I like to think of George Carlin as the king of comedy. I don’t know that there’s a single other human being on this planet who could have made the topics of suicide, genocide, prostitution, abortion and murder into hysterical bits of stand-up. He proved that you can still be extremely offensive and appreciated at the same time.

Now, Carlin-esque criticisms and commentaries on race, gender and politics can be found, albeit less authentic, on the new, digital king of comedy – the Internet. A popular source of Internet comedy is the meme.

Daily Orange columnist Nina Rodgers expressed in her Nov. 19 column that we should be wary of what we’re laughing at online, and that memes can often work against social progress by promoting stereotypes.

I don’t support racial stereotyping or discrimination, but I have absolutely no issue with the touchy subjects that memes pick apart for the sake of comedy.

People want to pretend that Internet comedy only attacks minorities and women, that’s just a falsehood. Two of the more popular memes are called Almost Politically Correct Redneck and Sheltered Suburban Kid, both of which poke fun at stereotypes of white people.

I am not highlighting these memes because I feel offended by them, but they’re hilarious! Just like Successful Black Man or High Expectations Asian Father.

Rather than build barriers between races and cultures, I think memes break them down. The more we laugh at them, the more we start to acknowledge that their “racist” undertones are simply stereotypes, and nothing more than that.

Take the Ordinary Muslim Guy meme. One of his statements is: “Unmarried women should be covered…by health insurance.”

It’s funny! It puts a sensitive topic in perspective. Go on and read some of them yourself. I’m sure you’ll find yourself chuckling, rather than writhing in anger. And remember that the popularity of these memes stems worldwide – people of all backgrounds are laughing at them. If these memes were truly hateful, they wouldn’t be so widely popular.

Perhaps those who take offense to Internet humor need to consider the distinct possibility that it is possible to take action against modern issues like discrimination or objectification of women and still be able to laugh about them when the humor is of good intent. George Carlin would approve.

Phil Kramer
S.I. Newhouse School of Communications, Whitman School of Management
Class of 2017

Published on November 21, 2013 at 1:48 am