Where is the line in comedy? My site has a lot of offensive material on it. Does some of it go too far?
A recent image of Donald Duck saying “Goddamn stupid n***r” caused some uproar and complaints. Is that image any more offensive than a picture of Dora The Explorer jumping the fence? From my perspective I think it may be. It seems to me that there is more hatred and emotion behind people who use the N word as opposed to many (not all) of the other racial slurs.
They should all be handled with care. The goal of my sites is to make people laugh. Some of the images are indeed going to offend people, but how do I know when it goes too far? I’ve removed the Donald image, but what about the other images? Am I not being just as offensive to their races too? I am wondering if it comes down to context. Where the image of Donald really seems to be hate filled and cruel, the image of Dora is meant to be a joke and not taken seriously. But some people will find it offensive. That’s why art is subjective.
Perhaps it comes back to the power of the N word itself. It was used to keep an entire race of people in slavery and fear. The other words seem to be meant as insults much like calling someone fat. Is that too loose of a comparison? Perhaps it is. I’m not sure why, but the N word seems to hold more power in it than other racial slurs.
Perhaps is more like the difference between the word “fuck” and the word “shit”. Both are “bad words” that we never let our children say and try to shield their ears from, but fuck obviously is more of a bad word. Why is it more of a bad word? Because we let it have more power than other words. Perhaps that’s the same with the N word.
I wonder if there are similarities to the words “fag” or “gay”. For a long time they were used as derogatory slurs for the homosexual population. They had great power over those that are gay, but at some point we took them as labels of pride. I think the key difference here is they don’t have centuries of slavery behind them to give them more power. I think in this country and in this time there is a line that we shouldn’t cross and I did. I apologize to anyone who was offended by the image of Donald. It was never my intention to bring hate into your lives.
I would love to hear your thoughts and comments on my insane ramblings above. I’m not a writer so I’m not sure if any of it made sense please leave a comment and let me know what you’re thinking.
That was very well put together Drewpy. You are correct when you say that we give these words and terms power and that is what makes them offensive…the power to subjugate a group of people over another.
I beleive that any word or term that is used in this manner should not be used at all…even if it is in fun. Blaine and I recently had this conversation and it was brought up that much of the time we believe that seteotypes, such as Dora jumping over the fence, are funny because we know they are ridiculous and not true. That said, however, it still conveys a sense of control and power over the group it is targeting.
I feel that we should refrain from using such words and condemn their usage by not participating (saying them or listening to them). That way we do not perpetuate the cycle.
And that’s my two cents! Do you have change for a nickel??
E
Comment by Estancia — April 1, 2008 @ 11:27 AM
Very well written. You made your point clear and you apologized for offending anyone and brought up some VERY good points. Food for thought, if you will.
Although, I don’t use the N word myself and I don’t care for people around me to use it, I voted to keep the image up. The reason was because, I believe that everyone is entitled to their opinion. I believe it is a very beautiful thing that ANYONE is able to voice that opinion. It’s what makes our world go around. I see both “sides” of the controversy. I see why you would want to take it down and I see why you would want to keep it up. I hope that if someone was offended by it, the realized it wasn’t you, personally, attacking them. It was all in good fun.
That being said, I have enjoyed your site for awhile now. The content is both “naughty” and “nice”. Thank you for your “hobby”.
Take care,
D
Comment by Danielle — April 3, 2008 @ 2:58 PM