I acknowledge that this COULD be offensive to some people. But I think that
for better or worse, that IS the nature of humor...
A lot of popular humor from the last 20 to 30 years has not always been
appropriate for "polite company"...In fact, until the 70's, most popular
humor was much gentler.
Ever watch SNL or even the Simpsons with a member of the ( now rapidly
dwindling) WWII generation? It is likely that they would be offended by
practically every word. And my Dad had a great sense of humor.
But humor that has appealed to most people today may not be all that racist,
but it can be very mean-spirited.
L
----- Original Message -----
From: dne44 <dne_at_dslextreme.com>
To: <OliveStarlightOrchestra_at_yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Saturday, June 14, 2003 2:05 PM
Subject: [OliveStarlightOrchestra] Re: 3rd Annual Nigerian E-mail Conference
> When I write "those dark-skinned folks of the third world", it is
> because that is clearly the assumption of the writer of this web-
> page -- it's not my world-view but his/hers. The page is primarily
> culturally insensitive, but in this instance the culture being mocked
> is entirely black, and I don't think the two are unrelated.
>
> This has nothing to do with my protection of them, it has to with the
> fact that I found several of the remarks offensive because they make
> broad, unflattering stereotypes that imply a strongly prejudiced
> attitude and assumptions about the people in question.
>
> - David
>
> --- In OliveStarlightOrchestra_at_yahoogroups.com, mayhem <meurtre_at_e...>
> wrote:
> > I can go as far as to say that some of these jokes could be
> > construed as "culturally insensitive" (as could just about all
> > ethnic/geographical humor). But to claim that they are "racist"
> > leads me to believe that you see the world through race-tinted
> > lenses. "Those dark-skinned uncivilized folks of the third world"
> > indeed. What a racist way to look at it!
> >
> > I don't think the "dark-skinned . . . folks" of the world need
> > your protection--or want it. It's a rather patronizing position
> > you've taken.
> >
> > Yours,
> >
> > J
> >
> >
> > > Joy-
> > >
> > > Not all of it is racist and there are certainly some funny bits
> > > (heck, the conference fee itself is worth a good chuckle); but a
> > > number of the jokes are very clearly based on broad stereotypes of
> > > either Africa or those dark-skinned uncivilized folks of the third
> > > world. If the focus was strictly on things like the use of capital
> > > letters and some of the other aspects of the emails itself, it
> would
> > > have been fine. It's the extraneous "cultural" elements which use
> > > mocking disdain and broad stereotyping (crickets, some of
> > > the 'inflected' speech, and the comment requesting that the
> > > participants use the restrooms) as humor.
> > >
> > > It's not that you can't make fun of how laughably inept some of
> these
> > > scams are and about the thought processes behind them, it's when
> you
> > > go beyond that and make fun of how "backwards" these people might
> be
> > > in their day-to-day lives. (Let's laugh about what they eat, let's
> > > laugh about how they don't even know how [or are unwilling] to
> use a
> > > toilet).
> > >
> > > - David
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > --- In OliveStarlightOrchestra_at_yahoogroups.com, mayhem
> <meurtre_at_e...>
> > > wrote:
> > >> Racist!?
> > >>
> > >> It does play off against stereotypes about the developing world--
> > > which
> > >> functions in the context of the joke as a sort of "backwater" of
> > >> civilization--but that isn't a lot different from the sorts of
> > > jokes we make
> > >> about rural white Southerners. The implication is that only
> someone
> > > from a
> > >> relatively unsophisticated culture would send out e-mails like
> this
> > > and
> > >> think people would actually bite and send them money.
> > >>
> > >> The joke isn't the con, it's how ridiculous the con appears to
> the
> > > average
> > >> American--particularly those from educated backgrounds or urban
> > > areas.
> > >>
> > >> I don't happen to recall whether crickets are eaten in Africa. I
> > > think not.
> > >> Certainly indoor plumbing is a novelty in large parts of sub-
> > > Saharan Africa,
> > >> though. The point is not the details of the joke--any more than a
> > > joke about
> > >> "trailer trash" depends on the targets actually residing in
> > > trailers.
> > >>
> > >> The joke has nothing to do with skin color, and everything to do
> > > with
> > >> culture.
> > >>
> > >> Clearly the producer of the web site is not targeting all
> Africans--
> > > just
> > >> e-mail scammers. Just as most jokes about "rednecks" don't (or
> > > shouldn't)
> > >> target all Southerners--just those who are undereducated and/or
> > > racist.
> > >>
> > >> I just do not see a tie-in to the color of African skin, here.
> Just
> > > don't.
> > >>
> > >> I think it's a little problematic to assume that everytime a joke
> > > is made,
> > >> and people of color--or a person of color--are/is part of the
> > > target group,
> > >> the term "racist" can be thrown around. This attitude can lead to
> > > tiptoeing
> > >> around anyone who is a member of any minority group (or females),
> > > lest one
> > >> be accused of insensitivity/racism/sexism/hetrosexism.
> > >>
> > >> And without humor, where the hell are we?
> > >>
> > >>
> > >> --Q.M.
> > >>
> > >>
> > >>
> > >> Lenny-
> > >>
> > >> I don't consider myself overly touchy about these things, but
> this
> > >> link is seriously racist. I know it's just trying to be funny,
> but
> > >> jokes about eating crickets and making sure guests use the
> restrooms
> > >> have nothing to do with email scams and everything to do with
> > >> prejudices about Africans.
> > >>
> > >>
> > >>
> > >>
> > >> --- In OliveStarlightOrchestra_at_yahoogroups.com, "7visions"
> > >> <7visions_at_p...> wrote:
> > >>>
> > >>> ----- Original Message -----
> > >>> http://j-walk.com/blog/docs/conference.htm
> > >>>
> > >>>
> >
> >
> >
> > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
>
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Received on 2003-06-16 17:13:21