Dude, it really doesn't do any good to call people names and throw around labels like that.
So comedians can only talk about people who resemble them? How close does this resemblance need to be?
I don't think it's any better to ignore the black person in the room.
But in this case it's not mean-spirited laughter. I feel like this joke would only be hurtful to people who aren't comfortable with their skin color.
This probably ties in with the "it's not your story to tell" conversation we promised we wouldn't pick up until much later. But as a comedian I don't think any subject ought to be taboo. Jokes can be in poor taste, it's true, but that doesn't mean we should stop talking about big parts of the human experience.
It's like this stand-up session where the guy starts making rape jokes. He was talking from a place of knowledge and sympathy, but this woman in the audience just had to tell him to stop. Weeping, she said that she was a rape victim and that these sorts of jokes were painful to her. The comedian agreed (again, he was coming from a place of knowledge and sympathy) but I feel like the woman should've left the room instead. She never once considered that maybe there were other rape victims in the audience and that laughing about the subject was how they came to terms with it.
I understand. It's just that I was afraid it would continue, and I don't speak Jive.
