boondocks

[nova]

This cartoon was taken from today's "boondocks" cartoon provided by the Yahoo browser.

 

Would you consider it racist? Do you think that a person of color might be offended by it?

 

[Phi for All]

I'm not familiar with the comic or it's characters. Norman Lear's Archie Bunker character from All in the Family used to say many stupid, racist things to point out just how stupid and racist we can be.

[ecoli]

no, it's not racsist... because the cartoonist is black (AFAIK)

[budullewraagh]

he is. i actually like the comic. it isn't politically correct, but i hardly care. it touches on important issues

[bascule]

Norman Lear's Archie Bunker character from All in the Family[/i'] used to say many stupid, racist things to point out just how stupid and racist we can be.

 

Yeah, the point of Archie Bunker (and George Jefferson's) racism was part of the humor. I remember an episode where Archie is eating a plate of waffles and George comes over to borrow his waffle iron. As George is leaving with the waffle iron, Archie remarks "You people sure like your waffles" and George Jefferson replies "You honkies sure like yours"

 

Anyway, in this case, the character speaking (Uncle Ruckus) is something of an angry Uncle Tom. He hates black people and worships white people, especially white women. He always introduces himself as "Uncle Ruckus, no relation," ostensibly a reference to Uncle Remus upon which he seems to be based.

 

Boondocks is a comic strip full of racism, which it uses as the background for all sorts of insightful social commentary. Before you go *gasp* How racist! you really need to familiarize yourself with the characters and the basic setup of the strip.

[Pangloss]

Gotta love double standards.

[Sisyphus]

Gotta love double standards.

 

Certainly. But what's the double standard here?

[nova]

Certainly. But what's the double standard here?

 

 

Well, I thought it was a little racist. Apparently it is OK to say and act racist only if one happens to be black.

 

Isn't that a double standard? Not that I particularly give a damn, but it sure looks like a double standard to me....

[Lance]

no, it's not racsist... because the cartoonist is black (AFAIK)

 

Why would that matter...?

 

I would say yes, it is racist, but also very funny

[Sisyphus]

= Apparently it is OK to say and act racist only if one happens to be black.

 

 

I don't think that's at all apparent.

[Pangloss]

It doesn't pass my stink test, which is that if you flip it around the opposite way it becomes racist, meaning either the definition of "racist" is wrong or the original statement is also racist.

 

There's no middle ground here, either it's racist both ways or it's not racist at all. You can say that it's acceptable one way or the other way, but it's still a double standard. Sometimes double standards are acceptable. But never, in my view, when they're unacknowledged/unrecognized.

[AL]

It doesn't pass my stink test, which is that if you flip it around the opposite way it becomes racist, meaning either the definition of "racist" is wrong or the original statement is also racist.

I'm not sure if anyone's ever complained about racism on the TV show Family Guy, but there's plenty of race jokes there, many of which are made by white characters about black people, so this might pass your double-standard stink test. (My guess is that there is probably a way to do racist humor "right" so that it doesn't raise a stink, but just a guess.)

 

Quick, how many can all the Family Guy geeks here quote?:

 

"Remember folks: Guns don't kill people. Dangerous minorities do."

 

"We now go live to Ollie Williams with the Black-u-Weather forecast. Ollie?"

"I'S GOIN' RAIN!"

"Thanks, Ollie."

 

"Tom, I just plain don't like black people. Ahahah!"

 

Cleveland: "I must say, I do feel a strange satisfaction watching the black ball topple all those self-righteous white pins."

Joe: "Can't blame them for being self-righteous. The black ball's in their neighborhood uninvited."

Cleveland: "The black ball's done nothing wrong."

Joe: "If the black ball's innocent it has nothing to fear."

[bascule]

There's no middle ground here, either it's racist both ways or it's not racist at all. You can say that it's acceptable[/i'] one way or the other way, but it's still a double standard. Sometimes double standards are acceptable. But never, in my view, when they're unacknowledged/unrecognized.

 

Well, on one side you have Chappelle's Show which is unabashedly racist, and on the other side you have the Blue Collar Comedy Tour, which is subtly racist (or sometimes pretty blatant in the case of Larry the Cable Guy)

 

That pretty much seems to be the state of the double standard... black people can be a little more obvious about racism, at least in the name of comedy

[Sisyphus]

Anyone can say anything racist at all as long as it's clear they're kidding. That makes the racism - not the race - the object of the joke. Boondocks is like that, and so is Family Guy and Chapelle's Show and South Park and countless others. Most bad stand up comedians rely on this. I really don't see white people more condemned for it than blacks, and so I think if there's a double standard, it's a very subtle one that I don't understand.

 

Of course, for those who are NOT kidding, there does still seem to be a double standard. Both whites and blacks are rightfully condemned, but whites usually more harshly.

 

Also, politicians can't say anything, since no one has a sense of humor in politics.

[brad89]

Boondocks has a TV show now, too. And damn, it is LOADED with racism. However, the point of it is comedy, and as long as it isn't blatently advertising racism, it isn't doing anything wrong. It is often mistranslated as advertising racism, but that isn't the case in any episode I have seen.

[zyncod]

There's no middle ground here, either it's racist both ways or it's not racist at all. You can say that it's acceptable one way or the other way, but it's still a double standard. Sometimes double standards are acceptable. But never, in my view, when they're unacknowledged/unrecognized.

 

Oh, it's pretty much an acknowledged double standard. See, the deal we made was that we would basically try to keep all black people in poverty, jail, or death row. In return, black people would get to call white people 'honkies.' But not the reverse. It might be difficult for us white people to keep our mouths shut sometimes, but, hey, that's the way the cookie crumbles.

[Sayonara]

Argh, not another "who is more racist" thread.

 

You don't become racist by making generalisations or comments - you become racist by discriminating because of them.

 

And being black doesn't mean you can't be racist about other blacks.

[Pangloss]

Well' date=' on one side you have Chappelle's Show which is unabashedly racist, and on the other side you have the Blue Collar Comedy Tour, which is subtly racist (or sometimes pretty blatant in the case of Larry the Cable Guy)

 

That pretty much seems to be the state of the double standard... black people can be a little more obvious about racism, at least in the name of comedy[/quote']

 

Exactly.

 

Personally I don't have a problem with it. What I have a problem with is hypocrisy. People should call it what it is, and recognize it. Don't run away from it or get all sensitive about it.