Joke at my expense at networking event

[Reubensway]

I am self employed and attend various business/network events, this morning I went to one I hadn’t attended before but had heard positive things about.

There was about 25/30 people there, and it is essentially ‘chaired’ by one man. After I have my presentation about my business, he made a comment about where I am from (Liverpool). He said that anyone with their purses or wallets in front of them on the table should hide them immediately, to some muffled laughter from a few others.

Am I being unreasonable to expect professional standards as opposed to stereotypical jokes? I won’t return to this particular meeting.

Calm down, calm down.

Oh crikey that will trigger a few.

As you can probably guess from my username, I have a very strong Black Country accent, and I’ve also had to put up with all the offensive thick/poor/lazy stereotypes. The worst was a supposed superior of mine at work a few years ago, who would even go to great lengths of seeking out and then reading out statistics to highlight how deprived and educationally lagging the area I’m from is (which is true, but his glee was disgusting). The only advantage I had here was playing the long game - when he mentioned the struggles his son was going through getting into university, I would chime in with: “Tell me about it, my interviews for Oxford were really tough!”, that sort of thing - but it’s so much harder when you’ve only just met people. Of course, the temptation is to bite back with a scathing comment, but I often find “I beg your pardon?” works really well. It really puts them on the spot. PS horrible bloke at work was from Birmingham.

I would of asked where he came from. Then commented. Oh gosh every man who lives there are known for small dicks. And looking at you. Yep it's correct 👍

That witty comment has already been made just after the OP started the thread. It was largely ignored then deleted I think.

He's a dick. Dont have anything to do with him in future.

That's strange because it's a friendly city. I worked there for many years and as an "outsider" and Mancunian to boot, was made to feel welcome. Maybe you give off unfriendly vibes.

OMG Liverpudlians stereotyped as thieves!! In what world was this ever acceptable?

@Pinkbus Liverpool is incredibly welcoming and friendly, famous the world over.
MN is stuffed to the brim with bigots who despise Northerners and working class white people so thats probably your issue.

Had this exact experience. Snr manager addressing a large conference with this exact joke about himsel.

I grabbed him in the break and asked him if he was aware that his comments were reinforcing negative stereotypes.

After the break he apologised to the audience and reflected that Liverpudlians had been the butt of this joke for years and on reflection, he realised he was perpetuating it.

That is appalling. Report this guy or he’ll just carry on being an unprofessional tw@t.

I’m sorry you experienced this and no one in the room called him out.

Eh eh?? Calm down lov!

sorry, couldn’t resist. What an unprofessional dickhead. You ought to email a complaint

This highlights the real issue with a lot of this "banter" - not necessarily offensive, just really really boring, repetitive and unimaginative. I've lost count of the number of times I've desperately tried to muster up a fake laugh for the benefit of people like this.
"Ooooh what's up, don't like a bit of a laugh?"
Yes I do, it's just that you're extremely fucking dull.

In the 1980's, when Liverpool became poverty striken during Thatcher's managed decline. It was also part of the Hillsborough lies, football fans supposedly stealing from the dead and dying.

Yes, I can understand. I’m Scottish and the Scots have put up with stereotypes for years. Drunks, penny pinching, unemployed wasters, all obese and live on deep fried mars bars to name a few. It doesn’t bother me in the slightest on a social level, and most Scots can laugh at it as well.

If I had just done a professional presentation and the chair told people they better get to the bar before me or it will be closed, I would not have been amused. It is unacceptable in a professional environment. Susanna Reid and her crew also annoyed me with their discussion of the Scottish bank holiday (which very few of us will actually get) which then led to insinuations that it was simply for drink.

Typical arsehole. Probably loves reform.

Joke? You do realise that the whole ‘scousers being thieves’ didn’t originate from but was further pushed by the Sun (scum) newspaper after they printed on the front page of their paper that scousers were stealing from dead bodies? And contributed to the deaths? Then the victims families had to protest for years for acknowledgment and apologies?
Not really funny when you’re from an area where everyone knew at least a few people who were not only directly affected by the tragedy that day but then were further affected by false allegations afterwards.
If that’s funny to you then you have a strange sense of humour.

You are right it is common.Cardinal Vincent Nicholls Archbishop Emeritus of Westminster had the same joke told about him being from Liverpool and better to hide your car keys. This was at my daughter’s first communion. As I recall it everyone laughed. Nobody really believes it!

This post immediately made me think of the Parable of the Two Travellers. The moral of the story being that we see others through the filter of our own assumptions, bias and beliefs and our own behaviour often dictates what we receive from others.

You’ve given an explanation as to why you think people from Liverpool aren’t tolerant of being a punchline.

I think you have a point. But you’ve essentially pointed out that I’m right and justified the reason.

Having had no such relatively recent collective trauma it is hard for me to decide whether being so protective over a stereotype in attempted light hearted banter is proportionate.

My instinct is not, but if you feel differently, you cannot then joke about dirty mancs, southern softies, inbred Norfolk residents, sheep shagging Welsh and deep frying scrouges north of the border. Not that you do personally, but I sense a double standard around this in general terms.

I really don’t think you’re right at all. What makes you think that from what I’ve said?

I absolutely would never make a derogatory comment about anyone based on where they’re from/live. I save all my derogatory thoughts and remarks for paedofiles, abusers and rapists.

@Impartialopinions talking of the terrible events at Hillsborough and the lies told by the press in the aftermath. You used this to explain why you felt the phenomena I hypothesised existed. It doesn't deny that Scousers are uniquely offended. I think it is valid point.

I am glad to hear of your piety when it comes to other part of the country. I'm not talking of you specifically.

Oh this tired old nonsense. ‘They can’t take a joke’ has to be only second in line to ‘they’re all car thieves’. Why on earth should anyone tolerate offensive stereotypes, especially in a professional setting?

Exactly. And the thing is- no-one ever has heard the stupid joke for the first time. You have heard it for the multiple of hundreds of times- especially from people who think they are SO hilarious.

It's inappropriate in a professional setting. I said before I'm Australian and tired of jokes of how we are all racist and descended from convicts so are thieves. I've heard it in my own workplace. It's so - well- dumb. And people who say those things I suspect are lacking something essential cognitively. Just this past weekend (granted, in a social setting) the new boyfriend of a friend of mine (late 50s) said to me with surprise 'I'm so surprised to like you- usually I find Australians lack culture and they have that AWFUL accent'. Like- thanks. He's from a part of the UK where I find the accent a little grating but I'd never be so fucking rude to comment.

Bet he wouldn’t have said that if you were a man either.