How far is too far when it comes to racial jokes?

I don’t know if these are too far since that’s the definition of a racial joke -they’re offensive, but here’s a couple:

Q: What happens to an Asian man who runs into a wall and has a full erection?
A: He breaks his nose.

Or of course the most offensive is when you can hit more than one race-

Q: How do you know when Chinese are moving into your neighborhood?
A: When the Mexicans start getting car insurance.

@allen_o had the same question the other day.

I don’t like racial jokes at all, thus for me it is already too far if I hear one from someone.

There are so many funny things in life, absolutely no reason to focus on something that is not funny at all (personal opinion)

Political Correctness is a type of mental constipation.

Racing is ignorance. I am a highly-cultured yuppie.

@gashgai
Racing is ignorance
You have a problem with NASCAR?

How does every racist joke start?

With a look over the shoulder

Racing, hahaha!

@SeventhSense
Sorry. Tragical wording failure :(

I think if race is off limits, so should be every group stereotype. Rednecks, yuppies, tall people, short people, gay people, straight people, nerds, jocks…in fact, if there’s a chance that someone might be offended, the joke shouldn’t be uttered.

Then what will we laugh at? Let’s face it, stereotypes are funny.

I think racial jokes are fine if you are amongst friends who are grown up enough to understand that it is a racial joke.. not a racist joke.

Of course I wouldn’t recommend taking your favorite racial jokes on stage with you at the comedy club.. some things are just better left to people are going to understand your brand of humor.. like your close friends.

Also, generally speaking, jokes about groups to which you belong are acceptable. That’s why Patrice Oneal can say the “N” word.

Mean-spirited jokes, designed to degrade or demean a group are not okay. And rarely funny anyway.

Saying a racial joke is okay to me as long as you are equally willing to tell it to the face of someone of that race.

Actually believing the stereotype portrayed in the joke is where I draw the line.

Sometimes a joke can teach.

When I was a wee gel, a lot of people my aunt knew would touch my hair, which is long and wavy/curly. “Ooh!” they’d coo, “her hair’s so soft!” And then my aunt would whack their hands away, saying “Y’all the first ones get mad when white people try to touch your hair, ain’t cha!? Leave her alone!”

What do you call a big black guy who can fly a 747?

A pilot you racist bastard!

I think @NaturalMineralWater had it spot on. As long as everyone knows the speaker is not serious and no one is offended, then it’s all right. However, some people make comments that they mean to sound joking but are actually quite offensive. I think the key is also communication. If someone says something and you don’t like it, speak up! If I am comfortable with someone, I will make jokes about their race/gender/orientation/religion/whatever and they do the same to me. However, sometimes people don’t like hearing these comments. I think that’s the true test. If you say something and I say “that’s not funny, that’s just racist,” and you say “whatever, you can;t take a joke,” then you cross a line.

Anything that we say that is harmful to someone else should not be uttered. Yet at times we unknowingly hurt someone’s feelings by what comes out of our mouths. It is at this time when we should apologize.

This is so tough, maybe more a “know your audience” call?
I enjoy the standup comedy of Margaret Cho yet despise Carlos Mencia, both of them make what I think of as racial jokes. Part of me feels there’s a difference with the character and intent of the person telling the joke but I don’t know, some people tell me jokes I laugh at and others take me by surprise to where I just give them blank face.

@aprilsimnel
LMAO. Thanks for that link.

I find racist jokes work the best when they make fun of the ignorance or stupidity of racism versus the race.

The pilot joke from @allen_o is excellent because it makes fun of the stereotypical connotations that we’re being lead to.

Whereas (if I may butcher the joke) and the punchline was: a terrorist with a tan it will be offensive to me, it’s just directly exploiting a racial group with a poor simile, there’s no “second level” to aspire to.

@VzzBzz
Yes delivery is everything

@allen_o
Reminded me of another joke yet not remotely racist.

Q:What do you call the guy who graduates first in his class and the guy who graduates last in his class at medical school?
A:Doctor
Food for thought the next time you get an opinion.

@SeventhSense Loved the mental constipation – hadn’t heard it yet!

@allen_o Over the shoulder was brilliant – tons o lurve!

The difference, imho, between a racist joke and a racial joke? Racist: Two guys walk down the street and make a joke about a certain race, to each other, when they see someone. Just like that. Or even worse, Michael Kramer Richard’s fiasco.

Racial, yet intelligent and even inspiring: Sarah Silverman.

Paris Hilton’s video clip just came on VH1. Just saying. It’s awesome.

First off, I need to echo the comment of SeventhSense
That said, a racial joke goes to far when it’s intent is no longer to entertain, but instead to insult.
It’s obviously a difficult distinction, racial jokes that I find especially amusing tend to focus on observations that the comedian isn’t afraid to point out, despite the fact that they are controversial in nature and language. And to someone who disagrees with these observations, especially if said observations concern their race and fail to recognize cases that contradict the observation, that can be insulting.
But at many times I’m inclined to say “Get over yourself, every group has experienced prejudice, and at this point almost everyone in the public sphere is doing their best to avoid exercising any residual prejudices they may have.”

no limit

you

DO NOT

have the right

to be not-offended

welcome to free speech

@BBQsomeCows: Actually, I believe the right to be offended or not as you choose is also protected under free speech.

you DO NOT have the right to be not-offended
Umm…uh… I don’t even know how to respond to that.

I think what @BBQsomeCows is saying (not to put words in his/her mouth) is that you are not entitled to limit someone else’s freedom of speech by claiming that their speech is offensive. Yes, you have the right to be offended, but they also have the right to say things that are offensive.

@Poser
But it was a double negative-
”Do not have the right to be not offended”
In other words he is actually saying that you have to be offended which is odd.