Where is the line? A comedian asked
this week, what comes first, the racist comedian or the racist crowd? Another
has said that any joke based on a cultural stereotype is racist. We have all
laughed at a joke that could be seen as a bit racist before. Chris Rock, one of
the world’s best and most loved comedians, is no stranger to having jokes that
are mostly based on black stereotypes. Don’t believe me? Get a white person to
do the same exact same set in front of a black crowd. Then we will talk again.
Okay, it is a bit of a cheap shot to
mention Chris Rock. But he fits my argument pretty well. He is a black
comedian, doing black stereotypical joke, and making black people laugh. So
where is the racism? Racism isn’t just black and white either. People of all
colours can make jokes about all the other people and their colours, while all
the people of the other colours will laugh. I mean, we are all just laughing
right?
We have coloured comedians doing
jokes about not having coloured people not having front teeth. This particular
joke I find a little offensive. But then I asked my coloured friends about it
and they don’t see it as racism. In fact, I have had coloured friends at gigs
and they laugh harder than me at some of the more questionable jokes.
Thoughts?
