u/According_Sundae_917

I’ve seen some backlash this week mainly from prominent online Black commentators (FD Signifier, Joe Budden Podcast, Dr Umar Johnson) and discussion on social media saying:

• the racist jokes crossed a line
• white comedians have gotten too comfortable making racist jokes to Black people
• Kevin Hart sold out Black culture permitting outsiders to joke about it so disrespectfully

I’m torn because:

• I love roasts and believe those who participate know they’re consenting to boundary-pushing jokes - that’s the agreed purpose of the event
• Some jokes made me wince (not offended but more like ‘whoah, that’s brutal’ … and more shock value than humour.
• I believe no subject should *necessarily* be off limits but it’s about how comics handle the subject to make it funny. Pure shock-value edgy jokes aren’t clever, they just force a reaction, requiring no real comedic skill. Some of Shane Gillis’ jokes (lynching from a bonsai tree, Aladdin’s monkey) sound like the witless things a 14 year old says to his bros to be edgy. And I really like Shane.

Overall I enjoyed lots of the jokes but many felt like they were simply seeking to push the discomfort to extremes for the sake of edginess rather than for the sake of smart humour. It felt desperate to shock.

I understand roast culture but this event had an edge I haven’t seen before and there seemed to be an air of discomfort amongst some people.

IMO white comedians roasting black women for dark skin, weight, looking like an animal may technically be ‘fair game‘ in a roast but feels like dangerous territory. Does the context of ‘roast comedy’ literally permit anyone to say anything or are there still limits to respect?

Race jokes can absolutely be funny but it’s a thin line and several here missed IMO - but I’m wondering how this landed for you?

acknowledged on his podcast or reacted somehow on social media?

Won't bore you with what makes my family dysfunctional but it feels like the dynamics are so complex and entrenched in decades of negativity that there's just no realistic hope of improving things. And yet it also feels like it
*could* be possible, that there's this 'normal' happy family life awaiting us if only a few things could change.

So it'd be great to hear stories of family situations that looked bleak but you turned them around to become workable or even happy.

*Posting here in a UK sub because British attitudes to addressing family problems can be relevant here.

Always loved BW myself but picked up an assumption early in life that (a) red head men are less attractive to women generally and (b) that this may be especially true for BW because fair skin and red hair is so opposite.

So I was curious and amazed to hear there’s this ‘stereotype’ (for want of a better word) that plenty of BW do actually really like us!

If you do, are you able to explain why?

Or maybe there’s no extraordinary reason and it’s just the engrained red head self loathing skewing my perception!

Thanks and hoping my question is taken in the spirit of genuine curiosity it was intended.