Dear World - Dirty Jokes

Note - The majority (well, all) of the links in this are videos from YouTube, with the majority having swearing or rather offensive in the form of what they say. Just thought I'd let you know before you click on them and scold me for promoting bad language and the like. Thanks.

Dear World.

I would like to pose a question to you.

Is it always wrong to laugh at jokes that are considered wrong? Y'know, like racist and sexist jokes?

Allow me to expand from what I've seen recently. I'm (still, somehow) in university, and I hang around with a guy who used to live in Iran. Every time I see him, he always says something about me being white, or me being Welsh.

An example of him saying something about me being white is when it snowed, and he began to call me "snowflake" and saying that I'd be a ninja at that time as nobody would see me. Another example is when I spoke Welsh to a lecturer, and he claimed we were being racist as the lecturer and I were the only ones who understood each other, as no other student in the class spoke the fine language known to all as Welsh.

Granted, you can hear in his voice that he was not completely serious. If he was, he hid it well. And if I, or any other person in our circle of people, told a joke or anything that could be consider racist against him, he replies in the same manner as I do. The only difference being that he returns back with funny reply, usually saying something much worse and targeted against himself.

So, what is my point here? There is a certain level of racism here. Him saying that nobody could see me when it snowed is a prime, but not a good, example. But is this racist?

It's the same with women, though in the form of sexism and not racism. If you go on certain websites, such as Failblog, Sickipedia or something similar, there seems to be a rather sexist view about women. The prime one is something on the lines of "if a tree falls on a woman in the middle of the woods, why is the woman not in the kitchen?"

But why?

No idea.

Granted, most of these sites are around entertainment of jokes, so not all of them are meant in a viscous manner. Though, when does it cross the line?

I can't answer that, as everybody is different. Take that joke about women that I wrote above. The first time I heard that, I laughed. I can't deny that. Though, I thought it was harsh. Now, every "woman, get in the kitchen" joke I hear, it makes no sense. On rare occasions, I hear a sexist joke that makes me laugh, sexist against both men and women, but if it's just a joke that mentions kitchens or lack of ability to ask for directions when lost, then it's just a dud.

One thing is for sure, everyone has a different tolerance level when it comes to these types of jokes. As one person will feel the need to burst out in hysterical laughter at a joke that involves Hitler and what he had done to those who believe in the Jewish faith, another person may quiver in horror and disgust as they've recently been offended by a joke about the Welsh.

With me, I can laugh at just about anything. And, for some reason, I'm not really at ease at saying that. As you watch the episodes of Mock The Week on YouTube or Dave, you will, soon enough, hear Frankie Boyle say a joke. Usually, his jokes make light of dark subject matters, the biggest example of this being, during a "lines you wouldn't hear in a superhero movie" part of "Scenes We'd Like To See", he strolls up to the microphone, he says "is it a bird? Is it a plane? Whatever it is, it's heading straight into the World Trade Centre."

The audience laughed. Well, not straight away, mind. The studio was filled with gasps. But I will tell you something, after I had my fill of gasps, I laughed. Does that make me a horrible person? Does that mean that I find those people who died in 9/11 humorous? Personally, I wouldn't say so. But then again, you might see me as a heartless person with less sympathy than a cat to a legless mouse.

I've just realised that I've left out homophobic jokes now, and Frankie Boyle is a nice link to this subject. I don't understand why people belittle or discriminate against homosexuals, in fact, as Jack Whitehall once said, "I guess I'm homophobic in the same sense that I'm arachnophobic. I'm not scared of spiders, I'm not scared of gays, but I would probably scream if I saw one in my bath". Yet I find the majority of the jokes funny. Not because I think that way, but like racist and sexist jokes, I understand why they are funny. Or is it?...

Oh, I don't know, world. Why can't we all just get along and laugh at ourselves as much as we laugh at other people?

I thank ye, world.