10-05-2002, 09:03 PM
I think the biggest source of Polack jokes is the fact that the Polish started immigrating to the US after the English, Spanish, Irish, German, and French had already established themselves in the new world.
Historically, communities have always been closely knit with people of similar heritage. The Polish were just enough different from every one else that they became the brunt of most of the jokes from all the communities.
Unfortunately, as time has passed, the people who have been settled in the "New World" the longest have become less and less tolerant of new groups of immigrants so we've progressed beyond jokes into outright racist behaviour.
Personally, jokes about stupid people usually work better if there is a socially accepted target. Here in Ontario, we get to tell "Newfie" jokes more than Polack jokes but they both end up pretty much the same.
Did you hear about the Newfie hockey team that drowned in spring training?
Why to Newfie dogs have short noses?
They keep chasing parked cars.
Historically, communities have always been closely knit with people of similar heritage. The Polish were just enough different from every one else that they became the brunt of most of the jokes from all the communities.
Unfortunately, as time has passed, the people who have been settled in the "New World" the longest have become less and less tolerant of new groups of immigrants so we've progressed beyond jokes into outright racist behaviour.
Personally, jokes about stupid people usually work better if there is a socially accepted target. Here in Ontario, we get to tell "Newfie" jokes more than Polack jokes but they both end up pretty much the same.
Did you hear about the Newfie hockey team that drowned in spring training?
Why to Newfie dogs have short noses?
They keep chasing parked cars.
Gullible isn't in the dictionary.