“White people be like ‘Taco Bell is too spicy!’” riffs a Twitter account run by one of those white people. “Most of the Patagonia pullovers are sold out until next fall #whitepeopleproblems,” goes another. Meme historians will here note the debt to Stuff White People Like, the blog turned book that is an ur-text for today’s white-on-white racial humor. It featured such witticisms as, “White people like living by the water,” and, “White people like Asian fusion food.”

This is how the party ends—with white people wanting in on the joke so badly that they create a separate category of “cool” white people who mock their own whiteness in an effort at solidarity. “White people be like ‘white people be like,’ but they be the white people that white people be like!!!!” as one Tumblr post neatly summarized.

I’m not trying to bar white people from being self-deprecating—far from it. But when a source of solace for people of color is co-opted this way, does it lose all its power? Is it funny anymore? And if it is, is it still OK to laugh?

Hold on, am I getting the impression that these jokes are supposed to innately trying to harm or degrade white people, and it's bad that white people are joining in on the fun?

No, hell no. The jokes are fun and awesome because it shows that no race is better than others, and that everyone has their quirks. Being able to laugh at yourself is a core part of being a decent human being.

Perhaps it is saying that it's not cool that people are trying to dodge insults by putting it down to a group rather than keeping jokes about race? I'm not too sure what to say about that, because people do tend to make jokes about themselves, and secondly, the white people in every single group will make fun of every other group until everyone is effected.

That is, unless we want to start talking about how starbucks and uggs is misogyny, and we shouldn't be making those harmful jokes about an empowering female culture, which I wouldn't put beyond the writers of this article.

And, if this is a case of other races trying to "get back" at white people, to insult, to degrade, etc, than it is wrong as hell and shouldn't be tolerated.

i.e., if you’re going to make fun of people, don’t make fun of people who have less privilege than you do. It’s why LGBTQ comedians can make fun of straight people, why single people can make fun of married people, why women can make fun of men

All of the reverse can happen, and it can be absolutely fine.

The line is drawn when the jokes have a subtext of "haha, everyone who isn't me is inferior" not when group A has more power.

"Hah, black people can't show up to work on time" is a very different joke then "Black people like grape juice" (Depends on context)

It's always ok to joke, it's never ok to attack.

One more thing white people like: beating a joke to death.

Welcome to that very attitude that turns from something that is positive, and builds people up, to one that is negative and knocks them down.

"Oh it's fine because it's not a person in power saying it!" "Oh, it's fine because a black person telling a joke can't insult or harm a white person". They are all lame excuses for something that is basically being looked at as a form of vengeance. These people saying this are more determined to punch back than end the fighting.

How about we draw a fine line between where jokes are harmful to a group, and where they are not, rather than using this shitty, and incredibly arbitrary (even situational) power definition.

Because, you can't just claim that because a black person is black, they have no power in a situation. People have power over others at all times, and you can hurt anyone even as the most poor, most oppressed, most pushed down member of society. Any decent person looks to others for support and consideration, not just those above them, and not showing them that support at any moment is not a good thing, regardless of circumstances.

Edit: The comments on the article are refreshing.