By the reasoning of some in this thread, no jokes are acceptable. I’m trying to think of a funny joke, and I mean FUNNY, that doesn’t make fun or sport of someone, whether it’s blondes, men, women, wives, priests, Protestants, Catholics, Jews, whites, blacks, Asians, Hispanics, farmers, lawyers, doctors, cops, etc. A little levity is often what’s needed (in addition to faith, prayer) to get us through especially trying times like these. Most of us with good moral character know the difference between a joke and something hurtful, racist, slanderous, etc.
A joke doesn’t necessarily have to make fun of who someone is according to some kind of group they fall into, whether it’s racial/ethnic, by region, or by job. You can also make jokes about what someone does, and it doesn’t necessarily have to reflect on some group of people they belong to.
For example, lots of people made jokes about some of the things Clinton did. It never had anything to do with the fact that he’s from Arkansas, his ethnicity, or anything like that. The jokes made about him had mostly to do with the actions that he, and no one else, was responsible for. Many of those jokes had to do with completely inappropriate subject matter, and I wouldn’t repeat them- nevertheless, you know what I’m talking about. The point is that it was all about what he did, not who he is. Depending on what he did, of course, it may still be sinful and quite inappropriate to talk about it- but it doesn’t have to be.
The same thing kind of happened with Bush, though his southern-ness was frequently a part of the equation. People just enjoyed making fun of how he talked. Cheney is probably a better example of someone who was joked about strictly on the merits of his own actions. For example, he shot a friend in the face on that hunting trip. He also dropped the f-bomb on the Senate floor in a somewhat embarrassing manner. These incidents both came up in numerous jokes about him, but it never had anything to do with race, ethnicity, family background, or anything else having to do with
who he is. It was always about his actions- the simple fact that what he
did was quite worthy of a joke.
Right at the beginning of his administration, jokes about Obama were mostly limited to
who kinds of things, simply because he hadn’t really done anything yet. And all the things about
who he is are the kinds of things you can’t really joke about. Now that he’s done some stuff, though, we have more material to work with. For example, he had two private concerts for close friends and family at the White House within three nights of each other. This thing that he
did- which has nothing to do with
who he is- was worthy of comparison to what a 12-year-old might do if he were president. Another similar comparison was made when he had the Chicago Bulls over to the White House. They gave him a jersey with his name on the back. At the time, they were actually sitting in 9th place in the Eastern Conference. Usually, presidents only have championship teams over, but with Obama…Again, the joke was all about what he did, and you can certainly make these kinds of jokes without “making sport” about who he is.
Personally, I think the best thing about politics is the sheer absurdity of it. There is a lot to say about what’s wrong with various politicians, and it’s not much fun to watch some of that. (I live in Illinois, so I see a lot of stuff that just makes you sad). But when you get a chance, it’s great to have a good laugh at the absurd things people do. For example, Hillary Clinton did something hilarious recently- though it was mostly Joe Biden’s idea. She met with the ambassador from Russia and brought a red button along in order to “reset” America’s relationship with Russia. She wasn’t able to contact anyone who knew Russian very well, though, so instead of saying “reset” on the button, it had a similar-looking word that actually means “overcharge.” This was all explained to her right on camera. It’s a great clip, if you ever get to see it. Actually, here it is.
youtube.com/watch?v=0GdLClHAMB0 Also keep in mind the fact that Putin’s father was killed by a red button…I guess she forgot about that. Anyway, this is funny all because of what she did. She happens to be a woman, but it’s not about that. She happens to be an American, but it’s not about that, either. She made a really funny screw-up, and I’m OK with laughing at that kind of thing. You’ll notice everyone else was laughing when it happened, including Hillary and Sergei, and I don’t think that was wrong at all. I love laughing at the awkwardness and absurdity when it comes up in politics, and this is some of the good stuff. I hope Obama does a few more things that give us a chance to laugh- I know he will; it’s just impossible to be in that kind of position and avoid humorously awkward behavior at all times.
