An article I read today suggests that nothing should be off limits, what do you think?

'Say what you like about servicemen amputees from Iraq and Afghanistan..." You'll know the joke by now,

I haven't actually heard the joke personally, but I would suggest reservedly, until I have, that this should be off limits.

Have we not read Swift on solving Ireland's economic problems by eating the babies of the poor? How funny's that? Very. Though at the time it might not have seemed so to the Irish poor in question.

Swift-A modest Proposal

More satire than fun, I would suggest, because it ain't fun.

"How many Jews can you fit into a Volkswagen Beetle? A thousand: two in the front, two in the back, nine hundred and ninety-six in the ashtray."

Link

Interesting link Moss. I think the one word that he used 'Context' is the most important. Though his point about who's telling the joke also holds true. If a serviceman cracked the Jimmy Carr joke would it be received differently? I also think that some people go out of their way to be offensive, to grab the headlines, for self-satisfaction, whatever it is. I find it more offensive when someone says something offensive and pretends that it's not - like the BNP leader talking <deleted> and trying to present it as well thought through political comment.

I would say that almost nothing is off limits.

But then, maybe I've fallen into the trap of being offended at some things and thus because it doesn't fit into my sense of humour, I judge it off limits.

Are there some things that offend everybody. Is there unanimity in feeling for some things, regardless of the varied senses of humour? Are those the subjects to be deemed off limits?

Whether you are a patriot American or staunch Afghan Islamist, an anti-semite or a holocaust survivor, a blonde, a fat chick, a black, a Mexican, Irish,...... surely some things are off limits to all?

Does it merely boil down to sense of humour?

It's true that alot depends on the delivery, who is telling the joke, and who the audience is, nonetheless...I know a few "jokes" that I can not imagine anybody not being offended by.

It's when the butt of the joke is not a source of amusement for anybody, except social outcasts.

For example, it's ok to make paedophiles the butt, but not ok to make paedophile victims the butt of a joke.

Paedophiles are despised, but who on this earth feels anything but pity for the victim?

"What's so good about having sex with little girls? You can turn them over and pretend they're little boys."

I've seen people groan, but with a smile, at this. Nobody guffaws.

Is the victim or the paedophile the butt here? Or neither?

Is it the fact of the offense caused that is amusing? Are the people that groan and smile smiling because they recognise that they are offended by this collection of mere words?

What is a sense of humour and where does it come from?

As the article said, the jews in the ashtray joke was made by an anti-semite, and that made it ok because anti semites, although many may oppose their view, exist in society without being outcast: they are entitled to their view. Paedophiles are not entitled to their practices and are outcast.

Why do we laugh at what we laugh at?

Is what we laugh at a window to the soul? (I recall the "Judging People" thread).

A woman goes into a bar and orders 10 quadruple vodkas. She skulls them all in 10 minutes and promptly falls asleep at the bar. Closing time comes and the barman offers his little group of late-stayers a "go" for free. They spread her out and all have sex with her, looked in her handbag for her address, put her in a taxi and sent her off.

The next night, the woman returns and again orders 10 quadruple vodkas. At closing time, a repeat of the previous night ensues.

Word spreads, and when the woman comes in the third night, there are about 20 late-stayers.

This goes on for a week.

Then she comes into the bar, and before she can ask for her drinks, the barman says, "I know! 10 quadruple vodkas!".

"No", she says, "I'll have 10 quadruple gins, please. Vodka makes my <deleted> sore".

If delivered properly, many find this funny. I told it to a girl I know, and she was offended. I asked her why and she said because I'm laughing at rape.

It's true that rape is a part of the story, but I'm not laughing at rape, in fact I'd never considered the rape aspect.....it's the stupid woman with a sore <deleted> from too much vodka that's funny.

Fraught with danger.

I'll forgive a lot in a joke if it's genuinely funny but the quality of comedy seems to have declined dramatically these days. Many new age comedians seem to deliberately set out to offend rather than amuse.

Alf Garnett/Warren Mitchell made racist comments but was funny because he came across as such an ignorant prat.

Could a be a case of the teller rather than the tale.

I looked up Jimmy Carr and I did like this one. (One of the few I did).

There was one time where I failed to perform sexually. My wife said to me "oh don't worry, it happens to a lot of guys". Ok, there are two things wrong with that. First of all who are these other guys?, and second of all if it's happening to more than one of us, don't you think it could be YOUR fault?

The idea that nothing is off limits is, IMO, the result of a culture and society that respects nothing. So, therefor anything is up for a joke. Come to a country like Thailand, where, for some things, there is great respect, and you will find that there are things that are off limits.

What does this say about our culture/society that it is considered acceptable to have no respect for anything whatsoever?

I leave the answer to the rest of you. I have a head cold and am an awful, miserable sick person, so my opinions right now probably would not necessarily reflect what I would think when I don't feel like crap.

Though his point about who's telling the joke also holds true. If a serviceman cracked the Jimmy Carr joke would it be received differently?

Interesting S', interesting.

Do you remember the black comedian Charlie Williams, made a living out of stand up comedy and a part of that act was making fun of his black ancestry. It was funny because he was black, would I have laughed if Bernard Manning had said it, I don't think so, I am not quite sure what that says about me really.

I also remember Bill Clinton's quote of the Peace Process,

"And every time they do it they are like a couple of drunks walking out of a bar for the last time.

"When they reach the swing doors they turn right around and go back in and say 'I just can't quite get there'."

He couldn't get away with it because he was not Irish, however much he tried, yet if an Irish politician had said it, they would have all nodded their heads, and responded, 'Aye, that's the way of it'.

I find it more offensive when someone says something offensive and pretends that it's not - like the BNP leader talking <deleted> and trying to present it as well thought through political comment.

I don't find that offensive, he doesn't actually think it's racist, it is his belief and to be honest it is his political comment and I really don't think he is pretending, the fact that we find his beliefs offensive is another matter, but his right to say them I don't.

What he is pretending about is his views on Homosexuality, did you know he had a gay relationship with the founder of the BNP, Sexton.

I would say that almost nothing is off limits....

Interesting link Moss. I think the one word that he used 'Context' is the most important...

I'd also like to think almost nothing is off limits. Sometimes the closer to the limit the funnier it can be. That doesn't mean the same as any joke any time any place, though.

"Context" is definitely important.

As is "intent" - I always believe the intent behind an action is more important than the action itself - unfortunately many people tend to judge others on their actions rather than their intent.

......."Context" is definitely important.

As is "intent" - I always believe the intent behind an action is more important than the action itself - unfortunately many people tend to judge others on their actions rather than their intent.

I agree. Intend to offend = not funny. Point out a foible that is funny = funny.

Perhaps in this day of PCedness, people are letting themselves get thin-skinned.

When is a joke not a joke?

I'm coming around to a position of support for a lot of PC.

The anti-PCers are becoming as much a pain in the arse as the people they originally set out to ridicule.

Whatever happened to plain good manners and concern for other people's feelings.

And another thing....

Why are the anti-PC crowd less strident in their support for racist jokes around a group of black American football players than they are when they have the butt of the joke outnumbered?

As with most things, moderation seems to be the best level.

A little commonsense goes a long way as well.

As with most things, moderation seems to be the best level.

I like the saying:

Everything in moderation. Including moderation.

A little commonsense goes a long way as well.

& common sense isnt that common.

A joke is made to spread a little joy and humour. If it instantly offends, it is not a joke but an insult. Chioce of audience the key factor in the decision.

A joke is made to spread a little joy and humour. If it instantly offends, it is not a joke but an insult. Chioce of audience the key factor in the decision.

I think you nailed it. It depends on who recieves the words, not what the words are....therefore, NOTHING is off-limits as a subject for a joke, but some audiences may be.

I'm not sure I'd want to talk to an audience who liked pedo jokes either.

Me neither.....but some would.

From Reuters:

The world's oldest recorded joke has been traced back to 1900 BC and suggests that toilet humour was as popular with the ancients as it is today.

It is a saying of the Sumerians, who lived in what is now southern Iraq and goes: "Something which has never occurred since time immemorial; a young woman did not fart in her husband's lap."

It heads the world's oldest top 10 joke list published by the University of Wolverhampton on Thursday.

A 1600 BC gag about a pharaoh, said to be King Snofru, comes second -- "How do you entertain a bored pharaoh? You sail a boatload of young women dressed only in fishing nets down the Nile and urge the pharaoh to go catch a fish."

The oldest British joke dates back to the 10th Century and reveals the bawdy face of the Anglo-Saxons -- "What hangs at a man's thigh and wants to poke the hole that it's often poked before? Answer: A key."

"Jokes have varied over the years, with some taking the question and answer format while others are witty proverbs or riddles," said the report's writer Dr Paul McDonald, senior lecturer at the university.

"What they all share however, is a willingness to deal with taboos and a degree of rebellion.

---------------------------------------------

To be a joke it needs (?) to offend someone.

For a joke not to offend (rebel) and not touch taboos I doubt it would be funny?

Politically Correct Little Red Riding Hood

There once was a young person named Little Red Riding Hood who lived on the edge of a large forest full of endangered owls and rare plants that would probably provide a cure for cancer if only someone took the time to study them.

Red Riding Hood lived with a nurture giver whom she sometimes referred to as "mother", although she didn't mean to imply by this term that she would have thought less of the person if a close biological link did not in fact exist.

Nor did she intend to denigrate the equal value of nontraditional households, although she was sorry if this was the impression conveyed.

One day her mother asked her to take a basket of organically grown fruit and mineral water to her grandmother's house.

"But mother, won't this be stealing work from the unionized people who have struggled for years to earn the right to carry all packages between various people in the woods?"

Red Riding Hood's mother assured her that she had called the union boss and gotten a special compassionate mission exemption form.

"But mother, aren't you oppressing me by ordering me to do this?"

Red Riding Hood's mother pointed out that it was impossible for womyn to oppress each other, since all womyn were equally oppressed until all womyn were free.

"But mother, then shouldn't you have my brother carry the basket, since he's an oppressor, and should learn what it's like to be oppressed?"

And Red Riding Hood's mother explained that her brother was attending a special rally for animal rights, and besides, this wasn't stereotypical womyn's work, but an empowering deed that would help engender a feeling of community.

"But won't I be oppressing Grandma, by implying that she's sick and hence unable to independently further her own selfhood?"

But Red Riding Hood's mother explained that her grandmother wasn't actually sick or incapacitated or mentally handicapped in any way, although that was not to imply that any of these conditions were inferior to what some people called "health".

Thus Red Riding Hood felt that she could get behind the idea of delivering the basket to her grandmother, and so she set off.

Many people believed that the forest was a foreboding and dangerous place, but Red Riding Hood knew that this was an irrational fear based on cultural paradigms instilled by a patriarchal society that regarded the natural world as an exploitable resource, and hence believed that natural predators were in fact intolerable competitors.

Other people avoided the woods for fear of thieves and deviants, but Red Riding Hood felt that in a truly classless society all marginalized peoples would be able to "come out" of the woods and be accepted as valid lifestyle role models.

On her way to Grandma's house, Red Riding Hood passed a woodchopper, and wandered off the path, in order to examine some flowers.

She was startled to find herself standing before a Wolf, who asked her what was in her basket.

Red Riding Hood's teacher had warned her never to talk to strangers, but she was confident in taking control of her own budding sexuality, and chose to dialogue with the Wolf.

She replied, "I am taking my Grandmother some healthful snacks in a gesture of solidarity."

The Wolf said, "You know, my dear, it isn't safe for a little girl to walk through these woods alone."

Red Riding Hood said, "I find your sexist remark offensive in the extreme, but I will ignore it because of your traditional status as an outcast from society, the stress of which has caused you to develop an alternative and yet entirely valid worldview. Now, if you'll excuse me, I would prefer to be on my way."

Red Riding Hood returned to the main path, and proceeded towards her Grandmother's house.

But because his status outside society had freed him from slavish adherence to linear, Western-style thought, the Wolf knew of a quicker route to Grandma's house.

He burst into the house and ate Grandma, a course of action affirmative of his nature as a predator.

Then, unhampered by rigid, traditionalist gender role notions, he put on Grandma's nightclothes, crawled under the bedclothes, and awaited developments.

Red Riding Hood entered the cottage and said,

"Grandma, I have brought you some cruelty free snacks to salute you in your role of wise and nurturing matriarch."

The Wolf said softly "Come closer, child, so that I might see you."

Red Riding Hood said, "Goddess! Grandma, what big eyes you have!"

"You forget that I am optically challenged."

"And Grandma, what an enormous, what a fine nose you have."

"Naturally, I could have had it fixed to help my acting career, but I didn't give in to such societal pressures, my child."

"And Grandma, what very big, sharp teeth you have!"

The Wolf could not take any more of these specist slurs, and, in a reaction appropriate for his accustomed milieu, he leaped out of bed, grabbed Little Red Riding Hood, and opened his jaws so wide that she could see her poor Grandmother cowering in his belly.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" Red Riding Hood bravely shouted. "You must request my permission before proceeding to a new level of intimacy!"

The Wolf was so startled by this statement that he loosened his grasp on her.

At the same time, the woodchopper burst into the cottage, brandishing an ax.

"Hands off!" cried the woodchopper.

"And what do you think you're doing?" cried Little Red Riding Hood. "If I let you help me now, I would be expressing a lack of confidence in my own abilities, which would lead to poor self esteem and lower achievement scores on college entrance exams."

"Last chance, sister! Get your hands off that endangered species! This is an FBI sting!" screamed the woodchopper, and when Little Red Riding Hood nonetheless made a sudden motion, he sliced off her head.

"Thank goodness you got here in time," said the Wolf. "The brat and her grandmother lured me in here. I thought I was a goner."

"No, I think I'm the real victim, here," said the woodchopper. "I've been dealing with my anger ever since I saw her picking those protected flowers earlier. And now I'm going to have such a trauma. Do you have any aspirin?"

"Sure," said the Wolf.

"Thanks."

"I feel your pain," said the Wolf, and he patted the woodchopper on his firm, well padded back, gave a little belch, and said "Do you have any Maalox?"

I think you have proven a point. It does not HAVE to offend to be funny. Or to be more accurate; it doesn't have to offend to provide humour.

There is humour in the overly-PCedness, which would not even offend the PCers.....I think.

I think you have proven a point. It does not HAVE to offend to be funny. Or to be more accurate; it doesn't have to offend to provide humour.

But that type is OK in small doses. Too much of it gets a bit dull. It was quite humourous though.

There is humour in the overly-PCedness, which would not even offend the PCers.....I think.

They would probably be offended if they become the sole butt of all jokes.

Some one needs to think up some good jokes about those who carry on about PC to the point of absurdity.

Leave it with me.

Have you heard the one about the English man, the Scotts man and the PC man....No, maybe not

A joke is made to spread a little joy and humour. If it instantly offends, it is not a joke but an insult. Chioce of audience the key factor in the decision.

I think you nailed it. It depends on who recieves the words, not what the words are....therefore, NOTHING is off-limits as a subject for a joke, but some audiences may be.

I don't like jokes about 'exploding anus's' to me the whole idea of it is a little off putting. I just thought I should mention that.

A joke is made to spread a little joy and humour. If it instantly offends, it is not a joke but an insult. Chioce of audience the key factor in the decision.

I think you nailed it. It depends on who recieves the words, not what the words are....therefore, NOTHING is off-limits as a subject for a joke, but some audiences may be.

I don't like jokes about 'exploding anus's' to me the whole idea of it is a little off putting. I just thought I should mention that.

Yes, ND, we have established that jokes that are too close to one's own reality are not funny to oneself.

I promise I will not repeat any jokes about exploding anuses if you are likely to hear it.

I hope you have healed properly and that there was no permanant damage.

Have you heard the one about the English man, the Scotts man and the PC man....No, maybe not

That's the one where they walk into a bar?

It did an 'half hurt

Ahhh haha...and hence the black eyes

A joke is made to spread a little joy and humour. If it instantly offends, it is not a joke but an insult. Chioce of audience the key factor in the decision.

I think you nailed it. It depends on who recieves the words, not what the words are....therefore, NOTHING is off-limits as a subject for a joke, but some audiences may be.

I don't like jokes about 'exploding anus's' to me the whole idea of it is a little off putting. I just thought I should mention that.

Yes, ND, we have established that jokes that are too close to one's own reality are not funny to oneself.

I promise I will not repeat any jokes about exploding anuses if you are likely to hear it.

I hope you have healed properly and that there was no permanant damage.

Actually my whole issue with the matter came about after hearing what happened to you. Perhaps you havent shared that story with the thai visa bedlam audience. sorry.

Not me...it was another chap....you might say it completely rectum.