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Path: utzoo!linus!security!genrad!grkermit!masscomp!clyde!akgua!sb1!sb6!diy
From: diy@sb6.UUCP (D. I. Young)
Newsgroups: net.jokes.d
Subject: WHERE I'M COMING FROM...
Message-ID: <152@sb6.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 15-Dec-83 11:15:57 EST
Article-I.D.: sb6.152
Posted: Thu Dec 15 11:15:57 1983
Date-Received: Sat, 17-Dec-83 02:35:50 EST
Lines: 84


Throwing in my two-cents worth...

I will admit I made a mistake when I flamed off in net.jokes about the blktran
joke, and that was simply because I was not aware that net.jokes.d was a dis-
cussion group.  After I flamed and then made  a little comment about white 
people telling ethnic jokes about themselves I was told by a co-worker about
this group.  So soory on my part for posting my feelings there.

Now that I'm here again...

I grew up hearing a lot of stuff about my skin color and my mentality and chance
chances of advancement because of it.  My problem you may say, fair enough, it
is.  I hear a lot of jokes in my office about Cubans, Iranians, Jews, and just
about any other group that isn't a white American male, and women are joked abou
about also.  I read the net and see a lot of jokes about anybody who is not
a white American male.  Let me clarify that... I remember reading the "wop"
joke, so I guess that narrows it down to American White Anglo-Saxon Protestant
males.  Anyway, I talked about this with a white friend of mine.

He mentioned to me something that I've tried to keep in mind...human nature
is hard to change, slow at best.  The English for years looked down on the
Welsh people, and Welsh people were the butt of many "ethnic" jokes of that
time.  We aren't sure if that's the same situation today, but here's the point.
The only major difference we can figure out was that they were in Wales.

That's the key, he was telling me.  People prey on the DIFFERENCES, or BECAUSE
of the DIFFERENCES.  In other words, 2000 years from now when were living and
working with people from another planet, say Xenon, we'll have Xenon jokes.
He was telling me that whenever you have a situation of that type, people
with differences will joke about the differences.

I try to think about that when I hear or read ethnic jokes.  I've tried to
avoid listening to them.  Imagine me standing around with five or six white
guys who are telling jokes about American Indians and laughing like crazy.
Imagine what the next joke will be when I leave.

I was just as pissed about the "wop" joke as I was about the blktran joke.
If it was rotated, I never would have read it, although when I see title's
like "OFFENSIVE TO BLACK'S, ROT13" something still flashes.  Somebody somewhere
thinks my color is not only DIFFERENT (obviously) but thinks that it's INFERIOR


Wait a minute, you might say, just because I see it that way doesn't mean that
it's meant that way!  I'll grant you that.  I only ask you to put yourself
in THE OTHER GUYS PLACE.  That's why I shot out a sarcastic request for
white jokes, in other words, what's funny about YOUR skin color, mentality,
social status, etc.  I feel it all boils down to what side of the joke you're
on.  You may not be a bigot, but you and I both would know when the joke is
good-natured and when it's vicious.  And I think that's what all the discussion
related to ethnic jokes is about.  Do you tell these jokes to your kids?
What do you tell your kids about blacks, Jews, and Cubans?

When Cosell made the infamous "little monkey" remark I was beseiged by my
co-workers, who said, "Aw come on, this is ridiculous! You people should
know that he didn't mean it!  Thin-skinned, touchy, etc, etc.  Names 
shouldn't bother you at this stage of the game, etc."  So I told them about
an incident where I and another black guy was working with four white guys,
one of them who's name was Sam.  We were all working together and Jim, the
black, called Sam "SAMBO" in conversation, not in a joke. Needless to say
it was not a pretty scene afterwards.  I asked my co-workers how would they
feel if I called them "nigger".  Nobody said anything, but body language
and facial expressions said it all.  DO YOU SEE WHERE I'M COMING FROM???
Minorities and immigrants ARE SUPPOSED to understand and tolerate jokes
about them.  Well, "suppose" is a bad word...how about "expected"?

A friend of mine was transferred here from Miami.  He came loaded with Cuban
jokes. The guys in the office started teasing him about being a Cuban also,
and they did it (and still do it) often.  He's now very upset whenever they
start ("Hey, I ain't no damn Cuban!") and he no longer laughs at Cuban jokes.
Gee, what happened to the good-natured fun???  It got kind of OLD!

So, do you see where I'm coming from?  My friend from Miami is now feeling like
whenever his friends want to PUT HIM DOWN, they call him a Cuban or ask him
things like "A Cuban is so-and-so, right Jose'?"

So, to those of you who see no harm in ethnic jokes, I only ask you to consider
not only how YOU would feel if the joke was about you, but consider how you
would react to the same joke(s) about you still appearing on the Net next year
this same time.  same goes for leprosy and paraplegics(sp?) and women jokes.

WHAT'S BEHIND THE JOKE?

DENNIS