Is It a Form of Bigotry??
by Miki SaxonToday’s post kicks off a discussion about leadership, hate and the loss of tolerance.
A couple of months ago I wrote Are you an unconscious bigot? One of the comments pointed out that what’s funny from one person isn’t funny from another and that’s true, one should always consider the source of the comment before evaluating the comment itself.
However, The more jokes I see the more I wonder. Consider the following that was forwarded by a friend who is in no way a bigot (I’ve known him over 30 years).
Bubba went to a psychiatrist.
‘I’ve got problems. Every time I go to bed I think there’s somebody under it. I’m scared. I think I’m going crazy.’
‘Just put yourself in my hands for one year,’ said the shrink. ‘Come talk to me three times a week, and we should be able to get rid of those fears.’
‘How much do you charge?
‘Eighty dollars per visit, replied the doctor.’
‘I’ll sleep on it,’ said Bubba.
Six months later the doctor met Bubba on the street. ‘Why didn’t you ever come to see me about those fears you were having?’ asked the psychiatrist.
‘Well Eighty bucks a visit three times a week for a year is an awful lot of money! A bartender cured me for $10. I was so happy to have saved all that money that I went and bought me a new pickup!’
‘Is that so! And how, may I ask, did a bartender cure you?’
‘He told me to cut the legs off the bed! – Ain’t nobody under there now !!!’
OK, it’s not a great joke, but it is a great example.
Please understand, I have no interest in being politically correct—pc seems to me to be shorthand for hypocrisy (more on that in the next post)—but you tell me, is the humor really enhanced because of the “dumb Southern redneck” reference and image?
November 7th, 2007 at 12:14 am
I think it depends on who is telling the joke. If Billy-Bob is telling the joke to his redneck friends, it’s funny and not particularily offensive.
But if I, as a northerner, were to say it, it’s a lot easier for the joke to come off as offensive (whether I intend it to or not).
But, if we were talking about the time when Ole (the lovable, but dim-witted Swedish Minnesotan) had the same problem…
We like to tell Ole and Lena jokes all the time in Minnesota. They’re not offensive because so many of us are Scandinavian and we’re joking about ourselves. It’s just when we make generalizations about other groups that the problems begin.
November 7th, 2007 at 1:04 am
Katie, I agree with you that most of us accept jokes made about us if they’re “people like us,” but get offended if they’re made by “outsiders.”
Jokes sent across the Internet aren’t being shared by insiders and the question still remains—is the humor enhanced? Especially since it is likely to be offensive outside of its core group.
November 10th, 2007 at 5:23 pm
Miki- the humor is poor to start with and is made worse by the picture. I don’t think making fun of people is funny in a group or mass communication setting (that allows me to laugh about an individual’s foibles with my wife)- in fact it is almost the definition of crass. I always cringe when comedians attempt to use the physical characteristics of their audience- this type of humor seems to be exploiting “group think”. The bottom line is respect – not the type that needs to be earned – but basic respect for each other as human beings in spite of our imperfections.
November 11th, 2007 at 10:20 pm
Bob, I agree totally with you, but to me it goes beyond crass. I really do believe that this kind of “humor” substantially increases intolerance and acts as a subtle divisive force in our culture.