The U.S. has developed significantly on social matters, even in the last 50 years. But although our country no longer questions whether racism, sexism or discrimination is wrong, we still fail to see that these issues are still issues and shouldn’t be met with sarcastic, hurtful jokes.
Consider the case of Gerod Roth, known on Facebook as Geris Hilton. Roth took a selfie with a coworker’s African-American son, Cayden. Roth posted the photo to Facebook on Sept. 16 and comments started spiraling out of control. Roth was fired from his marketing job for racist comments he and his friends made concerning the picture.
He most likely did not intend to bash a three-year-old boy. He did not intent to be considered racist. He did not intent to get fired. He didn’t expect his one comment to become his social death sentence. After all, he was just joking.
While I’m not an authority on racial issues, everyone should be able to tell bashing and devaluing a 3-year-old is wrong – and that is exactly what Roth’s friends were doing. By joking that Cayden was Roth’s slave boy, Roth and his friends not only hurt Cayden and his mother, they reduced centuries of struggle and racism down to a mere joke.
I have also seen a surge of sexist memes. Common ones include the “women’s logic” meme and the “irrational black woman” meme – they are every bit as insulting as they sound.
The older I get, the less funny these jokes become because I see the gap between men and women widen. Men get better pay, better jobs, and a better chance for higher education.
I see this all the time with men and women’s sports. Some guy will make a comment about women’s sports that is meant to be funny like, “Oh, yeah, but that’s a not real sport.”
Just because women’s sports achievements don’t match men’s achievements second for second, doesn’t mean they’re any less inspiring and valid. You try running a 4:12.56 mile. You try jumping almost seven feet in the air. Do that and then tell me women’s sports aren’t real sports.
But ending these injustices will not end sexism, just how the Civil Rights Act didn’t eliminate racism, and the gay marriage ruling will not abolish hate of gay, lesbian and transgendered people. We need to change our mindsets. We need to change the mindset that African-Americans are inferior, that gays are evil and that women are illogical and weak.
Your race, sexual orientation, disability, gender – none of it makes a difference to how valuable you are to society.
What I’m saying is, it’s not funny to take years worth of training and struggle and reduce them to nothing in a few words. It’s not funny to dehumanize a 3-year-old boy.
It’s not funny to reduce any of your fellow humans to anything less than human.
0
0
Be First to Comment