Everyone likes to laugh. Especially at funny jokes that comedians tell. But what about the "bad" comedians? The ones that tell jokes they perhaps shouldn't, like racist jokes? Should we laugh?
When a "bad" comedian, for example Bill Hicks (pictured) tells a racist/sexist joke, we still laugh, yes because it may be funny, but also in a "I can't believe you just said that" sort of way.
It has been argued that telling these kind of jokes is rude, demeaning and very hurtful. And rightly so, if you were one the receiving end of one of these jokes, it wouldn't be so funny and you would probably feel hurt. On the other hand, others say that there is no harm in telling such jokes; that the whole point of a joke is that they are joking and do not mean what they are saying.
Such racist and sexist jokes are usually based on a certain cultural idea or view of another subculture. Perhaps when these jokes are being told, it is not the actual joke they are offended by, but by the reminder that this is what other people think. Someone could enter any race or group of people into these jokes; it isn't about them in particular.
Perhaps it isn't right to make light of certain situations, such as murder, rape or racism. Or is using humour simply our way of coping with such situations?
When a "bad" comedian, for example Bill Hicks (pictured) tells a racist/sexist joke, we still laugh, yes because it may be funny, but also in a "I can't believe you just said that" sort of way.
It has been argued that telling these kind of jokes is rude, demeaning and very hurtful. And rightly so, if you were one the receiving end of one of these jokes, it wouldn't be so funny and you would probably feel hurt. On the other hand, others say that there is no harm in telling such jokes; that the whole point of a joke is that they are joking and do not mean what they are saying.
Such racist and sexist jokes are usually based on a certain cultural idea or view of another subculture. Perhaps when these jokes are being told, it is not the actual joke they are offended by, but by the reminder that this is what other people think. Someone could enter any race or group of people into these jokes; it isn't about them in particular.
Perhaps it isn't right to make light of certain situations, such as murder, rape or racism. Or is using humour simply our way of coping with such situations?
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