Is this ironic?

Question

Ok, so me and my mom had a bet.We were at some basketball courts earlier today, and the only people there were a black family.She said "Oh, that's ironic." I told her that's not what irony meant, and we bet $10 over this. She's refusing to pay my money. I need clarification on who is correct. I told her she would be correct if she said that "a white family at a basketball court" would be ironic, as she mainly associates the dark color of skin with basketball.NOTE: We aren't racist, and this is a real question.Thanks in advance

Clive · Accepted Answer

Hi,

Ok, so me and my mom had a bet.

We were at some basketball courts earlier today, and the only people there were a black family.

She said "Oh, that's ironic." I told her that's not what irony meant, and we bet $10 over this. She's refusing to pay my money. I need clarification on who is correct. I told her she would be correct if she said that "a white family at a basketball court" would be ironic, as she mainly associates the dark color of skin with basketball.

NOTE: We aren't racist, and this is a real question.

Think of an ironic situation as an amusing discrepancy between the expected situation and the actual situation.

In this situation, what your mom saw was what she expected, so there was no irony.

If she had seen a white family, you could argue that would have been ironic, although I would argue that it wouldn't really have had enough of an amusing quality to be really ironic.

Here's something else for you both to consider. There were two families there. One was black. The other was made up of you and your mom. What colour are you? How does that influence the situation?

Clive

Dimsumexpress · Answer

Aside from previous comments, I'd like to say that it seems inappropriate to collect the $10 bet from your mom, even if she really lost the bet. Money bet is always sign of trouble with family members. That's just my opinion.

Anonymous · Answer

If your mom was black and said what she said then it would be ironic if she put her money were her mouth was she should pay cause she would demand your payment if owed. But dude is right if it is your mom consider to let it slide if she does you a lot of favors and loves you. If she doesn't then make her pay.

Is this ironic?

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