It's Just Jokes

“Let me ask you something,” I said, brimming with confidence. In my mind, what I was about to ask was an innocent question. I had no intention of starting an argument.

“What do you wanna ask me?” my friend Joey asked in anticipation. Joey and I had known each other since the third grade and we were good friends (we aren’t Turk and JD but were close). Joey is a funny kid so we got along from the start. Joey is also black.

“Are there white jokes?” After I asked it Joey looked at me like my dog looks at the microwave. It was a look of utter confusion.

“White jokes?” He asked the question with the same puzzled look on his face, as if he never conceived that those two words would appear in the same sentence.

“Yeah, you know how there are black jokes, do black guys tell white jokes?” Joey’s demeanor started to shift from confusion to anger.

“I’m not really sure what you mean. Why don’t you give me an example of a black joke?”

I wasn’t about to go near that land mine. Rarely in my life have I told a black joke and this was clearly not the time to break one out so I asked if we could forget about it and blamed the whole thing on being drunk. I apologized and then we changed the subject. We were at a party and I wanted to enjoy myself. I definitely did not want to start a drunken argument about race relations in America. This was not the time or place to decide who can say what and when they can say it.

I can see now why Joey was upset. I don’t think anyone wants to be told they are a certain way because of their race. Stereotyping robs people of their individuality. It’s crazy to think that a person’s personality and behavior are predetermined based only on their race. I have never heard a stereotype of a race and not known someone else that shared that characteristic.

People from all races are bad drivers. All races have good athletes and all races have bad dancers. There are women who are incredible at math. This is common knowledge. I think most people would agree with stereotyping is idiotic. But at the same time using stereotypes can be hilarious if done right. What made Chappelle’s Show such a great show is that he knew exactly how to work with stereotypes of every race. He was brilliant at it. At the same time he said that part of the reason he stopped making it was because he felt uncomfortable dealing with stereotypes all the time. I think it can make a lot of people uncomfortable. I just think as long as everyone involved realizes that stereotypes aren’t true, and that it is being done just so people can laugh, than joking about stereotypes is harmless.

Joey and I still see each other when I go back home. He’s still a funny kid. He still hasn’t told me whether or not there are white jokes and I am not about to ask him again. I’m sure there are though. I’m also sure they are only funny because they are based on stereotypes about white people. As long as people are laughing and having a good time then I don’t care.