| When is a sick joke too sick? |  This thread is pages long: 1 2 · NEXT» |
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JollyJoker
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posted July 09, 2009 06:32 PM |
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When is a sick joke too sick?
This issue had been touched briefly in the Where do we Draw the Line thread before its demise, and I think it's interesting enough to discuss that.
Questions to discuss:
Can a joke be too [sick, morbid, racist, sexist or tasteless]?
If yes, what makes a joke too sick, morbid or tasteless?
I personally tend to think currently that,
NO, a joke can't be too [smrst] BUT
the more [smrst] a joke is, the better it has to be told, otherwise it explodes right into the face of the teller.
Which is equivalent to saying that there are no jokes, that are too[smrst], there are only jokes that are badly told.
Now, we alle no blond jokes, Poles-jokes, Jew(Rabbi)-jokes and so on, but what about these:
For explanation, the current German "president" is a woman, her Secretary of State is after an assassination a long time ago paralyzed from the hips down and sits in a wheelchair. Wheelchair is "Rollstuhl" in German while the female clothing skirt is "rock" in German.
So he starts that part by telling the audience that he would like to see our Angie (president) in a skirt (rock) - and then she and her Secretary of State were Rock'n'Roll. Usually this doesn't pull much laughs, and he goes on with some jokes about the Secretary of State, like he'd like to push his problems before him, and jokes with him "wouldn't go" (which means don't work) - and closes that part with, but at least he isn't gay - he wouldn't get his arse up anyway.
If the audience laughs - which it does ususally - he states that jokes with him still go - they just have to be primitive enough and include gays, and of course he then starts with them.
Lots of people find such things tasteless, I know, but I'm not one of them.
How about you?
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mvassilev
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posted July 09, 2009 06:38 PM |
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That joke doesn't even come close to being as tasteless as some of the jokes I know. 
I like those jokes. But not everyone does. The rule of thumb, I think, is to not tell jokes around their subject matter. Don't tell Jew jokes around Jews, don't tell black jokes around blacks, etc. Unless, of course, you're pretty sure that they won't be offended.
And don't tell any jokes around the PC police. They can't appreciate them, and they don't deserve to laugh anyway.
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bixie
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posted July 09, 2009 07:06 PM |
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my rule is to only add to the levels of depravity, and never be the last one. luckily, I am in a group of friends whose only purpose in life is to lower the tone of the discussion faster than if it had been tied down with lead weights.
If someone starts talking about their girlfriend, I'll start with sex joke, then someone will say a rape joke, someone else would say a tenacle rape joke, someone else would say a dead baby joke, some else would say... etc etc
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Elodin
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posted July 09, 2009 08:44 PM |
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I think whether a "racist", "sexist", ect, joke can be told depends on the setting and the perceived attitude of the joke teller.
As an example, there are 3 close friends sitting at a corner table in a bar. A black man, a white woman, and a Hispanic man. They may feel comfortable taking good natured pot shots at each other even with racial/sexist jokes. But if say a black woman walked up when the white woman was ribbing the black man with a "racial" joke she may indeed take offense. And in a court of law in some countries her taking offense would be enough for a civil rights suit against you.
Now consider those same 3 friends by themselves again. They get in an argument and one of them says something "racial." The others may then take offense. An apology may or may not be enough. The friendship may then be destroyed. Or the others may say, "Hey, we've known this person for many years and know from his past behavior he is not a racist. He just said something in anger" and forgive the person.
As far as public jokes meant for public consumption I think that will always be "dangerous." Unless perhaps if you start off with a joke about your own race/sex and don't single out any particular race/sex in the routine.
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JollyJoker
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posted July 09, 2009 09:38 PM |
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Some comedian once said, there is no real integration before you can't make a joke about the integrated and everyone - including them - is laughing. That's certainly true for handicapped, at least for those I know. As a rule they don't want to be pampered, and they are the first to laugh about a good joke, where they can really appreciate the punch line.
Another thing I noticed is the trend nowadays with stand-ups - they are a lot more in-your-face then in earlier times. Quite often they make a slight joke about a certain group - let's say Poles -, and then ask whether there are Poles in the audience. Tht's working fairly well with public shows.
So, anything not to make a joke about? Never ever?
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TheDeath
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posted July 09, 2009 09:54 PM |
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Racism doesn't make me sick, in the proper sense of the word. So I wouldn't call jokes like that sick even if I were offended (which I am not) by them.
Now, there are other jokes which really are sick...
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mvassilev
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posted July 09, 2009 09:55 PM |
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My only rule is to not make jokes about traumatic events to the people who experienced those events (unless I am 100% sure that they wouldn't mind).
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Salamandre
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posted July 09, 2009 09:58 PM |
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It depends who is one the other side. A joke is a joke and is most of time not reflecting your real point of view, but some people may get paranoid about. I remember some years ago making a humorous reflection in Civ Fanatics Forums: I suggested the AI (artificial intelligence) was programmed by a jew. Because it always asked the triple in negotiations.
I am teacher myself and I have had tens of jew students and I have no problems with them, even they are most of time very talented.
It was a joke and I got banned and insulted for over a months, via email and my web site. One learn from his "errors".
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JollyJoker
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posted July 09, 2009 10:16 PM |
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But isn't that just all the more fun? I mean, if people get really paranoid about it.
I always laugh double as hard, if someone tells a really good joke, that is very political uncorrect - and someone says, seriously and earnestly: "That is NOT funny".
Of course it doesn't help, if you jut laugh double as hard, but isn't that the really hilarious stuff?
I mean, someone tells a joke, everyone explodes - but one says, DEAD serious: "What's so darn funny about... My wife just had..."
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TheDeath
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posted July 09, 2009 10:20 PM |
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Nah that's sick.
If they really mean it, I learned to feel ashamed of myself after a while (especially since junior high school). The joke is fine. Laughing of their situation (when they mentioned the above "what's so funny?") goes into sickness. I used to do that when I was younger though, learned a bit since then though.
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mvassilev
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posted July 09, 2009 10:24 PM |
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Of course, because there's a difference between something bad (like someone's situation) - which you don't laugh at (unless you hate the person) - and jokes about something bad, which may be funny.
Salamandre, I'm sorry you got Jew'd out. 
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Salamandre
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posted July 09, 2009 10:24 PM |
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Well, you could test the temperature yourself, and right here. So far, the jokes thread remained childishly "racial" correct. I am pretty sure that any joke on blacks/jews will get you a penalty and silenced, and this before you could defend the concept.
The most fun jokes are those who "hurt" a social/racial category. More cruel they are, more fun from them. But, as pointed previously, the "story teller" attitude is capital. It must be obvious that he is telling a joke and not trying to harm.
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TheDeath
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posted July 09, 2009 10:32 PM |
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Quote:
Of course, because there's a difference between something bad (like someone's situation) - which you don't laugh at (unless you hate the person) - and jokes about something bad, which may be funny.
Yes indeed hypothetical situations are much more funny and much less sick. Although, it depends on the person, there are some things that I wouldn't joke (but I used to).
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JollyJoker
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posted July 09, 2009 10:44 PM |
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Nah. If there's something I can't stand than
1) people who are politically correct on general principle. You know those who can't laugh about a really good blond joke because it's so sexist and "you simply can't laugh about something like that".
2) People who always laugh like there's no tomorrow - but suddenly have white knuckles when a joke is too similar to what happened to them.
I mean, how often will it happen that you tell a joke about someone who has cancer and one of the people who listen says, "not funny, my wife will go to hospital next week?" If that happens, bad luck.
I mean, it's more like telling a joke about some bad luck, with the car or the washing machine or problems with craftsmen or mechanics who take ages and accomplish nothing, and then one guy says, not funny, my car is in the garage now for 10 days", or something like this.
You know, you can't always laugh about the others, sometimes the joke is on you.
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TheDeath
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posted July 09, 2009 10:46 PM |
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What's so funny about cancer jokes, I wonder?
Blonde jokes are perfectly ok. Because they aren't even true. And not just "hypothetical" but really not true at all. Like most other stereotypical jokes.
(heck I make jokes about romanians and I am romanian myself)
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JollyJoker
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posted July 09, 2009 10:57 PM |
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A cancer joke would be an example for a joke that suddenly wasn't funny anymore - if there was one. I started this with "How often will it happen that..." So please, Death.
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TheDeath
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posted July 09, 2009 11:08 PM |
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Quote:
A cancer joke would be an example for a joke that suddenly wasn't funny anymore
anymore? I asked what's so funny at all, not just "anymore".
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mvassilev
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posted July 09, 2009 11:29 PM |
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- Mommy, I want to be a fireman when I grow up.
- You're not going to grow up, Johnny. You have terminal cancer.
See? That joke is funny to most - but if you have cancer, it probably isn't.
Of course, you don't always know when people have issues like that, so if they take offence, make it clear to them that you don't wish to trivialise their problem (unless it's a minor problem), and that it's nothing personal. And if you do know that there's someone with that kind of issue - don't tell the joke.
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TheDeath
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posted July 10, 2009 12:00 AM |
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That's not funny, and it has nothing to do with being sick. It's just... bland... boring... no taste, not sure how to call it
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DagothGares
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posted July 10, 2009 12:01 AM |
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I actually found that funny...
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