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From: murthy@pneuma.SRC.Honeywell.COM (Madhu Murthy)
Newsgroups: news.misc
Subject: Re: RACIST JOKES
Message-ID: <12987@srcsip.UUCP>
Date: 6 Dec 88 17:30:48 GMT
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In-reply-to: nmg@osupyr.mast.ohio-state.edu's message of 18 Nov 88 21:05:48 GMT


Hi Nancy & the rest:

Common politeness and consideration ?  In a mental ward may be so. Or in 
such situations. Not on the bboard meant just for jokes (caesar rotate is
bad enough state of affairs - Iron curtains across hearts).

Hi all!
--------------------------
THERE ARE SOME BASIC POINTS THAT ARE BEING MISSED:

"YOU" in the sentences is a generic you (could mean you, anybody, somebody, etc
etc. Whatever you think is right in the context).

CONSIDER ONLY THOSE STATEMENTS THAT APPLY TO YOU AND YOU ALONE while reading 
this message. Avoid all other temptations to apply these statements to the 
rest of the people etc etc. This is the rule of the game. Now for the play.

ALL KINDS OF PSYCHOLOGICAL HURT IS BOGUS. You rule this out (not living it) 
and you are leading a miserable existence. 

There is no point going out looking for people to hurt (psychologically).
That you hurt (psychologically) is fundamentally your responsibility.
You have a disease. You have not grown up. Helping you is one thing.
But to keep taking your hurt seriously, giving you a blank cheque and 
forgetting that psychological hurt is a disease does not help. 

YOU CAN LAUGH AT RACIAL JOKES AND NOT FEEL RACIAL TOO. You don't have to feel
guilty that you are a racist because you laughed at a racist joke. Humor comes
from many dimensions. But if you feel inferior or superior or smug identifying
to any stereotype (including a race) then you have a psychological inadequacy.
I do not feel racial, even while laughing at racist jokes. I speak for myself
and others like me. If you don't see this you have a funda"mental" problem.

Obviously if anybody takes the stereotypes (including racial) into play in
dealing with an individual he has a serious problem as well.  It is not the
jokes that are the problem but the attitudes.


Jokes cause misery to diseased minds but they are therapeutic to minds
(even diseased) minds which are willing to learn.  This alone is worth it
to have all kinds of jokes in a forum like rec.humor.funny

JER: Instead of trying to chop off humor (including racial), if you really 
care for those people who you have seen suffering go help them feel adequate. 
Start with feeling adequate yourself. I do not doubt your misplaced sincerity 
but you  remind me of the mob in India which beats up the driver of the bigger 
vehicle in case of an accident.

Taking away  the ability to laugh at human condition is one of  the stupidest 
mistakes that you can do. Especially at this phase of evolution. You wil
only add to the number of those hurting ones that you feel so "nobly" for.
Teach them how to laugh, to live. Start with yourself.

Sincere but not serious.

As for your example Nancy:

That you think somebody looks like a pig and choose not to say it out of
consideration have a lot of implications: Wonder how many of them hold in your
case (and to what extents):

- You do not see the beauty of a pig.
- You do not have the guts to say it.
- You feel guilty that you feel that somebody looks ugly like a pig. 
- You "notice" (not see) somebody looks like a pig but it doesn't matter
  (this doesn't seem to apply to you).
- You spend a lot of time thinking of looks in the foreground/background of
your mind.  
- You think that most people give a damn about how you think they look.

            MADHU

PS:

Instead of wasting energies feeling offended (if you do or any auch
feelings) you can spend those energies in considering how all the
statements might apply TO  YOU (if at all) and you would have saved some
person years of living. What I mean by this is: That is how long it took me
to live this out.

Before you start accusing me in your head of arrogance, consider your own
arrogance to not consider the truth of what you have read. The ones who
understand will not have a problem.