Title: Racial humor: not a laughing matter – The Aragon Outlook
Headings: Racial humor: not a laughing matter
Racial humor: not a laughing matter
Posted by Jack Herrera

Content: Stereotyping is arguably the most dangerous phenomenon of the human condition. When left unchecked, it festers like a wound, and spreads like an infection. An example of a generalization overcoming society is the Japanese internment camps in the US during WWII. No one was willing to respect each Japanese person as an individual, and they were grouped together as a threat to the nation. This led to one of the most embarrassing blights in the nation’s history. While no one is saying that racist jokes led, or will lead, to internment camps, our society’s unwillingness to scrutinize the generalizations made during is reflected in our ability to excuse racist jokes. If racism is to finally cease to exist, this societal phenomenon must stop. Racist jokes and the stereotypes they project must eventually be challenge. Humor is not a valid excuse for the perpetuation of stereotypes. Racial humor must be recognized for what it really is: