Responses to Prejudiced Comments
People often use jokes to test the boundaries of what is considered offensive. Under the guise of humor, the joke teller can attempt to minimize any offense taken by defending the humor as “just a joke.”
Clearly, an attempt to belittle or demean others as a form of humor is distasteful. And in every culture, one can encounter humor that, to be understood, relies on prejudice—whether that prejudice be about race, sexual orientation, gender, ethnicity, or nationality. What others might find funny, some find tasteless and indefensible. Simply because an offensive statement is clothed as a joke does not make the joke funny nor does it mean that the joke teller cannot be confronted by someone who finds the comment offensive or inappropriate. Even so, confronting someone about an inappropriate joke can present a social risk; the person being called out is likely to feel defensive and retaliate against whomever exposed them.
For this Discussion, you will draw on your own experience and social psychology theory to examine responses to prejudiced comments.
Review the Learning Resources for this week and think about how social psychology theory and research explains the responses that people have when they hear prejudiced comments.
Recall a time when you have been present when someone made a racist comment or “joke,” and no one confronted the joke teller.
Post a time when you have been present when someone made a prejudiced “joke” or comment, and no one confronted the joke teller. Were you offended by the joke? How can a decision to stay mute be explained by social psychology theory?
Prejudice Essay
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I attended a comedy show where the comedian made a prejudiced comment about Blacks, and yet no one confronted the joke teller. The comedian made a comment that created the impression that people of color are generally not as intelligent as other racial groupings in the country. The comedian quipped in response to a Black gentleman in the audience: "Unlike others, you are a credit to your race." Although such a comment sounded simplistic, I understood it as a racial micro-aggression founded on a flawed belief, with the potential for triggering unethical acts against other people based on their racial background (Henrigillis & Gimbel, 2021). The comment offended me because it lacked a genuine sense of humor and could be understood as an attack weapon concealed in entertainment. According to the conflict theory in ethnic humor research, racial or ethnic jokes are normally used to justify and rationalize discriminatory behavior, thus reinforcing existing stereotypes about a specific racial group. Racial jokes are conflict tools applied to establish dominance in interracial relations and perpetuate race confli...