From Insult to Estrangement and Injury: The Violence of Racist Police Jokes

This article examines racially derogatory police jokes, what we call “racist blue humor,” as discourse that negatively targets and ridicules racial and ethnic minorities as inferior, dangerous, or as objects of symbolic and cultural violence. We argue that racist blue humor fosters the social accept...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inThe American behavioral scientist (Beverly Hills) Vol. 63; no. 13; pp. 1810 - 1829
Main Authors Pérez, Raúl, Ward, Geoff
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01.11.2019
SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
Subjects
Acceptability
Alienation
Behavioral sciences
Critical race theory
Critical theory
Dehumanization
Discrimination
Ethnic groups
Ethnicity
Humor
Injuries
Jokes
Minority groups
Police
Political violence
Prejudice
Protection
Race
Racism
Verbal aggression
Violence
racist jokes
legal estrangement
police violence
cultural violence
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:This article examines racially derogatory police jokes, what we call “racist blue humor,” as discourse that negatively targets and ridicules racial and ethnic minorities as inferior, dangerous, or as objects of symbolic and cultural violence. We argue that racist blue humor fosters the social acceptability of prejudice and discrimination among officers, normalizing a culture of dehumanization that legitimizes structural and direct violence. We analyze illustrative cases of racist blue humor in the light of critical race theory, humor studies, and other work in behavioral science to elaborate this violence and its potential for harm across multiple contexts. Racist blue humor engenders legal estrangement, diminishes protection and representation in law, and heightens exposure to police and other state violence. We conclude with considerations for research and policy, including order-maintenance policing of racist blue humor.
ISSN:0002-7642
1552-3381
DOI:10.1177/0002764219842617