Are You Kidding?

by Michell

Is it okay to make jokes about another race? Is it okay to use racial slurs to gain a simple laugh? In my opinion, no, it is not okay to make jokes about another race. Just twist it around the other way. Some people might make jokes about your race and you wouldn't like that very much. So it's bad to make jokes about other races.

People are racist against others becuase of their skin color or their ethnic background or where they are from. Yet people are born with their skin color and they have no control over it. People can't control where they were born either and though they try and ditch their culture, it's a part of them as well. Why make a joke out of something no one can control? Whether it's a "blonde joke" or an anti-black joke or a redneck joke, a joke against a race is a joke against something people have no control over.

Some people from other races are nice, while some people from your race are mean. If we're all human then we are all capable of being nice or mean. If that's true, then it is not good to judge someone based upon race. It's not okay to use stereotypes about different people that essentially add up to, "these people are bad" or "these people are mean." However, when we tell racial jokes, we spread the stereotypes.

Telling racist jokes could actually be dangerous for you. If you make racial jokes, people will assume you are racist. Someone could get really mad and hurt you or someone you love. What you consider a simple joke might be an insult to another person. Sometimes fights even break out just because someone said something as a joke. In the end, many people get hurt because of racism.

Consider how your words will make someone feel next time you are thinking of telling a racist joke. Being racist does not bring anything good to your life or to the person you are making fun of. Although you might get a laugh, you'll lose something bigger in the long run: the chance for racial unity.