Xref: utzoo news.misc:1960 soc.culture.jewish:8160
Path: utzoo!utgpu!watmath!clyde!att!osu-cis!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!bloom-beacon!athena.mit.edu!richmond
From: richmond@athena.mit.edu (Jonathan E. D. Richmond)
Newsgroups: news.misc,soc.culture.jewish
Subject: Re: RACIST JOKES
Message-ID: <8088@bloom-beacon.MIT.EDU>
Date: 20 Nov 88 21:28:44 GMT
References: <8030@bloom-beacon.MIT.EDU> <1058@osupyr.mast.ohio-state.edu> <1060@osupyr.mast.ohio-state.edu> <1057@osupyr.mast.ohio-state.ed <347@sulaco.UUCP>
Sender: daemon@bloom-beacon.MIT.EDU
Reply-To: richmond@athena.mit.edu (Jonathan E. D. Richmond)
Distribution: na
Organization: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Lines: 29



To the many people who have sent me mail saying I lack a sense of
humor: I doubt that anyone who knows me (including Rich Salz -- 
Rich, I assume you remember all those battles with Linda
Schaffir to get my rude humor included in The Tech) would accuse
me of lacking a sense of humor.

When I was a student at Berkeley, I was the editor of the I-House
magazine "Intergnat," which quickly became very popular, due to the
satirical and often scandalous submissions written both by invited
writers and myself.

The course I am teaching at MIT this term also has a reputation for
being entertaining and my advertizing campaign to attract students
to it (I referred to it as meetings of the "Brain Users Group") 
was regarded as extremely amusing.

I have had parodies of my writing style done, one of which was
quite widely read, and I had a good laugh at it -- I usually
enjoy jokes made at my personal expense, especially if they have
an element of truth to them.  What I cannot tolerate is "humor"
which puts down and which has been associated with the persecution
and murder of races.

There is plenty of humor around that does not convey racial prejudice.
Let's stick with that.

Jonathan Richmond