My Facebook feed has been almost completely taken over by the recently-created OU Memes. Some of them are rather funny: situational things about elevators, swiping cards onto hallways, locations on campus, but I couldn't bring myself to 'like' the page because there are also a large number of demeaning memes.
I am probably losing you right? Because it's "all in good fun" and "it's supposed to be funny" and I shouldn't "be so uptight"? I used to think and say things like that, that people took things "too seriously." The problem is that those dismissive statements are used to discredit someone's feelings - this joke is SO good, and so "true," that it is worth making (and passing on), even if it does hurt someone's feelings. Just because it doesn't hurt/effect you, or maybe your family, or maybe your friends, doesn't mean it can't hurt someone. If someone voices their opinion that something is offensive, why are we so quick to write them off? We may think they are the only one that feels that way, so they don't matter - but 1) everyone matters, 2) that person may be one of many who feel that way, but they're the only one willing to voice their opinion (and after seeing all the backlash they get, it becomes very clear why speaking out isn't a risk some are willing to take.)
I am not writing this to be in any way condescending to those who do enjoy OU memes, but rather to analyze the humor behind them. I am not trying to police the page, or those who like it, but I just ask and hope that fellow students question the worth of a joke that feeds division amongst its students before posting it or passing it along. Making a whole population of people (women, non-Greeks, specific houses, etc) the butt of the joke is alienating and supports ideas of superiority and inferiority on campus - we already have enough of that outside of the University, is it worth it to contribute to it here at OU, a place where all Sooners call home?
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