't belong to the party yourself.

 

[FallenRainbows]

As long as all present know you do it in jest and none are offended then yes, it's fine. Also do make sure you stress that it's a bad thing.

I have a very dark sense of humour, I'm also very liberal and pro-everything rights.

Sexist jokes ARE hilarious, even my girlfriend thinks so. Right dear?

 

[Drejer43]

In the name of comedy, its OK.

 

[DSK-]

I thinm it's fine as long as it is in jest and people know it is.

 

[Vrach]

Yep they are, but there are also such qualifiers as context and going too far with something.

 

[funguy2121]

Honestly?

That's why when people tell me Duke Nukem Forever is a satire of sexism, I don't buy that. Nothing about how the game was marketted suggests that they are criticising the idea of sexism or using women as sex objects, and the character Duke himself never becomes someone we are expected to dislike or pity. It certainly isn't critizing Duke, if anything it's celebrating all the sexist imagery.
Especially with that whole 'Capture the babe' thing. The game that makes a woman into a human equivilant of the 'flag' in a CTF gametype. One who you have to clam down by slapping her on the arse.
If this was meant to represent some kind of deep and important criticism of sexism, I'm not seeing it. And if this is some sort of joke, I, and a lot of women's rights groups, are not laughing.

Duke Nukem is a satirical caricature of Rambo-esque testosterone-fueled action films. They are not "criticizing the idea of sexism" so much as they're blowing it out of proportion to laughably ridiculous levels, and the way it's marketed plays it straight because frankly the genre Duke Nukem is satirizing does this despite its inherent ridiculousness. The satire is not the elements of Duke Nukem that people find offensive. Rather, the elements of Duke Nukem that people find offensive are satirizing a genre. Is it tasteful? That's entirely subjective. I, for one, think it's clever and amusing. I don't really play Duke Nukem games, but they have a right to be made, and I appreciate the humor.

Not trying to turn this into a "Is Duke Nukem sexist?" thread, but I feel like a lot of people just aren't getting the joke with Duke.

Yeah, but the "Movie Movie" people (in other words, all of the Wayans brothers besides Damon and Keenan Ivory, the only 2 talented ones) do satire too; they just do it poorly. If you want to see satire of over-the-top adolescent-pandering violence and hypersexuality (in addition to a great many other things), done with wit and intellect, may I recommend No More Heroes. Instead of a hulking hypermasculine figure, the hero is (in addition to a badass killer) a nerd. Who doesn't get laid. And has transformer figurines all over his apartment.

Frankly, I a) never said I wanted to see anything, b) never mentioned satire of "over-the-top adolescent-pandering violence and hypersexuality". My entire post was basically trying to point out that that is NOT what Duke Nukem is. If Duke Nukem wasn't a hulking hypermasculine figure, he wouldn't be something that poked fun at Rambo and James Bond and other hypermasculine dudes like those guys. He's supposed to be a classic stupid action movie turned up to 10,000. I honestly don't see how your post responds to mine in any way. Just because the "Movie Movie" people do satire badly has absolutely nothing to do with a discussion about Duke Nukem and adds nothing to your point, so I'm just confused about where you were going with that.

I don't know. Honestly, like I said, I don't really like Duke Nukem that much. I just get annoyed that people don't get the joke of it at all and try and actually take it seriously or think it's what you said it was.

That's what's commonly referred to as a figure of speech, frankly. And it sounds like you don't want to see anything other than your own point of view. Um, yes, you did say that Duke was satire of over-the top adolescent-pandering violence. If you like, I can provide youtube clips of Rambo movies. Sorry, I also added hypersexuality, since that's what Duke is, according to its creators (both the original franchise and this new manufactured nostalgia game). I humbly submit that you are not as clever as you think you are. There's nothing Bond-esque about Duke Nukem - except of course that he is a sexist. The comparison to the Wayans films was more than apt - 3D realms and Gearbox are shitty satirists, just as are the Wayans. The only real difference is that Duke began simply as a work that pandered to try to overcompensate for its own glaring flaws and later on its fans and creators made the claim that it was satire, whereas the Wayans movies were always just shitty collections of mini-parodies with tons of pandering.

Oh yeah, I get the joke (bra). It's a 10-year-old's joke. Not very clever.

...and that's why I think you should check out No More Heroes...

 

[Robert Ewing]

If it's in jest, it SHOULD be okay. But sadly some people take offence at the stupidest of things. So if you trust in the persons intelligence. Fire away.

I find it sad that we live in an age where it is literally very dangerous to tell a joke. Sigh.

 

[funguy2121]

jokes and jokes and jokes and jokes;
spaghetti, spaghetti, spaghetti!

i rest my case.

You gotta lose yourself spaghetti-oh! With some lobsters and some bagels!

Best. Joke. Ever.

Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah!

 

[Hamish Durie]

in my opinion yes, yes it is okay in context

 

[Daveman]

Frankie Boyle once made the joke about some people watching him saying "Is he joking?", his response being:

"Is he joking? Is that comedian joking? Is that comedian up on the comedy stage in the middle of a comedy festival joking? COURSE I'M FUCKIN' JOKING!"

If it makes me laugh then it isn't racist, because I don't find racism funny. I find how idiotic stereotyping can be funny. I find exploiting peoples preconceptions funny. I find catching people off guard funny. But hate towards someone because of skin colour? What kind of guy do you think I am? French?

 

[Twilight.falls]

I'm Asian, my friends are white, black, and hispanic. I'm a man, my friends are both male and female. I'm Buddhist, my friends are anywhere Athiests, Catholics, and Jewish.

We crack jokes poking fun at our races, sex, and faiths. It's all in good fun, none of us are out to harm each other.

It all depends on who you're with. I wouldn't say the things I say around friends among people I think I even have a CHANCE at offending.

 

[Iron Mal]

In my opinion, there's nothing inherantly wrong with a person being racist/sexist/xenophobic/other (as in holding discriminatory beliefs), we all have thoughts and opinions which judge other people like this so how is it fair to view someone else negatively because you don't agree with theirs? (in a way that makes you just as bad as them)

The provision I have with the above statement is that it becomes a very serious problem when said individuals start acting on their beliefs and it starts hurting and affecting people.

I feel that when we accuse somebody of being racist it also should be qualified to a certain extent, racism (by my understanding) is irrational hatred and hostility towards a person or group based on one or more broad traits or distinctions of their race (in other words, there has to be an actual hatred behind it, malicious intent if you will).

With this in mind, I think you'll find a vastly large majority of people who make racist and sexist jokes aren't racist or sexist (I'd struggle pretty hard to find someone who genuinely hates all members of a particular race without exception or has an complete lack of ragard or concern for the thoughts and feelings of women).

 

[Communist partisan]

Of course they are, racism and sexism are both offending and discusting but if it's all a joke and nobody get's offended why the fuck not? I have no idea how many times I made a succesful joke by saying I'm less "übermench" than the others in the room, haha!

 

[Oisin XD]

Depends almost entirely on your audience. If the people around you laugh, no harm done, go right ahead Mr. popular. If the room goes quiet save for the sound of crickets and tumbleweed (wind-brahmin) then sit back down and leave as soon as possible. Nothing is sacred, as long as you have the audience for it.

It's easier to make a joke funny if someone is victimized by it, schadenfreude and all that, so as long as your audience is able to accept the jokes, they are a great source of happiness for all.

Then there's trolling. That's the most fun. I tell sexist jokes to my girlfriend, racist and anti-religious jokes to my muslim friends, and jokes about stupidity to my stupid friends. If you can survive a punch or two, IRL trolling is a bountiful source of personal enjoyment. Luckily, sarcasm constitutes about 50% of all conversation among us, so they take it with a grain of salt.

 

[Spookimitsu]

So opinions?

Don't let anyone steer you wrong TC, the jokes are only acceptable as long as your AUDIENCE (or anyone else in earshot-this is important) is tolerant of them.

I personally don't mind the race jokes sometimes, but if I am -not- in the mood for it, then it will not be welcome. If you have to explain "it was just a joke" or "I was only kidding", then it wasn't a good time.

 

[Arctarus'sCookie]

It overall depends on how sensitive the audience is to the content of the joke. Some people take jokes well and others... well they don't. If its with friends, you just have to know what amount of content they can handle before being offended.

 

[Wondermint13]

Purely offensive jokes are NOT funny..
But sure, people take the piss out of everything else in this world and we all laugh so yeh.. racist/sexist jokes are just as ok..

God forbid we start making jokes about cute little kittens! People love cute little kittens!! They would surely be offended! We should Never make jokes about cute little kittens!!