Granddad telling kids Irish jokes

[SulisMum]

DS (aged 9) told me an Irish joke last night which he had got from his granddad. I gave him a little talk about how it wasn't nice to make jokes about different nationalities and suggested he didn't repeat it - but only after I'd laughed about it with him. (I actually laughed involuntarily as it was a reasonably funny joke).

DS's response was that his granddad had also told him a joke in which the Englishman was made to look silly.

Questions for the MN jury?

How would you deal with your DC telling jokes based on national stereotypes?
Should I tell my dad not to furnish DS with more similar Englishman/Scotsman/Irishman jokes?
Should I be flamed for laughing?

I agree with arses about the type of humour that has a grain of truth in them.

Scots are canny (not tight , note) with their money for example. Aberdonians however, are tight. The Scots will often laugh most and hardest at themselves.

The best humour tends to be observational. Like Billy Connolly talking about the Queen thinking that the world smells of fresh paint becasue everywehre she goes gets a lick of paint just before she arrives.

"confound the offence by re-telling it"

I haven't retold the joke, but I don't mind doing so...

*prettybird" I so agree about the observational humour.

So what are you going to say to your father op. Do tell??

Not sure tbh curry. My relationship with him has been problematical as there are some things we don't agree on and our relationship has been strained over the last couple of years (including when I have objected to the odd "non PC" comment).

That's partly why I put it to the MN jury. Interesting the way this thread has turned.

Some nationality jokes are whimsical or have an affectionate joshing factor if not overdone.

If you joke about a friend being 'tight' it may be done in an affectionate way. Would they be rolling in the isles if you were calling them stupid?

I think that CurryFreak needs to get some perspective.

I laughed at a paedophilia joke the other week. I suppose CF thinks I am now complicit in paedophilia rather than appreciating some good wordplay?

How about rape cupcake, female genital mutilation maybe disabled people,overweight kids ,- cos it's all just a laugh isint it!
Anything else grab your fancy to joke about?

Humour is a big thing in our family, very very important to us. But with the exception of one uncle, we manage to get through life having a laugh but without making it at the expense of nationalities, races or any of the things curryfreak mentions. Laughing at Irish jokes etc is easy and lazy, like mother in law jokes, requires no thought from anyone, just wheel out the same old thing year after year.

Yeah, I'll laugh at anything if it's funny. My mum's friend with thalidomide has a great line in "flid" jokes. If it's funny, I'll laugh.

Sorry if that doesn't suit you. Actually, I'm not sorry. I couldn't give a stuff.

I laughed at a joke about a leper the other day. Why? Because it was funny.

Jokes are meant to make you laugh.

Finding comedy in a taboo subject doesn't make you a bad person.

Analysing the hell out of every gag and having a pre-approved list of what people can and can't find amusing does rather defeat the point of comedy.

"How about rape cupcake, female genital mutilation maybe disabled people,overweight kids ,- cos it's all just a laugh isint it!"

But it can all be relative out of that group I've laughed at jokes based on 3 of those things (can't remember ever hearing a genital mutilation joke). I took the jokes in the way they were intended, they based on those things or satirising the public opinion/tabboo nature of the subjects for shock value rather than those things being inherently funny.

Cupcakes, your right about perspective, I was told a "Pope joke" which if disected was a bit off but I found it very funny and have repeated it to others, no one has objected so far.

Can anyone think of a joke that is not at the expense of someone else?

Not a funny one

Cupcakes you sound like a sneery horrible oik. Glad i dont know ya in rl.

Curryfreak must never laugh at anything because all comedy ridicules to some degree or another.

It is up to the individual to decide to which degree their humour extends. It's a bit stupid to suggest that none of us should find any humour in "tasteless" jokes. Personally, I take more offence to jokes that are lazy and poorly thought-out. The reason I don't laugh at irish/english/scottishman jokes is because they are hacknied and worn. It's not because I am offended by the subject. It is for me to decide what I am offended by, not anyone else.

If anyone knows a good joke about genital mutiliation please PM it to me though

Curryfreak - YOU, on the other hand, sound like a right larf...

I never find 'jokes that try to belittle or dehumanise people or other races funny. If you do then you're an idiot!

How about a Pope one

The Pope is being interviewed by an Italian lifestyle magazine and has been discussing what he wears when not in "uniform" he mentions a few famous fashion brands.

The interviewer asks him "do you use any grooming products" to which he replies normally a bag of sweets.

Curryfreak, you sound like a prissy little tit who could suck the joy out of anything. If I knew you irl, I'd avoid you like the plague. I imagine that most people do.

Humour us then, Curryfreak.

Which, if any, comedy programmes would you watch?

Laugh at what is funny by all means don't we all? Just don't condone jokes to children that perpetuate negative stereotypes. Kids will not get the nuances of goodnatured jostling between neighbouring nations. Not sure anglo irish relations are at that stage yet tbh. It wears really thin when adults do it after a while. Although banter can be really funny in the right context. A colleague made areally funny pisstaky joke about the Irish to me last week but then another asshole took it one step further and made it into a tasteless borderline insult. If in doubt just don't go there.

Never heard that one before. what an original.

Ta ra cupcakes, you're obviously a nasty little rascist. Wont waste another second of my time on the likes of you.