Inappropriate Memes

In today’s society, a minstrel show would unquestionably be pointed out as a racist act. However, if stereotypes were used in comedic TV shows it becomes more uncertain as to whether or not it is appropriate. With the popular use of satire in the current pop culture, the line between racism and harmless satire is harder to define. Shows like Family Guy play on a lot of racial stereotypes but do not always receive attention on those jokes. The show is often written off as just a raunchy animated show, so people expect the outrageous humor and take the jokes less seriously. Racist jokes has been muddled with satire by putting it in a comical context and in a different medium such as animation. There needs to be a more defined line between

Colleges and universities have found numerous ways throughout the years to protect their students from the outside world. One measure that colleges have taken to ensure this is that they have stopped continuing to allow comedians and speakers present at their schools due to upset students. These students did not care for the jokes that were being made by the speakers. Another measure taken by colleges is that minority students can eliminate anything they do not want to think about, read about, or be challenged

In conclusion, those who create such offending material must be careful in the context of its usage. It's one thing to use stereotypes in order to bring awareness to a social issue, but it's wrong and unnecessary to use this material JUST to gain publicity. At the same time, it's also wrong to censor content because it could be seen as offensive, especially content produced years ago during a different

In the technology motivated society, it can be sometimes feel as however everything is ready for public consumption. But people who have grown up during this time of social media must remember is that any post, picture, video, even jokey remark, can be saved forever thanks to the speed and extent of the Worldwide web. In the article “When students controversial words go viral what is the university role?” author Rick Rojas debates the subject as it related to the university situation. A resent case of a young UCLA student who made unkind jokes about Asian students, Rojas present into a debate on whether or not university have a responsibility to watch those circumstances. His main source in the article is Greg Lukianoff, president of the foundation

Racism is still an issue in the United States of America. Many authors of satirical cartoons such as The Boondocks and Black Dynamite have emphasized these events in a satirical manner to try to get the American public involved and stop the racial oppression that is occurring. However, many audience members do not take these types of shows seriously and view them as a joke rather than a serious topic. As the majority of audience members not taking satirical shows such as The Boondocks and Black Dynamite seriously has led to the support of racism instead of the abolishment of it.

This is the kind of prejudice that I see most often in my day-to-day life. Whether it be someone claiming an Asian girl likely eats cats and dogs, someone joking about slavery to an African American student, or someone teasing an Indian boy for being good with technology, such masked prejudice should not be accepted. Furthermore, a victim of these gibes often is afraid to defend his or herself because he or she will be accused of “taking things too seriously” and “not being able to take a joke.” Therefore, I often choose to step in, pointing out that such jokes are not funny but offensive. Whether the attacker sees the harm or not, my actions at least show the victim that someone is on his or her side. While these jokes may seem trivial in the grand scheme of things, they can still harm the esteem and sense of security of a student, and thus should be

I am not Chinese, nor am I Mexican. I am half Filipino and white, and even now, I am still reminded of how little others care about what they say and who they could be hurting. Minorities, those with disabilities, women, and others alike are reduced into punchlines by my peers, and these so called jokes stem from internalized hatred for the very people that make up their friend groups. Whether they were influenced by their parents or the media they consume, the truth of the matter is that the offender is abusing their platform as a self-proclaimed comedian. I am appalled by how far some people go to draw out a few giggles, but I am especially disgusted with how accepted outward prejudice still is.

There is a fine line between prejudice and satire. Sometimes satire goes too far, causing it to be misunderstood as prejudice. But sometimes it doesn’t go far enough, and people do not see the whole candid and honest truth of a matter. There will always be a risk that satire will perpetuate social ills, but do the benefits of dispelling prejudice thoughts outweigh the risks of enhancing it? Specific issues, such as race, gender, religion, ethnicity, nationality, and sexuality will always be particularly touchy subjects, and the way that authors, comedians, and just humans in general go about addressing them must be handled with care and caution, because it is very easy to offend or create a misunderstanding.

Sometimes what seems too harsh isn’t harsh at all. This relates to Harvard in the way that they were rescinding admission to students that were crossing the line when it came to sharing inappropriate memes and images. They were not only crossing the line but were making fun of things like the Holocaust and child abuse. Harvard then decided to revoke their admissions because they thought that the memes and images they shared with each other questioned their maturity and character.

“If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.” (George Orwell) This past Spring of 2017 the University of Harvard revoked ten incoming freshman admissions for engaging in a meme group message on Facebook for the class of 2021. The freshman called the group chat “ Harvard memes for horny bourgeois teens.” The memes were derogatory towards different races. The students posted jokes about the Holocaust and racist jokes towards Mexicans and other races, pedophillia, and child abuse. These Memes that the incoming students posted on Social Media caused a controversy within the campus. Students who felt perturbed about the memes screenshotted and emailed the university authorities.Which lead to an investigation and which they sought to revoke the admissions of ten students.

One day I came across a Twitter feed entitled Sh*tty Mom, a moniker used in a movement, stemming from a book series written by four authors, is intended to be comedic, in-your-face parenting guides for imperfect mothers. What I noticed though, after skimming through the Twitter timeline, was how a lot of the jokes were more offensive than funny.

Students at Amherst College submitted their demands to administrators requesting that they rewrite the school’s honor code to include a zero-tolerance policy for any racially insensitive acts. While this may seem like a beneficial policy for keeping people of all races safe from hate speech, it would also greatly limit one’s right to free speech on campus. These types of debates are not limited to one campus. Arguments over hate speech policies can also be heard at Columbia University where student and faculty opinions vary greatly over the zero tolerance policy. University of Maryland students go as far as demanding that hate speech be considered cult activity. Incidents following president Trumps election even caused 47 Boston College faculty members to sign a petition requesting a zero tolerance policy be

Inappropriate remarks are made everyday and only recognized when it is spoken be a “regular” person. It is seen as a joke or playful when it is being said be a well known humorist. Racial and gender equality jokes are continuously being told for the public pleasure by well known humorists such as Gabriel Iglesias and Shakespeare. Iglesias’ skits contain many racial and obesity jokes that can be taken offense. He stereotypes many different ethnicities and humiliates them in front of the audience.

Society in which we live today, is based around entertainment of all sorts, movies, books, television, as well as social media, it seems we rely on it in one way or another. On Facebook, people reveal mass amounts of details of their personal lives, even more so than some other sites such as Twitter or Instagram. Facebook allows us to list family members, jobs, schooling and much more in our about me sections, as well as being able to add friends and family in posts, pictures, and more. Numerous pictures are posted daily, showing up on the news feeds of anyone you’ve accepted as a friend. Memes, a popular picture source which usually contains a humorous picture along with a saying, in my opinion based on what I see, is probably one of the most shared items on Facebook. These can be both humorous and offensive at the same time, and sometimes more than likely, they are directed towards certain individuals or groups. Personal arguments, places you are with, whom you are with, along with tagged

All around the country, colleges and universities are increasingly punishing or censoring students who engage in offensive speech. "While concerns indicate that a failure to act will