theGreatKatsby (Polonia) все записи автора
Just one.
Last week, US Senator Arlen Specter (Republican - Pennsylvania) made a couple of what is known in the US as “Polish jokes”--not jokes told by Poles, but rather, jokes told at the expense of Poles. He soon afterwards made a public apology to leaders of the Polish American community in Chicago and Philadelphia.
Cześć everyone, this is my first entry for Polonia, and I apologize that I can not write to all of you in Russian or even in Polish. I can read the two languages with some degree of accuracy, but I cannot write in either confidently. So anyone leaving comments is welcome to write them in Russian or Polish; I can usually read them.
But the reason I have chosen to write to you all today, despite the fact that I can’t write in your language, is because this particular news story (which actually did NOT show up very much in the major American news outlets, not even in Chicago, which has a large, vibrant Polish community.) somehow caught my attention and got on my nerves. It’s not that this is an entirely new phenomenon; quite the contrary, Polish, or Polack, jokes have a long history indeed. But I have not come here to discuss the origins and history of these jokes. What I have come to discuss is the possible repercussions these jokes have had on our lives, as it was the nature of the situation, not the jokes themselves, that was somewhat unsettling to me.
The fact is, we’re not dealing with some stupid kid trying to bother a Polish classmate; we’re not dealing with some washed-up, two-bit comedian or cartoonist looking for a cheap laugh (if you didn’t already hear about the
New Yorker scandal, you can see that cartoon
here and decide for yourselves whether or not this was a Polish joke. But it did cause a bit of a stir at the time it was published.) We’re talking about a very prominent and powerful politician.
And as I wrote earlier, this story did not show up on the nightly news; it did not appear in the major Chicago newspaper, the Chicago Tribune (though a small blurb did appear in the Chicago Sun-Times, see below); there really was no coverage of the story at all. In fact, the first place I heard about it was in the Gazeta Wyborcza article listed below.
It is
that fact, that no one really raised issue with Specter’s actions, which just compounds my frustration. Certainly if Senator Specter had made a black joke, the NAACP would have been all over him, and the press would have had a field day. And something similar probably would have happened had he told a Mexican joke or if a non-Jew had told a Jewish joke (though Specter is himself the son of Russian Jewish immigrants, so
he would probably have been safe in making a couple jokes at the Jewish expense). But instead, no one hears about this incident, Specter issues a short apology, and it’s as if the whole thing never happened. So why is it that no one can make any jokes about any ethnic groups, but it’s somehow still ok, if a little out-dated, to tell jokes about the Polish?
Now, don’t think I’m suggesting we should take to the streets and demand they make it a federal crime to tell Polish jokes, or that I’m suggesting Specter should have been tarred and feathered and ridden out of town on a rail. I’m not. And I can take a joke as well as the next person. In fact, I’ll admit I’ve even laughed to more than a couple Polish jokes. But I find it somehow appalling that this is a prominent US politician telling these jokes in public, and even after one person even indicated that he was taking offense. So, I just wanted to raise this issue that, in the US at least, has been hidden since, well, forever.
I don’t know where all of you come from, nor do I not know where any of you currently live. And I certainly do not know your history or your customs and unspoken rules regarding ethnic jokes in any of your countries. But as a member of Chicago’s Polonia, I want to hear from members of other diasporas. And this seemed the appropriate place to ask for all of your input.
Do you feel that it was inappropriate for Senator Specter to make Polish jokes? If Specter himself had been of Polish origin, would it have been ok for him to tell the same jokes? Have you ever been victim to ethnic slurs or jokes? Why do you think people can get away with telling Polish jokes, but not jokes against other ethnic groups? What are your thoughts on this topic?
Thank you all for your time.
theGreatKatsby
Senator Arlen’s official apology
more on the scandal (in English):
Chicago Sun-Times: Senator sorry for Polish joke
MSNBC: US Senator apologizes for telling Polish jokes
National Public Radio: Sen. Specter Apologizes for Telling Polish Jokes
United Press International: Specter apologizes for Polish jokes
KDKA: Local Reaction Mixed to Senator Arlen Specter‘s Ethnic Jokes
KDKA: Specter Apologizes for Making Ethnic Jokes
more on the scandal (po polsku):
Rzeczpospolita: Senator Specter przeprasza Polaków
Wiadomosci 24: Senator Specter opowiadal dowcipy o Polakach
Wiadomosci 24: Arlen Specter przeprasza za dowcipy o Polakach
Gazeta Wyborcza: Amerykanski senator opowiadal publicznie dowcipy o Polakach
for a list of Polish jokes, see below:
http://www.polishjoke.com/
http://www.lysator.liu.se/jokes/polish.html
http://www.polymath-systems.com/misc/jokes/polish.html
zzznook (Polonia) все записи автора
На Польской границе человек который час пытающийся её пройти из-за волокиты и огромной очереди подходит к таможеннику:
Лех_Кочывонс (Polonia) все записи автора
) подтвердил, что стрiльци объяснялись на русской речи. Жаль, что министр, который хвастается тем, что различает диалекты по-русски не уточнил, с каким диалектом на этот раз имеем дело...Очень быстро, до полуночи, Лех К. вернулся домой. То, что сразу обвинил РФ а потом просил никого не винить в инциденте, говорит само за себя. И как его не любить? Взрослого мальчика, с кучей комплексов, действующего на уровне крепости...Можно ему помочь?
