Taboo Jokes and Racism

[coldneck]

This story is all over the news, but it made me think of the bigger picture in general.
Joan Rivers, comedian/fashion commentator recently made a (some call it crude) joke about the Holocaust; more specifically, Heidi Klum's stunning dress worn at the Academy Awards, during her E! show"Fashion Police".

"The last time a German looked this hot was when they were pushing the Jews into the oven."

Here's the link: http://www.cnn.com/2013/02/28/showbiz/joan-rivers-holocaust-joke/index.html

Now, the Jewish community at large was outraged, but Joan is, of course, unapologetic.

This reminds me of my favorite Black comedian, Dave Chappelle, who drops th N-bomb constantly and writes and stars in shorts that "sets the black community back to slavery".
He could care less.

Dave is Black, so he gets away with it and all kinds of people find his humor outrageously funny, including the Blacks (well, most of them).
He has carte blanche, so to speak.

Joan is Jewish, but the Jewish community was anything but amused.
She claims she's getting it out there, for people to talk about.

Is it because her show is more high-profile?
I thought comedians have the green light to make jokes about anything, particularly their own familiarity.

It's like fat jokes are funnier when a fat guy tells them. It's self-depreciating humor.

Comments, thoughts on this?

 

[Cosmo_ac]

At this point, Holocaust Jokes are still a little to fresh, i think. Had she made a jew joke, she might have been able to pull it off. I think part of it as well might have been the medium she was using. Ie, if you watch family guy, you pretty much know your in for some racy humour. Same with Dave Chappelle (one of the few black comedians I know and love), but I don't know if one would expect such racy comments on an E! show.

 

[Bothersome]

I've always been interested in the particularly strange social phenomenon of self-depreciating jokes somehow becoming less offensive.

Personally, I try not to think of them that way... yet I'm way, way susceptible to it. If Daniel Tosh were to make a crack at white people (and he often does) I'd laugh and think nothing of it. If a non-white person made the same joke, I'd laugh... yet probably not with as much enthusiasm.

And I hate that. I hate it more than I hate the fact that I can't will gold into existence with my mind.

Because it's the same joke... yet my reaction is different simply because of the color of that person's skin. And I hate that about myself.

 

[obama666]

When I was growing up you could buy ethnic joke books in nearly any department store.

 

[Rusty Shackleford]

Sacred cows are the most delicious

 

[Jagermeistered]

"The last time a German looked this hot was when they were pushing the Jews into the oven."

I see this as a anti-Germanic joke, and not a anti-Semitic joke though. Basically, she is bashing Germans from post-World War II until the time Heidi Klum wore her fucking dress that evening. How is she offending Jews? When the focal point is that Heidi Klum is a German. Maybe, she wanted to be one of those poor Jews in the oven? What if she looked at herself in the mirror that morning, and realized her life and wealth is worth shit because she is a fraud? Jews can be pissed about her statement, but they are missing her fucking punchline.

 

[DontAskJusTckle]

"The last time a German looked this hot was when they were pushing the Jews into the oven."

Which, historically speaking, occurred right around the time Joan Rivers made her last funny remark.

 

[VitaminJ]

Which, historically speaking, occurred right around the time Joan Rivers made her last funny remark.

How in the hell is Joan Rivers...just stop and think about for a second or two...Joan Rivers as the fashion police. That would be like Mel Gibson worshiping at temple or...or O.J. Simpson not killing his ex-wife, or Melissa Rivers having an actual career on her verrrryyy own. Joan Rivers doing fashion stuff..."can we talk?"...NO!

 

[VitaminJ]

This is why black comedians...the elite anyway...will always be funnier than white comedians, because they can say anything and do white people accents and get away with it...double standard, sure, but it does bring out the best comedy. The only white comedian who can get away with slamming black people is Lisa Lampanelli and that's because she claims to fuck them, so there you have it...I don't care either way, just make me laugh.

 

[jhop220]

This is why black comedians...the elite anyway...will always be funnier than white comedians, because they can say anything and do white people accents and get away with it...double standard, sure, but it does bring out the best comedy. The only white comedian who can get away with slamming black people is Lisa Lampanelli and that's because she claims to fuck them, so there you have it...I don't care either way, just make me laugh.

George Carlin, Anthony Jeselnik, Daniel Tosh

but the one white comedian I heard use any word without caring is Doug Stanhope. He is hilarious.

 

[C.A.B.]

Like most all "comedians," they pontificate "'everything' is fair game"... unless of course, it hits to close too home. Don't ask Joan about nepotism and her daughter. Don't ask Billy Crystal if he still thinks 'old cranky washed up Jewish comedians' is still something he finds funny. Don't ask Whoopie Goldberg how she can stomach being one of the elite 1%. And for god's sake, don't ask Robin Williams if drunken/drugged-up domestic violence still occurs in his household. Possibly one of the most annoying things in the world is a comedian that likes to espouse criticism of others' hypocrisy, when all they need is a mirror.

 

[Jagermeistered]

George Carlin, Anthony Jeselnik, Daniel Tosh

but the one white comedian I heard use any word without caring is Doug Stanhope. He is hilarious.

I bought Stanhope's most recent release. It is awesome!

He is still giving his "******" disclosure(he uses the word to describe weak people) at the end of the show, and still offers a blowjob to any gay person who is offended. My two favorite tracks is the Dr. Drew bashing track, and the urban hooker economist("Keynesian economic theory").

 

[coldneck]

At this point, Holocaust Jokes are still a little to fresh, i think.

Really? WWII ended almost 68 years ago.
Maybe not a question of "too soon", but rather a matter of "taboo subject we should never approach"?!?

 

[coldneck]

I've always been interested in the particularly strange social phenomenon of self-depreciating jokes somehow becoming less offensive.

Personally, I try not to think of them that way... yet I'm way, way susceptible to it. If Daniel Tosh were to make a crack at white people (and he often does) I'd laugh and think nothing of it. If a non-white person made the same joke, I'd laugh... yet probably not with as much enthusiasm.

And I hate that. I hate it more than I hate the fact that I can't will gold into existence with my mind.

Because it's the same joke... yet my reaction is different simply because of the color of that person's skin. And I hate that about myself.

This is exactly what I'm after.

Switch the scenario: A white guy making black guy jokes.
It wouldn't go over AT ALL. Even if it was funny as hell.
It would be all over the internet and the comedian would be out of work or ostracized forever.

Somehow, the Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, Asians of all types, American and India Indians, Russians, etc and others are fair game.

It still comes down to a Black vs White bit, and I think that's pretty fucked up.

Even most of my black friends think so.
A few don't, tho.

This is a case of religion.

Which begs the question: Is Judaism a race or a religion?

 

[C.A.B.]

Is Judaism a race or a religion?

Both. But more correctly, the Jewish people are an ancient Semitic ethnic group that share a strong sense of tradition (strongly influenced by a long history of shared religious beliefs) going back to pre-biblical times when tribal cohesion was a live or die proposition in a world of enemies. But not all that self-identify as 'ethnically Jewish', practice Judaic faith and come in all varieties of beliefs, or non-belief.