I used to defend that comedian who made racist jokes. Not anymore.

Three years ago I saw a video of a comedian making jokes about Asian accents and I argued it was just comedy, not hate. Then last month I watched a documentary that showed how those jokes actually got used in court to deny someone a job. Can a person really apologize for that kind of harm or is it too late?

3 comments

3 Comments

quinn1611d ago

Man I had almost the exact same thing happen to me. I used to think those jokes about Irish people being drunks were harmless until I found out an old boss actually played one of those stand up bits during a hiring meeting to justify not promoting a coworker. It floored me when I realized real people use that garbage to hurt others. Now I can't even laugh at those old specials without feeling gross about it. You can apologize all day but the damage is already out there and you can't unring that bell.

singh.harper1d ago

Heard a similar thing from a buddy who worked in a warehouse where the foreman kept making jokes about Polish people being slow. Thought it was just dumb humor until he found out the guy actually used that stereotype to keep a hardworking Polish guy from getting a shift lead spot. It's wild how that stuff sticks in peoples heads like a bad song you can't shake. Apologizing feels like putting a bandaid on a cut that needed stitches months ago.

ericcraig1d ago

Honestly, the apology only matters if he actually works to undo the harm those jokes caused.