Survey: Vast majority of Democratic college students say offensive jokes can constitute hate speech

Political correctness, woke culture, safe spaces, and trigger warnings on college campuses have made these once-favored destinations of many comedians little more than free speech and free expression kill zones favored by the left.

Therefore it should come as no surprise that a vast majority of Democratic college students — a whopping 76% — said that offensive jokes can constitute hate speech, according to the results of a recent College Pulse survey of 2,000 undergraduates.

What are the details?

Among the survey's findings:

• Almost two-thirds of students (64%) believe comedians can be successful without making offensive jokes, but more than one-third (36%) say political correctness is detrimental to comedy.
• Male students are much more likely than female students to say political correctness hurts comedy (54% versus 24%), and Republican students are far more likely than Democratic students to agree (59% versus 20%).
• A majority of students say offensive jokes can promote stereotypes (69%) and constitute hate speech (60%) — but there's a political party caveat: 76% of Democrats believe jokes can constitute hate speech while only 36% of Republicans agree.
• While a majority of students (52%) say sexual assault isn't appropriate for comedy, female students are twice as likely as male students to concur (66% versus 31%).
• In addition, female students are twice as likely to say comedians shouldn't joke about abortion (30% versus 15%) or fatal tragedies (44% versus 23%). And only 17% of female students say no topics are off the table while more than half of male students (52%) say so.
• Republican students also are way more likely than Democratic students to say sensitive topics are acceptable to joke about (50% versus 19%). While nearly a third of Republican students (32%) say comedians should not joke about sexual assault, about two-thirds (66%) of Democratic students agree.

More from the results:

Students overall see a distinction between someone joking about their own identity versus making fun of groups they do not belong to. Only 3% of students say it is not OK for a comedian to joke about their own race, while 26% say it is not OK for comedians to joke about other races. Similarly, 4% of students say a comedian shouldn't joke about their own sexual orientation, compared to 21% who say they shouldn't joke about other sexual orientations.

On a more personal level, a majority of students have experienced jokes targeting some aspect of their identity. Almost two-thirds (64%) of students report that their gender, race, ethnicity, or sexual orientation is often the punchline to a joke. Race is a major factor, as black students are far more likely than white students to say some aspect of their identity is often a punchline (86% vs. 56%).

(H/T: The College Fix)