There's jokes and there's jokes. Jokes might poke fun of a particular group of people (eg blondes, rednecks, Irish people, aspies) but they're essentially harmless because they play on the stereotypes of those people. Many of those stereotypes are untrue or only partially true, so it's illogical to take offence at those type of jokes.
Jokes, on the other hand, are a bit different. Jokes that can be taken offensively are those that are clearly nasty and make fun of one particular person, or a certain characteristic which people can't help having, or a sensitive issue (such as the Holocaust.) Sometimes it's hard to know when to draw the line - should racial jokes be allowed, even if they're just playing on stereotypes? The best criteria for deciding if a joke is acceptable is if the target group find it funny. If they do, then it's probably okay. I'm not offended by 'you know if you're an aspie when...' jokes, but I would be offended (actually...probably just amused) if someone said 'all aspies are ret*ds and should be locked up in cages.'
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"Never try to teach a pig to sing. It wastes your time and annoys the pig."
01 May 2008, 5:28 pm
