White Life #1: Obama Jokes
Months ago, I remember several unfunny boobs all stressed out that the Obama campaign would be the end of comedy because satirizing Obama could be offensive to some audiences. All I heard was, “wahhh wahh wahhhh but it will be HARD! wahh wahh wahh”
I shouldn’t talk though because I don’t know the first thing about stand-up. For real. I’m like that guy who has the 2 rap CDs that came free from Columbia House and throws them on when he wants to get “urban” at a pool party. That said, I can’t seriously do White Life without talking about comedy. Many of the bizarre things I hope to recount here are couched inside of humor. Jokes provide space to explore difference and tackle the strange, dirty, and uncomfortable topics that inevitably pop up when we live among other people. Yet they can also be miserably degrading, alienating, and offensive.
Lately, I’ve been watching clips from the Emmitt Smith Charity Roast trying to understand why Doug Williams (left) is such a brutal FAIL while Jeff Ross (right) seems hilarious.
Curiously, the person who posted the only clip of Michael Colyar titled it, “Is this joke racist?” Several viewers post responses in the comments for the video. Seems I’m not the only one struggling with the ephemeral tango of comedy and difference.
Althought I am obviously a tenderfoot Potter Stewart when it comes to explaining my reactions to blue humor, allow me to recount an unpleasant experience regarding racist Obama jokes.
After stuffing myself at a cookout, I sat on my hosts’ back porch with a group of friends and family of a variety of ages. Though people have different ethnic backgrounds, we’re all white. We’re sipping drinks, picking at cookies, and trading jokes and stories. One friend, who I’ve just met a few hours prior, offers to tell the “scariest joke in the world.” It goes like this,
Knock, knock.
- Who’s there?
Eyes yore
- Eyes yore who?
Ise your new president.
Classic White Life moment: the racist joke. This one is particularly bad, though. And by that I mean, it is a terrible joke - a groaner. Everyone at the table voiced disapproval and several were clearly taken aback by the racial connotations but no one (including myself) would interrupt the party vibe by calling out the teller. The weakness of the humor allowed people to reject the joke without confronting the teller if they felt offended. (Full disclosure, when I heard the punch line, I looked down at my plate with a half-smile and shook my head saying, “That is not a good joke. That is not a good joke.”)
The interesting part of the exchange was that the younger kids on the porch didn’t understand the joke because that characterization of African-American slang (”I’s a whatever…”) is so outdated that they do not recognize it! Various adults at the table stumbled over each other to try to explain the joke without either endorsing it nor making the teller look bad. “Well… you know, it’s about Obama and … - BUT! it is not a good joke… it’s bad…” To explain the joke revives a dying stereotype while not explaining the joke stymies racial curiosity.
The majority of the group clearly did not approve of the racist joke yet no one verbalized their disagreement. My reason is that I was the youngest adult at the table and I was just meeting some of these folks for the first time. I didn’t want to challenge someone and create an awkward situation to ruin the time for everyone else. Of course, I sat there much more quietly and less engaged following the joke than I had been prior. Did other people at the table feel the same way?
What do you do in these situations?
Tags: campaign, comedy, election, humor, jokes, obama, racism, whitelife, whiteness
September 1st, 2008 at 23:55:56 (PDT -04:00)
I know the feeling! I am endlessly amazed at the cultural insensitivity of some mexicans. At a faculty carne asada a coupla weeks back I overheard a conversation between a professor from china and a mexican who was the husband of an faculty member that went like this:
husband “I heard that the chinese calendar was created to tell chinese people what to eat that year. In the year of the rat you eat rats, year of the dog, dogs, horses etc.”
professor (thinking so quick on his feet to dodge this, give him so much cred): “What would we do in the year of the dragon”
That question to me was not only rude but completely racist. I wanted to scream! However, already being the new young faculty member and the words were exchanged down the table from me, I censored my reaction to some serious glares.
The husband definitely knew what he said was offensive and still continued to surmise that the chinese stole all the gold medals from the mexicans. I was blown away, I mean these are the thoughts of a well-educated middle class (he is a pediatrician) mexican!
I cannot begin to describe the reactions I get when I try to discuss obama…
September 2nd, 2008 at 13:58:40 (PDT -04:00)
who knows what i’d have done in that sitch myself, but it seems like the outdated stereotype offered a nice opening for an indirect criticism and open discussion of how ugly racist charicatures are. why not toss off a quick aside about the legacies of blackface minstrelsy (without sounding like an egghead, of course). requires grace, courage, and wit to navigate these sort of moments incisively, and I certainly can’t claim always to be in possession of all three at the right time.
thx for sharing. I don’t think I’ve heard any Obama jokes yet. but I’ve heard plenty like that one.
September 2nd, 2008 at 14:48:17 (PDT -04:00)
definitely a “teachable moment” in education lingo. lately, i’ve noticed that my second reaction to these types of comments (after surprise) is to be angry that ni am being put in the awkward position to either insult the other person or to suppress something of myself.
still a long way from courageous behavior but i’m working on it…
September 2nd, 2008 at 16:07:13 (PDT -04:00)
Jacob points out: The Rationale of the Dirty Joke, a folklorist take on bawdy limericks.
September 5th, 2008 at 01:17:57 (PDT -04:00)
you gotta speak up.
they have already insulted you, by assuming you will agree with the premise of the joke.
it can be uncomfortable, and you have to practice it (or you will be too shocked when the time comes)
September 5th, 2008 at 01:32:44 (PDT -04:00)
perhaps i am too shocked to act. i’m not sure. i am in these situations quite often. it’s shocking every time and i want to agree with you but i think that there’s a calculation going on (consciously and otherwise) determining my actions.
in the story above, the teller had already soured the moment and it was clear from the response of the group that the joke was not welcome. i had to decide whether to further extend that sourness by calling the person out or to let the family party carry on while i did my best to ice out the teller from further conversation.
my place in the social hierarchy made me feel like the latter option was appropriate and the former would have been pushing something too far.
i’m not saying that this is the correct or preferred response but am trying to dig deep and examine what is actually happening when these moments pop up. how do i really react and why?
September 6th, 2008 at 14:24:56 (PDT -04:00)
I hear you.. I see also a matter of conscience (can I allow this/ allow myself to go along with it) and also the matter of responsibility (how can I reduce or limit or cauterize racist actions/effects)
So my feeling is that self-examination is a good practice, but also that racism is a public act, and a public performance that goes beyond interpersonal dynamics. Voting with your feet doesn’t necessarily create a counterperformance.
sure, you have to pick your battles, but a lot of racism’s power comes incrementally, through accretion of little things..
September 11th, 2008 at 00:21:03 (PDT -04:00)
Maybe tell another joke:
Knock knock
who’s there?
a really unfunny and racist joke that just made everyone really uncomfortable.
But seriously,
I really think that you have amazing priviledge by deciding to and being able to pass as a norm straight white man, which could be argued is basically a silent vote in favor of the status que. As such, it is your responsibility to speak up in the politest way you can. It is selfish to not do so for the sake of avoiding feeling uncomfortable. Otherwise, because of the way you look, people around you will assume that you are OK with it.
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