You Know I'm Black, Right?: Difference between revisions
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This has been played for laughs with a [[Token White]]. Otherwise, it usually pops up in the [[Very Special Episode]], after which the characters go back to totally ignoring the issue.
Much more offensive than [[You Are a Credit
The logical conclusion of [[You Know What They Say About X...]]. See also [[Insult Friendly Fire]] for this sans racial components.
{{examples}}
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== Anime and Manga ==
* Possibly parodied in ''[[
* Parodied very, very heavily with Mechazawa in [[Cromartie High School]], whom ''no one ever notices'' {{spoiler|is actually a robot.}}
** And not {{spoiler|the [[Ridiculously Human Robot|human-looking kind]] either; he looks like a trashcan.}}
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* Somewhat subverted in [[DC Comics]]' ''Steel'': Natasha Irons says to her white friend, "Boris, in case you haven't noticed, I'm black", before realising that he's just [[The Ditz|such a ditz]] it honestly hasn't occurred to him there's an unfortunate association in giving her a watermelon as a gift.
** For those who are not Americans: This joke refers to the old American trope that the best way to portray a lazy Black slave or even freeman was to show a scrawny old slave, lounging on a porch, eating a watermelon. The "blacks love watermelon and fried chicken" idea is a well-worn staple of stereotypical humor.
* In ''New [[X-Men]]'', Rockslide taunts Anole, who's gay, by calling him a "big sissy". Anole immediately opens up a can of whoopass on him, which is kind of impressive considering Rockslide is twice his size and made out of lava, and Anole isn't exactly the biggest badass on the team. As it happens, Rockslide didn't know and was just being his usual insensitive self, but Anole's not interested in excuses.
* ''[[Astro City]]'' has a humorously overblown example. A boisterous comic book publisher releases a comic [[Very Loosely Based on a True Story]] in which the supervillain Glowworm is ascribed a white supremacist motivation that was not substantiated by the actual events. Glowworm, a monstrous glowing green man with a tail in place of legs, attacks the publisher at a comic convention:
{{quote|
'''Publisher:''' No, but I can make a guess...
'''Glowworm:''' ''Do you have any idea what my '''[[Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas|mother]]''' thought when she read this?!?''
'''Publisher:''' [[Bullying a Dragon|What does she think of your robbing banks?]] }}
* In ''[[Quantum and Woody]]'' issue #4, Quantum is repeatedly called "noogie" (a substitute for the n-word) several times by a homeless street-dweller. Quantum, whose costume covers his entire face and body, asks the guy how he knows he's black. "You're '''black?''' [[T-Word Euphemism|S-Word!]]"
* He doesn't say anything actually racist, but early in ''[[A God Somewhere]]'' a white guy is helping his [[Black Best Friend]] move to a new place. He opens the box he's been carrying to see a multitude of Black History books inside. Puzzled, he asks his friend why the friend has so many of these books and why he reads them. The friend just ''looks'' at him and after a moment the white guy is going "Oh, right..." then tries to explain that he sometimes forgets his friend is black. That doesn't exactly fly either.
* ''[[Spider
== Films ==
* In the film, ''[[The Jerk]]'', Navin (played by [[Steve Martin]]), after striking it rich, was talking to several financial advisers and people who wanted him to invest his newfound wealth. One guy was suggesting a housing/apartment complex and detailed that they would of course keep the "niggers" away. Navin, who was raised by a black family (oblivious to his own whiteness for decades), snapped at him, saying "Sir, you are talking to a nigger!" and proceeded to kick his ass with martial arts skills not shown before or after in the movie.
* At the beginning of ''[[Stand
{{quote|
'''Teddy:''' Hey, I'm French, okay?
'''Chris:''' Your garbage cans are empty and your dog's pregnant.
''*Chris and Gordie laugh*''
'''Teddy:''' Didn't I just say I was French? }}
* There's a literal example of this in ''If You Could See What I Hear'', a biopic about blind musician Tom Sullivan. In bed, his new girlfriend asks him if it "feels different" making love to her because she's black, and he's surprised by the question because he hadn't even realized she was.
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== Live Action TV ==
* On one of Judge Miliani's cases in ''Court TV'', the plaintiff informed the judge that the defendents were - ''ugh'' - lawyers! ...It turns out, so are all judges.
* ''30 Rock'': Taken [[Up to Eleven]], to the point of parody. Jack proudly announces to a room full of old, white, rich, conservative business executives that he has a liberal girlfriend. Cue the other men coming out with all sorts of other "confessions"
{{quote|
* Subverted in the ''[[
** Note that he stays a white supremacist. He even {{spoiler|leaves his wife for marrying a black man, even though this black man is himself}}
* In a [[Very Special Episode]] of ''[[Smart Guy (TV series)|Smart Guy]]'', Yvette and her friend Nina get jobs at a small store in the mall, where Nina is given the following job:
{{quote|
'''Yvette:''' You know this is going to affect our friendship. }}
** And in the Black History Month episode of ''[[Smart Guy (TV series)|Smart Guy]]'', Marcus, Mo, and Mackey (another [[Token White]]) each write a report on Jackie Robinson and have to read it in front of their class. Mackey has to go last, and when nobody claps after he's finished he says, "It's 'cause I'm white, isn't it?" Their white teacher nods.
* ''[[Degrassi the Next Generation]]'', "Pride, part 1": When Paige asks Spinner to carry her beach bag, which happens to be floral patterned, he tells her that he can't, because it make people will mistake him for a "homo". Spinner then realizes it was a mistake to say that in front of Paige's brother, Dylan, who is gay:
{{quote|
'''Dylan:''' ...Milk? }}
** Later, Jimmy catches Spinner writing ''Marco is Gay'' on a wall in the boy's bathroom, and says [[Narm|"What are you going to write next? ...Something about me being black?"]]
*** In uncensored versions he wrote the word ''Marco is a fag''.
* In ''[[Angel]]'', Cordelia calls Willow, who has broken up with her boyfriend and acquired a girlfriend in Cordy's absence, to ask her about her old friend Harmony's irritating behavior.
{{quote|
'''Willow:''' Thanks for the validation. }}
* A funny moment in ''[[Studio 60
** This is [[Truth in Television]], in that many Americans don't realize that racism works different outside of the US. In America, racists tend to just go by how a person looks, where as in most of the rest of the planet, the racists actually try to figure out something about your background to hate.
*** On an episode of ''[[
*** Many nations could care less about race, and in fact may be so mixed that you couldn't even ''name'' a race, other than the melting pot that is "Jamaican" or "Cuban". But ''social class'' is an entirely different story. And then there's prejudice between different skin tones or hair colors ''within the same race''. Firecrotch. Quadroon.
* The British TV [[Biopic]] ''[
* In the original UK version of ''[[Queer
* Similarly, Jake in ''[[Becker]]'': "I'm a blind black man, we just '''sail''' through life."
* The episode of ''[[Yes, Dear]]'' where Jimmy became a housemate on ''[[Big Brother]]'' might qualify here. Although nothing offensive was said, when Jimmy asks the resident [[Twofer Token Minority|black, gay housemate]] his opinion on the attractiveness of a female housemate, he responds with "You know I'm gay, right?". Jimmy attempts to correct himself and restart the conversation by making a remark about one of the men's abs instead.
{{quote|
* On episode of ''[[The George Lopez Show]]'' featured a racist scout leader for Max. During a discussion of how one can tell how different marks on an animal show whether they're aggressive, he mentions "Just like people." George questions this, to which he responds which one is cop gonna question, a cute blonde or a Mexican. George responds with this trope.
** '''Scout:''' I mean, yah, but I mean, well, not ''you guys.'' I mean those "me no speake" Mexicans.
* In one episode of ''[[Scrubs]]'', [[Dr. Jerk|Dr. Cox]] calls Turk "bro." Turk replies that "Bros don't even use bro. You're not as hip as you think you are." When Cox asks if Turk ''is'', Turk points out that he's black.
{{quote|
** Of course, this may not necessarily be any better on Cox's part, since he seems to be suggesting race is determined by behaviors, as if Turk is less "black" because he listens to Neil Diamond and is best friends with a white guy.
*** Of course, some would argue being born into any particular group carries with it some obligation to participate in that group's culture, but that's a question that's waaaaay above our pay grade...
* Somewhat parodied in a deleted scene of ''[[
** For context, because it's interesting: the scene is an alternate ending to an episode which deals heavily with race relations .
* In an episode of [[3rd Rock
* In the Puppy episode of ''[[Ellen]]'' Ellen discussing coming out to her therapist, who is played by [[Oprah Winfrey]]:
{{quote|
'''Therapist:''' ''Have people commit hate crimes against you because you're not like them.''
'''Ellen:''' ''Thank you.''
'''Therapist:''' ''Have to use separate bathrooms and separate water fountains and sit on the back of the bus.''
'''Ellen:''' ''[[Comically Missing the Point|Oh man, we have to use separate water fountains?]]'' }}
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== Machinima ==
* Episode 11 of ''[[Arby 'n' the Chief]]'' found the Arbiter playing GTA 4 online with some friends, when they were joined by an irritating, obviously white suburban kid pretending to be a tough black gangbanger. Upon yelling "Don't hate da playa, hate da game, honkies!", one of the Arbiter's friends responds "Uh, FYI I'm actually black", which causes the kid to say "Oh...really?"
* In ''[[
** Later, the Blue team sees someone wearing pink armour in the Red base. They gush over there being a girl over there, and how unfair it is that they didn't have one. Much to Tex's chagrin: 'You do realise that I'm a chick, right? And I'm standing right here?'
{{quote|
'''Tex''': ''And what the hell does '''that''' mean?''
'''Tucker/Caboose:''' ''[[Dark Action Girl|Nothing!!!]]'' }}
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** Actually, with Woozie, Carl didn't know he was blind until an aide told him. Carl had trouble believing it because they were in a car race the week before. Also, to clarify, the 'no shit' answer was Carl doing a bad job at disguising the fact he already knew.
* ''[[Mass Effect]]''
{{quote|
'''Tali:''' "[[I'm Standing Right Here|I'm standing right here!]] }}
* In ''[[The Adventures of Sam
* This can happen in ''[[The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim]]'' as a side effect of [[Welcome to Corneria]]. In the [[Fantastic Racism|Fantastically Segregated]] city of Windhelm, [[NPC
* Can happen in ''[[Dragon Age II]]'' if you're playing a mage Hawke and you choose the right set of responses when talking to Cullen after a quest. He'll say that "mages aren't people like you and me," even if you're wearing obvious robes, carrying a staff, and ''he's seen you casting spells in front of him during an earlier fight''.
** What's even funnier is that Hawke (yes, even Mage-Hawke) can agree with him. In front of your mage party members.
{{quote|
== Webcomics ==
* Parodied in ''[[Rob and Elliot]]''. Elliot makes a joke about a "dumb guy," prompting Rob to blow up in his face: "My mother was dumb! I'm half dumb!"
* In ''[[Loserz]]'', when [https://web.archive.org/web/20110129060944/http://bukucomics.com/loserz/go/506 Carrie comments to Alice] that her friend Jess coming out of the closet is disturbing, Alice responds with something similar to this trope.
{{quote|
'''Alice:''' [[Let Me Get This Straight...]]. You're asking one of the only black girls at this school if she should be repulsed by somebody because she's different? }}
* In [
{{quote|
[Panel with Kim (Black woman) staring at him]
'''Kim''': Do you need some time to comprehend why saying that to me makes you stupid?
'''Pagan''': ...No, I think I've got that figured out. }}
** [[Inverted]] in another: Aubrey is reprimanding one of her employees, who accuses her of being prejudiced against white people. Aubrey points out that she's half-white (the other half is Asian).
* In ''[[RPG World]]'', Soldier #347 makes elf jokes to Plum. Due to his poor vision, he doesn't realize Plum is an elf.
* ''[[8-Bit Theater
{{quote|
'''Thief:''' Hold on. ''Elven whore?'' Do I even have to explain why that's offensive to me?
'''Black Mage:''' Look, if [[Your Mom|your mother]] had made dresses, I would have called her a tailor instead. }}
== Western Animation ==
* On ''[[Drawn Together]]'', this is illustrated frequently between Foxxy Love and the [[Ping
* Variation from ''[[Teen Titans (
** Though the questions makes sense from Starfire since she's an alien and hangs out with the very colorful Teen Titans. It'd make sense that she'd never come across racism.
* On ''[[
{{quote|
''Toph'': [[Sarcasm Mode|Oh no, what a nightmare!]] }}
** Subverted in the finale when Sokka, Toph and Suki take over a Fire Nation airship:
{{quote|
''Sokka'': Actually, I was talking to Suki.
''Toph'': Oh. That would make more sense. }}
** In Sokka's defense, Toph could "see" well enough with her [[Disability Superpower]] that it's pretty easy to see how he could forget she was impaired.
* The ''[[Archer]]'' episode "Diversity Hire" has a lot of fun with [[But Not Too Black|Lana]] getting this treatment from her coworkers because she views [[Twofer Token Minority|Conway]] as a possible mole.
{{quote|
'''Lana''': ''Racist''? I'm black--
'''Malory''': Oh, put it back in the deck. }}
* Used in an episode of [[
{{quote|
* ''[[My Life
{{quote|
'''Tuck:''' DUH! They're just stupid robots! (Cue Tuck's POV of [[Bullying a Dragon|the 6-and-a-half foot, 600 pound]] [[Swiss Army Gun|walking weapons platform]] giving him the [[Death Glare]]) }}
* On ''[[King of the Hill]],'' Kahn had a chance to join a ritzy all-Asian country club, but only if he helped get Hank to join as their [[Token White]]. When Kahn expresses outrage at Hank's refusal, Hank exasperatedly comments that Kahn "wouldn't understand" his reasoning. Kahn responds that ''no,'' of course he wouldn't understand what it's like to be a [[Token Minority|token]] member of a group.
{{quote|
== Real Life ==
* CNN news anchor [
** Although really, they probably simply don't think of her as black because she doesn't look black. Same reason people don't think of Barack Obama as white, or think of Jason Kidd as black, or think of Tiger Woods as asian.
** Relatedly, a lot of fat folk can only look in confusion at friends who say "Oh, don't worry, I don't think of ''you'' as fat." when what they actually mean is that they don't think you're ''ugly'' or ''lazy'' or any of the other associations [[Fat Bastard|Those Horrible Fat People]] have in their mind.
* [[Will Smith]], in telling the story of being cast as Jim West in ''[[Wild Wild West]]'' (who was white in the TV show), said that he mentioned to the producers that people might think it's a bit odd that they've cast him, to which they apparently replied "Oh, nobody knows you're black!"
** There's another version of this story Smith has told, where he asked the producers something like, "Don't you think I look a bit different from the original actor?" and their reply was something to the effect of, "Yes, you're shorter, but no one will notice."
* This ALWAYS happens to gay people, at least once, because unless you're [[Camp Gay|terribly flaming]] or have a couple, there's no way to differentiate homosexuals from other people.
** And no matter WHAT you do, it's impossible to tell if someone's bi. Given the amount of discrimination bisexuals face, this leads to a lot of [[Bi the Way]] moments.
* Similarly, this often happens to people with different neurotypes like autism, dyslexia, ADHD, etc, since it's impossible to tell just by looking.
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[[Category:Stock Phrases]]
[[Category:Race Tropes]]
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