The biggest question in my mind about racism is that if it's such a sensitive subject, why are people constantly making fun of each other's race on national television? Also, why are we as Americans so infatuated with hearing it?

Every white person in America knows never to call a black person the N-word. It is very offensive, and I for one do not condone the use of this word in any setting. However, one cannot help but be puzzled by all of the comedians using it in their routines. My question is, if we were taught not to use it, why am I hearing it more frequently as the days go by?

Some of the most famous and most quoted jokes are racist jokes. I can recall many instances in which one of my friends will be like "hey, wanna hear a joke?", then he/she'll look around to make sure there isn't anyone who might kick the shit out of them after they tell it. I'm just like "tell the joke... if someone is offended, then why is it a joke?"

Another thing about racist jokes is that they're getting used so much that I find them to be getting less and less funny. Yes, we know the stereotype that Mexicans are lazy, border-hopping people. True or not, I've heard jokes on this stereotype about a thousand times. The same goes for all stereotypes of any race, or any ethnicity for that matter.

The funniest thing is that white people never get offended by jokes. Is it because we don't care, or that we, as Americans, aren't allowed to be offended? I mean, whites haven't really been hurt in a way that a joke will make them offended. I have yet to see a white person (who isn't part of a minority group) to get offended by a racist joke. Hell, my friends and I will hear these jokes, then repeat them many times because we think they're hilarious. The only thing is after telling the two racist white jokes we know, we'll start to do that looking-around thing again.

There is a positive side to racism in comedy. As the years go by, people are getting less offended by racist jokes. By the extreme repitition of racist jokes, it will become a thing of normality, and the "sting" will diminish. The problem is that there will always be some sting to the racist jokes.

The future of racism in America is uncertain. The government has gone through great lengths to prevent racism as far as the law is concerned, but racist practices are still being used today. Many Americans try to think of the United States as a "color blind" community, but actually we are blinded in the fact that we refuse to see the truth of racism in America. The mind-blowing movie Crash helps reveal the underlying racism that is all-too-common in today's society. On top of that is all of the comedians who use racism to gain popularity in the comedy world.

My challenge to America is this: Figure out what you want to do with racism, and stick with it.