"In what aisle could I find the Polish sausage?", asks the shopper. The clerk looks at him and asks, "Are you Polish?". The guy (clearly offended) responds, "Well, yes I am. But let me ask you something. If I had asked for Italian sausage would you have asked me if I was Italian? Or, if I had asked for German bratwurst, would you have asked me if I was German? Or, if I asked for kosher hot dogs would you have asked me if I was Jewish? Or, if had asked for a Taco would you have asked if I was Mexican? Would you? Would you?". The clerk says, "Well, no." "If I asked for Irish whiskey, would you ask if I was Irish?". "Well, probably not.". With deep self-righteous indignation, the guy says, "Well then, why did you ask me if I'm Polish because I asked for Polish sausage?". "Because", the clerks says, "You're in Home Depot."
Well, I'm not implying you are a racist, ABM...it is just strange to me that Polish jokes are/have been so accepted. A class of jokes about how stupid African-Americans or Italians or Jews are wouldn't be tolerated.
OTOH, have we become so freakin' sterile/pc, that we can't even laugh (in the slightest) at ourselves anymore? I'm of Swedish descent. If there were Swedish jokes out there, I'd probably be the one telling them. Oh, yeah.....Lutefisk. JUST SAY NO!! While I'm at it: A Finn, a Swede and a Norwegian found themselves deserted on a small island. A Cannibal tribe lived on the island, and they emprisoned the three men. The cannibals gave each of them a final wish. First they asked the Norwegian. The Norwegian wanted to see his wife once more. The cannibals went to find the wife. After he saw his wife, the Norwegian was eaten, and the cannibals made a canoe out of his skin. The Finn wanted to smoke one more cigarette. He got his cigarette. After he was finished, he was eaten and his skin was used to make a canoe. Then came the Swede’s turn - he wanted a fork. He started to punch holes into himself, and yelled: “YOU WON’T MAKE A CANOE OUT OF ME!”
Racism is hilarious. Just ask Dave Chappelle. Anything can be funny, even the most horrific things you can think of.
I've generally found the whole "white people are like this / black people are like this" to be pretty weak, Chris Rock or otherwise. Laughing at ourselves is fine. Insulting groups of other people isn't, in my opinion. Especially when it is so entrenched, like when certain groups are consistently stereotyped negatively. As a Swede, there are precious few negative stereotypes about you (lutefisk? Not exactly wounding to the soul, I'd guess) and there's definitely no cultural tendency, in the US, to insult Swedes. If you were black or Hispanic, you might feel differently about insulting jokes about your ethnicity. Or maybe you wouldn't...but it hurts a lot of people, so just because it doesn't bother you isn't a good reason to engage in it. I don't think that's being "PC/sterile," but being respectful of other's feelings.
If it makes you feel better, I laughed! I love racists jokes! I'm half Mexican, half Polish. My best friend is half Korean, half Italian. I also grew up in a neighborhood and went to schools that were half black. I was also in the Army for 4 years with every type of race on earth. I've got no problem with it, but can respect people who do. But there is nothing funnier then a good racist joke. I've got tons of 'em.
OR when it is driven by comedy and good humor? Does Russell Peters hate Asians and Indians? They are who he jokes about most the time.
Strange how such a short sentence can win the coveted prize of the most ridiculous thing I have ever read on a message board. So Dave Chappelle making a skit about a black blind white supremacist is driven by hate for what?
That skit didn't make fun of any race, so what's the relevance? It was poking fun at how absurd racism itself is.
What about old school SNL. Eddie Murphy's "Kill the White People" skit. WHen he's a reggae singer singing in an old folks home? Classic!
