A note on writing offensive humor · 5:59am Jul 23rd, 2020

It's very important to note that this is not my complete response to the recent controversy that has hit the site. This was actually a status update that I had posted to Facebook one day as a response to someone posting Kobe Bryant memes the day of the tragedy. Minor alterations have been made to fit the Fimfiction format. Although I will admit that these aren't my complete thoughts, I do feel that it is relevant to what is at stake, and I just want to throw in my two cents so that everybody can have an extra insight.

I would also like to infer that not everything listed here applies as there are a few exceptions to the rule. However, there is a such thing as borderline behavior, and whether or not it's meant to address free speech issues, it needs to be said that there are limits. When there are limits, there are consequences. Know that sometimes those consequences won't perform in your favor.

Everything bolded has been added in.

Making a joke on the day of a tragedy is not hilarious. There's being offensive for the sake of irony(*), and there's being offensive for the sake of being offensive. If I made a joke about Kobe Bryant being Kobe Burnt, I am only capitalizing off those who would be offended enough to shake their finger at me. Making an offensive joke to entice an audience for your own gain is not funny and can come off as psychotic.⁽¹⁾

*Irony being when one uses not the offensiveness of the joke, but the golly of it to point out the arrogance.
(1) Instead of censoring myself, I will admit that I may have been over exemplifying the meaning of this when writing it. While I wouldn't consider it to be psychotic, you still run the risk of being sought out as an unlikable asshole. Very few of these people actually are psychopaths. Whatever the case, what this people do isn't right and deserved to be ignored. There is using the platform you're on to make a statement, and there is using the platform you're on to make yourself look like an ass.

If you are the kind of person to offend several people over a 9/11 joke and laugh at the flock of angry internet moms that come your way, it's not because they're being stupid, it's because they are sensible people who understand what happened was a tragedy and are therefore giving humane responses. If you're going to tell an offensive joke, understand what audience it's for. Is it for yourself? Do you enjoy bathing in the hypocrisy? Is it meant for the people who will actually find it funny? If so, share the funny 9/11 joke with people who can actually handle it. Don't go onto social platforms where you can entice people your way.

Last, understand that an offensive joke is only funny when there's something sensible behind it. If I told a random person, "Hey, these Mexicans are taking all of our jobs. Sure would be funny if they all upped and died one day." Not only would I be insensitive, but I would get a stern look for the supposed "joke". However, if I gleefully said something like, "Freaking black people and not being white." with the touch of a hubris⁽²⁾ tone, I would be letting into those around me that I do not mean what I'm saying and the arrogance of the quote itself is the joke. Let people know that there is a sensitivity to your words⁽³⁾. There is an art in being offensive just as there is an art in understanding social functions.

(2) "Hubris" implying that you are making it obvious that what you say is what you do not intend for it to be interpreted in terms of wordage. It is the delivery the the joke that let's the listener decide what to interpret.
(3) Being humorous and sympathetic will take you the extra mile. Just because what someone is saying could be interpreted as offensive, it does not mean that there isn't any sympathy behind their words. In fact, sometimes the most brash jokes can be the most meaningful so long as it is meant in good fun and does not completely make itself sound like dickass.

Next time you post an offensive meme, ask yourself, "Who am I posting this for, and who wants to see this in their feed?" Trust me. I don't want to be scrolling through Facebook⁽⁴⁾ one morning and see pictures of actual dead bodies with silly captions⁽⁵⁾. I am not the audience for that. Dead bodies with silly captions [bad]; intentional arrogance tangible to everyone [good]. Note that I do not exempt myself from what has been said here, as I have said the N-word many times with nonchalance.⁽⁶⁾

(4) Or in this case Fimfiction.
(5) It is more common than it should be.
(6) Hypocrisy happens. It's unavoidable.

I also want to add that many comedians can vouch for what I'm talking about. When Dave Chappelle pretends to be a black white supremacist who is blind, the joke itself isn't that he's a black white supremacist who is blind, but that it's being symbolic of racism itself: to be so trapped in arrogance that you have this unexplainable hatred for a group of people. Understand that being offensive can be meaningful. Next time you try to entice a mass group of people, ask yourself, "Who is this for, and what is it for?"