this post was submitted on 21 Feb 2026
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Seinfeld is in the top of my list. Kramer can show up in black face and they left the episode in but someone can't be a dark elf in Community.
They also had Kramer making the Native American noises and stomping the Puerto Rican flag. Basically anything racist, they had the racist guy do. And it was okay because he looked like he had mental health issues.
That flag episode the joke was that everything he was doing was taken the wrong way. He had accidentally set on fire a flag that was behind him and tried to put out the fire, then someone shouts "Hey, there's a guy stomping the Puerto Rican flag!" and he is chased by a mob...
It's like that Monk episode where he has to shake hands with a lot of people from a group and the last one is black, and right after shaking hands with the black person he cleans his hands with rubbing alcohol, so everyone thinks he is racist and everything he does in the episode just makes him look even worse - because it was taken out of context (he is a germophobe, he cleans his hands with rubbing alcohol after touching anything and anyone).
The episode where he was in black face was also Kramer having an "accident". Kramer is a device the writers' had to make racist jokes.
If you want to do something racist just go backwards. For example, "Let's have Kramer be in black face during a Martin Luther King walk! It's okay becuse he didn't do it on purpose!"
The writers created the situation. You can't just say anything was accidental. That's like those comedians that just keep saying, "It's just a joke." I mean look at Michael Richards' infamous standup. Perfect example.
I don't think I watched the blackface episode, but if it was an accident that caused a misunderstanding (basic comedy trope) the joke was on people being over sensitive and raging without knowing and/or purposely ignoring context of a situation (I could as easily say "if you want to do something racist, just claim it was a dark elf"). What was being criticized there became the norm, and the consequences are in this thread - people can't say the name of that Agatha Christie's work in the comments, nor you can have a dark elf in Community, because context doesn't matter.
editing a day later: This was a half-assed argument, the shows did it just because it was funny. In all the cases people jumped to conclusions that were completely fair, people should be shooed for doing what the main characters were doing, but it was funny because it wasn't on purpose, they got in a bad situation by mistake. However, the critique on this kinda of humor, and also satires and parodies that humorously references problematic stuff, because "offensive" is absolute value, is what led to "people can't say the name of that Agatha Christie's work in the comments, nor you can have a dark elf in Community".
If i remember Cramer accidentally had to much tanning spray on his face(and didn't look in the mirror I think) or something like that then went to meet his girlfriends black family.
Yes that was the black face episode I was referring to.
Chill out, it is just a joke. One you failed to understand.
So you're accusing him of suffering from slowed-down mental development.
The entire point of a reality sitcom is that it takes place in reality.
Reality has racists. Racism is part of life. There is a difference between a racist character doing a bit because that is what the character would do. Vs a show that is racist because the writers and directors are racist.
Comedy has done dark humor and racist humor for 1000 years. If you stop allowing it, then you unironically actually just empower actual racists because your now removing a tool to undermine the racism.
Yeah it sucks when the racist joke or bit is done poorly and lacks the context or nuance to either shine a light on a problem, subvert expections or point out a flaw in society. Thus coming across as just crass.
But not every attempt is going to land.
This is the point cancel culture misses (and I absolutely support some cancellations).
Throwing it back even further, Blazing Saddles is a great example of a writer/director and some of the best comedy actors of all time using racism to undermine racism.
I agree with you. I don't believe in canceling shows. That why I don't think removing the dark elf episode on Community should have been allowed.
But at the same time as allowing what was considered socially acceptable, I should be able to express my discomfort with content.
What if we just, as a society, accepted racism as a valid expression? Not literal truth but metaphorical and figurative. Could we do that and avoid offending everybody? Because, as you say, it would help us do humor. And humor is important.
Huh? The whole joke with Chang going as a dark elf was that it was blackface and it made Shirley uncomfortable. I don't think it should've been removed because Chang was the punchline and not black people, but it was definitely about blackface. (I've also not heard anyone complain about that joke)
Remember when references substituted for humor? I think the same thing happened for moralness or something. The symbol became accepted as being as real as the actual thing. Which is completely psychotic of course.