"Be Careful What You Laugh At"

Living in a society that operates from racist and sexist values is no laughing matter - and I mean that quite literally. Everybody likes to enjoy a good laugh, and everybody wants to feel that they are a part of a happy group of friends. But what about the times when the laugh seems to be at someone else's expense?

What do you do when you hear a friend tell a joke that plays on racial, ethnic or sexual stereotypes? What do you do when you are chatting with a group of pals and someone makes a remark that indicates intolerance, bigotry or sexism? I think you sell yourself and our society short if you join in these "We're OK, they aren't OK" sessions.

I think, for the sake of your own self-esteem and for the sake of a democratic society, you owe it to yourself to be decent and fair and insist that others be the same way in your presence. Don't tell, laugh at, or in any way go along with racial, ethnic, religious or gender jokes, or to any practices whatsoever that are intended to demean rather than enhance another human being.

Walk away from them. Stare them down. Make them unacceptable in your homes, places of worship, and the workplace. Perhaps we aren't all equally guilty, but we are all equally responsible for building a decent and just society - regardless of where we live.

Racism, sexism, and other forms of bigotry and intolerance undermine our strength, and weaken the fibers of our society. Don't buy into them with your laughter.

Lou Tice
The Pacific Institute