In the midst of the most recent pandemic– the coronavirus– people are losing their minds over stupid jokes about the origin of this illness. People have long since thought that jokes about a certain race is racist. But is it really? To be a racist in the truest since of the word, you must think that your race superior above all others. With that being said, calling some a “Cracker” because they are white doesn’t make me racist, because for one, it’s true, and number two I don’t think that calling someone names whether it’s true or not makes me superior because of my skin color.
Since we’ve covered that making jokes about people whose skin is a certain color, do coronavirus jokes fit into this criteria, or are they truly racist? Absolutely not! This is were the word offensive comes into play. Since these jokes aren’t racist it makes them offensive to those who don’t have thick skin. I understand that it may be worrisome to some people, especially when their children are made fun of because of this. It’s heartbreaking that people look at Asian people and they are bullied and attacked because of where they come from. I am in now way saying that any joke about any race is okay, most of the time they are wrong. But it’s okay to laugh. It’s okay to make jokes. But just realize that it may be wrong. That there is a time and a place for this kind of thing.
“Don’t worry, the Corona Virus won’t last long… It was made in China.” This joke is defintely wrong, but it is very funny. This joke is not racist at all. It may be offensive to Chinese people, but it’s not racist.
And my all time favorite coronavirus joke: Kung flu. (If you know, you know.)
Credit to my cousin for this material.
With that being said, educate your children. Teach them the difference between racism and being offensive.
Bearing Together 