When do you think a joke crosses the line?

[seliph]

i agree with this, i only joked around with it in my own head or with one very close friend, i made sure he didn't feel uncomfortable and we both laughed about it but i realised it was a horrible way of coping, which is why it stopped working and i found other healthier ways to find peace.

Yeah definitely. I mostly made that point since I used to to the same thing, until I realized it didn't actually help me with anything and it mostly just prevented me from being open and getting my actual feelings out.

 

[rbell2915]

I don't think anything is off limits, personally. I have a really dark sense of humor.

 

[Spooky.]

It really scares me that there are people here that are okay with jokes about rape and disabilites and all. Yikes.

 

[Bowie]

I've suffered from sexual abuse and I honestly think that laughing about it is the only way that I have been able to cope with it. That being said, it differs from person to person, and I don't think it's ever acceptable in front of somebody who has gone through it (unless they encourage it).

 

[usa-chan]

Honestly, whenever someone makes a joke that they know is not okay, especially if it targets the person they're talking to or about. Like, it's okay to be naturally ignorant, especially if you've lived a sheltered life and don't understand why your joke could possibly hurt that person, but if you deliberately make a joke to target that person and their experiences, then that's messed up and just plain bullying. It's one thing to be ignorant, but it's a whole another thing to be a jerk.
Other than that, I'm just don't approve of jokes involving rape, genocide, disabilities, or discrimination.

 

[Farobi]

Nothing crosses the line! Dank memes for the win!

But nah, I would love to joke about anything and everything with like-minded people, but if my audience is someone who could fall under the category of jokes that may hit them a bit too hard, then I'd probably keep it to myself. Jokes are never representative of actual thoughts anyway.

 

[idiotdoomspiral]

Jokes are never representative of actual thoughts anyway.

this is something i agree with a lot. you're not automatically a bad person for it. that being said, it's not like you're going to find EVERY joke about something sensitive like rape or disabilities funny BECAUSE of what the subject is, which is what i think most people judge others on.

 

[Alienfish]

Yeah, I agree that jokes can be a way of coping with things. In my case it's mostly if people make jokes about the topics that are directly offensive or degrading at someone, like say they make fun of a person's sexuality, or if they have a bad relation with their dad and someone around tell them bad dad jokes and such.

 

[Sgt.Groove]

If the person says an offensive joke but actually believes that the offensive joke is true (things like race, gender, etc.)

 

[Sig]

any jokes about lgbt people/women/disabled people/diabetes jokes specifically/poc/rape are a no-go personally
unless that person like, is one of those. like im a diabetic and i say stuff like "i shouldnt eat this, its gonna give me both kinds of diabetes" but when a non-diabetic person makes a joke about it its just not funny.

 

[hamster]

i dunno really, i personally don't think anything crosses the line but it depends on who you're targeting. if you're here to intentionally upset people then that's bad obviously. i understand why people use them to cope but trust me, it'll only set you back even more on the situation in the long run. i think i'm quite a tolerant person and on rare occasions a joke or even a word can make me feel extremely uncomfortable but as long as they're not doing it on purpose i can't really blame em for it. you just gotta be careful about who you say it to, but you shouldn't really blame the person on the other side if they're offended by the joke either.

 

[ZetaFunction]

Basically if the joke will trigger more than one person, than I'd say it definitely crosses the line. Any joke that targets a specific minority group or stereotype usually crosses the line too.

 

[AnimalCrossingPerson]

You people need some life in you. I swear even Fawlty Towers could be deemed offensive these days.

 

[KnoxUK]

You know you crossed lines when people don't talk to you

Honestly though everybody's different. Jokes can be offensive or distasteful for some. It's trial by fire mostly.

 

[spoonfork]

Sometimes, some people at school joke about killing themselves. Suicide is not a joke and I think being "edgy" just to be cool is not fun at all. The way the people say it makes it sound like they actually want to kill themselves, but then they laugh about it afterward.

 

[seliph]

You people need some life in you.

Wow I wish I was someone who didn't have "Haha gay guys are pedophiles" jokes and "Oh you're Indian? Are you gonna bomb the school?" jokes thrown at me my whole life so I could see people who were upset and react like this.

 

[AnimalCrossingPerson]

Wow I wish I was someone who didn't have "Haha gay guys are pedophiles" jokes and "Oh you're Indian? Are you gonna bomb the school?" jokes thrown at me my whole life so I could see people who were upset and react like this.

There will always be people who will poke fun and just be plain rude. Just don't let it get to you?

 

[seliph]

There will always be people who will poke fun and just be plain rude. Just don't let it get to you?

Must be nice to not have years of discrimination, trauma, and societal oppression against you.

 

[Hopeless Opus]

i think that there's different lines for everyone. obviously some people will get angry and offended at some things, and some people won't. it really all depends on the person. but there is a line of hypocrisy to keep in mind as well...

i've had situations far too many times where people i knew would laugh at literally the most awful things, literally tormenting people they used to know for their own enjoyment (and this person was a schizophrenic) and making racist jokes too. i never have gotten involved in this ugly ass sort of stuff bc obvious reasons, but then the second you say "oh ***** stop being so fat omg" they'll get offended to the moon and back. so you're allowed to say racist jokes, wish death on people and make fun of a schizophrenic's hallucinations, but the second someone makes fun of you at all it's suddenly not alright? i ****ing hate hypocritical people like this.

i try to avoid making certain jokes (although i feel i've never gone overboard) around the wrong people. but just fooling around usually gets people pissed at me too lol

 

[AnimalCrossingPerson]

Must be nice to not have years of discrimination, trauma, and societal oppression against you.

I... I guess so? A lot of stuff some people would get worked up about I just consider banter.

My favourite kind of fellow is a Jewish Bolshevik queer who lives in a caravan!