anton (06/13/82)
I wonder if the submissions about the guidelines for ethnic jokes were placed in jest or as serious advice. If the latter, they ommited one facet. The recipient of the joke. You dont tell questionable BJK jokes to BJK. You don't tell xyz jokes to an xyz.... All you americans (sorry, Americans) out there know about Polak jokes. In England, the poles are respected, for they served with us in WWII in the defence of England before you guys deigned to join in the fray. We can laugh at Polak jokes because they just are not relevant to any Poles we know. However, Englishman jokes are another matter. One does not, even if one is English, make jokes about the Empire or cricket. That priviledge is reserved for the Scots and the Welsh. One does not permit foreigners (especially americans (sorry, Americans)) to make jokes about other members of the commonwealth (or cricket). One can, as an Englishman, make jokes about the Irish, if it is clear from the situation or the accent that it is the southern Irish, and especially not a derryman lest Ian Paisley come after you.... One can even make jokes in the ilk of "there was an Englshman, an Irishman and a Scot" (if no Scots are present one is permitted to say Scotsman for the benefit of those, such as americans (sorry, Americans) who don't differentiate) provided all the national archetypes are met impartally. The English also tell religious jokes, though not to americans (sorry, Americans) provided they don't involve any references to the *Daned Papists*. They are not told to americans (sorry, Americans) because we exported all our religious disidents (not having any convenient Siberias or mental hospitals at that time, which seems a shame) to the colonies, and they are still a little touchy about it - even to insisting on capital letters when talking of their country. Perhaps someone could supply guidelines geared to the recipient for other ethnic groups ? /anton aylward