however…(i skimmed through the rest)

i haven’t lived through all of this site- i mean, haven’t been here.
but tipping.
let’s see:
people from other countries- not so much, ’specially if they are from europe where thier dollar is stronger and there is public health care and the folks who wait tables get paid at least minimum wage.(anywhere from $1. to 10 %)
even people from california- their servers get paid the minimum wage(which i $9./hr there)- they tip around 18% at best
and since i moved here from a place that did not even talk about racism- wherere i was 1 of 60 on a *gasp* public transport bus!!!?!!? who had neither brown hair or braon eyes…
and then found myself wondering where all the people were-(ethnicity, duh!) while being told by my then (sweet, “townie”, brilliant, kind,boyfriend)…”see, in charlottesville, we aren’t racist- we like black people”.

and i was struck speechless- which i seldom am.
my only thought was that if you are talking about it, you already are.
sorry for not paying attention to the meanderings of the thread, but it’s a very strange black and white town. and i have never lived anywhere quite like it init’s racial dynamic.
i read at the discovery museum that in 1924 VA passed a law that said no one who was whtie could marry anyone who was not white.
(i thought-whoa!) i then felt a lot of”why this place is a lot weirder than me,” as ,well, me. since i figure there are grandparents brought up by that thinking forced upon them now still bringing that to the table, as it were.

/sorry, but it was recently brought to my attention, then there was this topic so i jumped up on my soapbox…

I hate to say it, but when I read the joke, I laughed. I laughed a lot, actually. Not because it’s funny to laugh at minorities (though to be fair, as a minority, I laugh at them all the time), and not because it’s funny to perpetuate stereotypes.

I laughed because I’ve worked in restaurants and was working in one the moment a fellow restaurant worker brought me the rant. I laughed because really, all that comment was, was one of the many comments tired, poor, and jaded restaurant kids throw around at the bar, over their well-earned shift drinks. I hate to say it, but we probably say worse things.

None of it’s meant however, at least I hope it isn’t, as socio-political commentary. It’s not meant to support or exacerbate racial tensions in this town. Comments like that are silly jokes we say to vent our frustrations over earnestly trying to make others happy on their night out, and having our efforts rewarded with nothing. When you work for $2.13 an hour, getting stiffed kinda sucks. I’m not making us out to be martyrs–we’re not. I’m explaining why we crack stupid jokes like the one printed and may not mean anything by it.

Kudos to the Cville for (A) supporting the Rant as an open forum, in whatever capacity it can remain open; and (B) for at least acknowledging a commonly held gripe from a very very large section of Charlottesville… the people who work for tips.

A beautiful black baby is flittin around the heavens, just as happy as can be. She sees God and flits cherubically over to Him and asks with wide eyes “God, is I a angel?”

And God said “No, n*gg* you a bat!”

Then she challenged the laughing audience to think about why they laughed, and stated that that would be the last time she used the N-word in her act.

I too read that canoe rant and didn’t get the joke because it’s based on a stereotype that I hadn’t heard before. The only stereotype I’d ever heard about tipping is that rich people don’t tip well.

Many people think that they can get away with a racist or otherwise hurtful joke because it’s funny. But it’s all about context. The general test of politeness seems to be that if you’re insulting a group more socially powerful than your own, you’re ok. Or, if you’re part of the group you’re insulting, you’re ok. Immigrant Yakhov Smirnoff making fun of American culture. Ok. Out lesbian Kate Clinton making fun of lesbians bringing over a moving truck on the 3rd date. Ok.

But what about the gray areas?

Lisa Lampanelli rehashing old racist jokes? Is it ok? She has sex with black and latino guys…does that make her “in” enough? White comics on Comic View using the “n” word? Is it ok? They’ve obviously been given the seal of approval because they’re allowed to be on Comic View at all. Kathy Griffin making gay jokes? Is it ok?

Thanks for coming back. I understand what you were trying to say with your first comment, but for whatever reason, it rubbed me the wrong way. Apparently somebody pissed in the lunch I got at B____ R____ C_____ S_____ today.