The ANNOTICO Report

I agree with the author that jokes that Ridicule "others" persist because
(1) human insecurity does, and because
(2) we do it to make ourselves feel superior, and (3) to forge a common
identity with our group.

That might be interpreted by some that we should give sympathy and further
license to "poor insecure people". I Don't!!!!
Also, the author seems to infer by the use of the word "staple" as if
Ridiculing others is a "natural' part of life. I Disagree!!!

Knock it off!!! The HUMAN Predicament is complex and amusing enough, that
we don't need to Ridicule ANYONE.
If one MUST Ridicule someone, engage in  PERSONAL SELF DEPRECATION,  that
would be amusing, and hurts no one!!!

Further, people also Ridicule when they Feel Secure, and with their Elitist
Self Satisfied Sadistic attitude, feel good about "beating up"
on the insignificant "little people"

People also "Ridicule" when they want to "weaken" a competing or opposing
group, like our "dissing" the French re Iraq,
(even though they were right).

I can see NO Redeeming feature about making jokes about, or ridiculing
people. And those who have at one time been the "target" of such Ridicule,
should know that best of all!!!

ETHNIC JOKES ARE STAPLES OF OUR INSECURE SOCIETY

Cleveland Plain Dealer
James F. Sweeney
Plain Dealer Reporter
Monday, May 09, 2005

The Polish joke seems as clumsy as a slip on a banana peel, something that
should have been retired to the Comedy Museum long ago with joy buzzers and
fake dog poo.

That's why Scott Spence, artistic director at the Beck Center for the Arts
in Lakewood, was surprised by the dozen phone calls and e-mails he got
protesting the play "Polish Joke," which recently concluded its run. He
thought the Polish joke no longer had the capacity to offend.

"Does anyone believe Polish people are not intelligent?" he asked.

None of the complainers had seen the show, and none planned to, Spence
said. The title and the favorable review that ran in this paper told them
everything they needed to know. Spence tried telling them that the comedy,
written by a Polish-American, was about embracing identity, but they didn't
want to hear it.

Had they seen the show, they might have changed their minds. The hero,
after spending his whole life denying his heritage, eventually moves to
Poland and marries a Polish woman.

Or they might have walked out upon hearing jokes such as this one: "How do
you sink a Polish battleship? Put it in the water."

Ethnic humor has been around as long as there have been groups to make fun
of each other. Cro-Magnons probably joked about how many Neanderthals it
took to kill a woolly mammoth.

The jokes persist because human insecurity does. To make ourselves feel
superior and to forge a common identity with our group, we ridicule
"others," whether they be Irish, Mexican, black - or Polish.

The jokes are infinitely recyclable. Probably every "Polish" joke has been
told in another version with Germans, Puerto Ricans or Jews bearing the
brunt. The ethnicities change, but the idea remains the same: They, the
ones being laughed at, are stupid or lazy or inept, and we, the ones
laughing, are not.

Some ethnic humor simply becomes outdated when the stereotype upon which it
was based is no longer recognized. Is there anyone under age 40 who even
knows that the Scottish once had a reputation for being cheap? Or that
Italian men are supposed to be sleazy Lotharios?

But if some groups are no longer targets, others have taken their place.

Asian Indians seem to be fair game, particularly when they're behind the
counter of a convenience store. "The Simpsons" does not do a lot of ethnic
humor, but Apu, with his enormous family and love for his Kwik-E-Mart, is a
staple.

Current events can filter down to ethnic humor quickly.

It's always been easy to make fun of the French, but the jokes have gotten
more bitter and numerous since our differences over the invasion of Iraq.
The war and terrorism have fueled anti-Arab and Muslim jokes.

The universality and longevity of the Polish joke is something of a puzzle.
Polish-Americans have been here a long time and are well-assimilated. Some
think it's because of the troubled history of their native land, invaded at
different times by the Germans, Russians, Swedes, Turks and Tartars. Their
country constantly divvied up and reapportioned, the Poles might have been
stuck with a reputation as hapless and unable to fend for themselves.

Groups that have made it, that have secured their niche in society, seem
immune to the humor. WASPs at a comedy club laugh as loudly as anyone else
when a black comic does an uptight, clenched-jaw impersonation of them.

The reputation Irish-Americans have as drunks ready to fight at the drop a
hat once was used to deny immigrants jobs and housing. Now successful and
established, Irish-Americans celebrate that stereotype every St. Patrick's
Day. By contrast, African-Americans can tell black jokes, including some
harsh material (see Chris Rock), but white comedians cannot.

Overall, greater sensitivity toward racial and religious differences has
made ethnic humor less acceptable, or at least driven it out of public
discourse.

It still can be found in comedy clubs and on cable, where shows such as
"Family Guy" and "South Park" delight in treading where political
correctness says they shouldn't. But the politician or athlete who tells an
ethnic joke in public can expect to be censured, if not picketed. Even a
play using jokes to tell a positive story about being Polish is going to be
criticized.

Perhaps for that reason, ethnic humor is shifting yet again, from race and
religion to other groups easily singled out but not organized enough to
mount much of a protest: fat people, lawyers and rednecks.

And, hey, did you hear the one about the two blondes who walk into a bar .
. . ?

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:
jsweeney@plaind.com, 216-999-4850