After the discussions in class, there were some things that sparked some interest in my mind. The main thing was what we had recently discussed which was stand-up comedy routines that greatly stereotype other races and their own. One thing I agree with is that the people that criticize their own races are not violating cultural rules for the simple fact that they are part of this race. Katt Williams and Dave Chappelle's use of the "N" word is not seen as a problem because they are part of that race. However if someone of another ethnicity used this word, the effects may not be so positive. Sure it is fine for Caucasians comedians to poke fun at other races or Blacks to poke fun at others but at what point are they going to far?
I think that as long as these group members do not start throwing out racial slurs about other groups than there is no limit to what they can say. In my own opinion, I believe that the stereotypes that these comedians discuss hold some truth behind them which is the reason I think they do not highly offend other races. If they begin to start saying things that hold no validity behind them, this is when they start to become "racist" and should stop saying the things they are. Michael Richards is a primary example of when going to far can hurt you. Because he said the "n" word, he is no seen as a racist and people from the black community do not have any respect for him anymore. If a black comedian were to start calling whites "crackers", "white trash", etc. then I think they are crossing the line. If it is all out of good fun, then society should stop making such a big deal about what these comedians are saying because it doesn't necessarily hurt anyone's race.
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