Is blackface always offensive?

[Aegon]

I think the weaponisation of "being offended" has been poisonous to our cultures. We’re descending into a joyless, thought-policed, snowflakey society. This has a lot to do with the kind of SJW/feminist shit that is apparently being taught in schools and universities now.

I think it's more complicated than that, and I think the crowd you're listening to is being laughably overdramatic. What you're seeing happen, in real time, is the most racially diverse generation, that also has the best understanding of social media and other internet outlets, speaking their minds and being honest about what they think societal norms should be. Is it a shock that such a diverse and open-minded generation of Americans are sick of humor that is offensive to minorities? Before now they didn't exactly have the power or backing of their peers to say much about it. If this is your response to the use of blackface then I'm not really sure where you go from here. There are plenty of insensitive jokes that are on the border of being offensive, and we can debate whether it's fair to stifle those things, but blackface for humor is pretty obviously racist.

I concede there is a decent-sized sect of young liberals with tolerance issues, and I think there is an odd liberal brand of racism where white people rush to minorities' defense like their babies, and that level of "white guilt" is not very attractive nor is it generally welcome by people I've spoken with. But I also don't think a desire for political correctness is something that is suddenly unique to this generation's young people and I don't think it's NEARLY, NEARLY as big of a problem as people make it out to be. I'm in an interracial relationship, and the barriers my girlfriend has faced are things I could never dream of. When you're not white, it colors people's perception of you. You're always noticed, always under a microscope. The two of us are judged constantly in public, and I grew up in a liberal area. White majority, but supposedly liberal. Society seems to actively work against them, over and over again. There's an entire psychology exclusive to people in that position that you and I could never imagine. And when you feel so downtrodden, and you feel as though your life is worse off because of other's perception of you... of course you're not going to like it when those same people who you see as blocking you from something based on the color of your skin also make fun of you. Duh. I mean, try to empathize for a second.

The crowd you hang with sound like nutjobs to me. Like I said, I see your point, but your mistake is exaggerating the shit out of it. Is it really asking that much not to paint your damn face black? Is it really causing us to devolve into a joyless society? Give me a break.

Edit: And for the record, my girlfriend and I make satirical comments and insensitive jokes about each other's race all the time. It's about context, and your personal understanding of their unique position.