[ExI] jewish humor, was the anti-Jews

[spike]

> ...On Behalf Of MB
> Subject: Re: [ExI] the anti-Jews
> 
> > Repeating
> > Jewish jokes, on the other hand, run you the risk of being 
> accused of 
> > being anti-Jewish.
> 
> Then a book such as "Asimov Laughs Last" is unusual?  Or is 
> it ok because Asimov was, himself, of Jewish background?
> 

Asimov's two humor works, "Asimov's Treasury of Humor" and "Asimov Laughs
Again" are two of the funniest books I have ever read.  They are full of
excellent Jewish humor, but the interesting part is Asimov intersperses the
jokes with insightful commentary attempting to analyze *why* the jokes are
funny.  Perhaps we just share a similar sense of humor.  At a Foresight
Institute schmooze, Chris Peterson managed to find a geek comedian who did a
whole show of mostly ridiculing geeks, mixed with a little ridicule of
hipsters.  The crowd ate it up, and I nearly wet my diapers.  If one has
ever heard a gay comedian riff a string of gay jokes or some of Richard
Pryor's earlier stuff, one must conclude that being [fill in the blank] is
definitely a license to make fun of [fill in the blank].

I will give one example from page 20 of Asimov Laughs Again, a condensed
version:

A New Yorker is crossing a bridge and sees another man about to jump, asks
why, the jumper says "It is so unfair.  I designed this beautiful bridge you
are standing on, but do the people point at me and say 'There goes Jacob,
the famous bridgebuilder'?  NO!  And I helped draw up the blueprints of half
the skyscrapers you see there, but do the people say 'There goes Jacob, the
great architect'?  NO!  But I get caught with just ONE LITTLE COCK in my
mouth, and they all point and say..."

Made ya laugh, didn't it?  Why?

spike