Comedian Katt Williams, speaking of then-Sen. Barack Obama, got me thinking about whether racial humor is an oxymoron:”…If you was ever gonna vote for a nigga, this is the nigga to vote for,” Williams said to eager applause.Whether racial humor is simply sanctioned racism and whether it should be acceptable to laugh at racism — even if it’s just a joke — are questions that don’t have easy answers.There’s also no easy answer as to why the academic community has been hesitant to study the effects of this kind of behavior. James Brown, local comic, said when it comes to racial humor, perception of status matters more than race. Because white males are generally perceived as the power base of society, race is inconsequential when minorities make racial jokes.Stand-up comedian and former Daily Reveille columnist Ryan Sands said racist jokes made in private are more offensive than those made in public. With no one of the opposite race to gauge whether they approve of specific humor, racism becomes more dangerous.”If it’s all whites [in the audience], it feels more like a Klan meeting,” Sands said. In explaining Dave Chappelle’s departure from the comedy world, Eugene Robinson of The Washington Post said it sometimes made Chappelle uncomfortable when white people laughed at his jokes. Thus, he realized some of his material wasn’t funny but racist.Robinson also noted some whites can take certain racial jokes about blacks as proof of certain assumptions, which can often perpetuate prejudice.But that’s the risk Chappelle runs by deliberately narrowing his audience to the black community. If he aims a personal discussion at a public audience, that commentary becomes worthy of public dialogue.The disconnect arises when considering what’s more important — the speaker or the content. Because in some circumstances, the level of tolerance for racial humor shifts with the speaker but not necessarily with race.In an interview with The New York Times, Larry Wilmore — The Daily Show’s “resident black correspondent” — explained speakers can’t blend serious commentary with offensive material without causing confusion.The reason comedians get away with racial humor is because they introduce their commentary while playing a role. Wilmore said delivery matters — it would be unacceptable to present racial jesting as one’s own views.The New York Times article also cautioned about the aftermath effect, which can make or break the case for acceptability. Racial humorists can deflect critics by pursuing comedic persistence instead of customarily apologizing.The folks at Peacetrain.org claim racist jokes exacerbate discrimination by perpetuating stereotypes. Racism, they claim, would more quickly evaporate if it weren’t encouraged by racial humor. But Sands and Brown disagreed with the Peace Train.”Humor alleviates violence,” Sands said. “No one ever watched ‘Chappelle’s Show’ and committed a hate crime without prior inclination to do so.””Comedy is meant to entertain,” Brown said. “It’s not meant to be taken seriously.”The solution is not to censor others but to let them display their own views — whether ignorant and incendiary or comedic and purpose-driven — so their intentions aren’t disguised.While it isn’t fair to relieve comics of responsibility for influencing prejudices, it also isn’t fair to look at humor as a cause of racism.By publicly acknowledging stereotypes, racial humor can force people to confront some semblance of how others perceive the world. Stereotypes exist for a reason and can’t be overcome without general recognition.Psychologists suggest humor helps people through tough situations. Likewise, racial humor may help individuals deal with race, but, sadly, societal consensus as to the role of racial humor today is years away.Fortunately, no one can set a standard for healthy dialogue or acceptable humor without being arbitrary or prudish.Anyone with a clear-cut answer to these questions likely ignored many relevant details.Daniel Lumetta is a 22-year-old mass communication senior from Metairie.–Contact Daniel Lumetta at [email protected]