Quote:
Originally Posted by Xerxys
I don't understand how making fun of someone (or many people, even an entire race, in this case) is racist. Exactly how does it affect them? I classify racism as actively denying rights and equality to someone who needs it at the time. You can hate all you want but as long as that is all you can do then meh? Who cares?
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The reason humor can be (im not saying it was in this case) racist is because there is a step that precedes actively denying rights and equality to someone. And that step is dehumanization, the denying of the humanity in a group of people. Before native americans were enslaved and massacred by Europeans, some in the church made it alright by claiming they had no rational souls and were thus natural slaves.
Humor can be dehumanizing, and thus racist. Black face humor in the US was constantly used to depict blacks as inferiors.
Again, didn't even see the case in hand so Im not commenting on that, but that is an example.
And I must say that I agree wholeheartedly with MM in noting the contradiction in being culturally offended by cultural sensitivity.
And the whole "rapper" bit used to deny racism is just precious.