Ever play with a young toddler, whether it was a sibling or just some kid from the neighborhood, and they would slip and fall down, or get hit with a ball or something? For an instant they are not sure how to react, and they just look stunned at first. So, you begin laughing and subconsciously they think that what happened was funny, so then they begin to laugh too.
I see the current politically correct culture involving 'triggering' to be the same sort of thing. Not so long ago, the words we currently find offensive were not considered so. Someone came along one day and decreed that 'such and such is offensive now,' and we all just sheepishly went along with it.
George Carlin did a great comedy routine about this. In one skit he discussed the word 'cripple.' He remarked that he could find no shame attached to the word in the dictionary's definition of it, and in fact advised that the Bible mentions that 'Jesus healed the cripples.' Bill Burr did a similar routine concerning the word 'midget,' and added that the proper new term 'little person' actually sounds more condescending. I myself was asking on social media about the word 'oriental,' and inquired as to when and how that suddenly became derogatory toward Asians.
I remember a movie starring C. Thomas Howell, Rae Dawn Chong, and James Earl Jones titled Soul Man. I always thought the film was absolutely hilarious, plus it had a cameo in it by Jesse Johnson, a successful Prince protege. Recently, I heard some film students briefly mention what a scandal they thought the film was because C. Thomas Howell is in black face throughout it, which is the entire premise of the movie. Anyway, I do not believe for an instant that the filmmakers at the time intended any offense, and the black actors in it certainly did not. However, somewhere along the way our cultural perception changed, and despite the original intent by the filmmakers, now it is regarded as a racially insensitive and offensive movie. Anyone who watched it knows this is absurd, but #virtuesignaling is how we grant ourselves instant nobility in today's culture.
Scary Movie made fun of the loud obnoxious black lady in the theatre who talks at the movie far too loudly, and plays on her cell phone disrupting everyone around her. That was funny, and the reason it was funny is because it is not an uncommon thing to witness at the movies.
I actually saw Halloween: Resurrection when it came out in theaters (yeah, I was disappointed). I have been a Michael Myers fan for a very long time, and at this point in the franchise you just wanted to see him do his slasher schtick. I was rooting for Micheal (yeah, we're on a first name basis) to kill everyone, but especially Busta Rhymes because he annoyed the shit out of me. When it was over (Busta survived), a black lady accused me of being racist because I was rooting for Mickey to kill Busta. I told her I was rooting for him to kill everyone, and isn't that the point of a slasher flick? Now, what if I were black and did the same exact thing? Then what would she have thought? What if my date was a black woman? My point is that this lady assumed I was racist only because I am white. This crap has to stop.
I once told a black man that I could not fill his wife's Norco prescription because it was not written in accordance with the law. In Florida, prescriptions for controlled drugs must be written in a very specific way. He instantly accused me of being racist and stated, "If I were white you'd fill it." I said no I would not and have turned down many caucasians for the same reason. I even had a copy of the statute next to my counter because it happened so often. He refused to look at it and defiantly proclaimed, "I can read!" as if somehow I implied he couldn't. Then one of the store managers came over, and for some unknown reason he began to brag about how much money he had, and that he could, "buy this place five times over."
Now what is the world must this guy have been fed about racism to jump to such a conclusion about a pharmacist he had just met, and then to go on about his wealth, as if that had anything to do with anything? Who was this guy listening to? What kind of crap was he reading? Who still thinks this way? If someone is being overtly racist then fine, but Jesus Christ! The chip on this guy's shoulder must be killing his knees about now.
We must eventually stop obsessing over race in order for actual racism to subside. As long as we continue to assign intentions to others and always assume the worst about people, then we will never achieve a truly 'colorblind' perception. It also would not hurt if we could all lighten up a bit, grow some thicker skin, quit wanting to be a victim, and be willing and able to laugh at ourselves once in a while.
