[bigbangtango] Re: [Paleopsych] Morality

Sun Mar 27 07:30:41 UTC 2005

Dear Garry,
Communist jokes came not only from Russia, but occupied countries as well. A 
good many are about Russians - understandably. Escapees from the paradise 
behind the Iron Curtain published books of such. Thanks for the tip about 
Mark Twain; I need to find an original English copy. I read him in the 
1940's and 50's. Cheers, Val Geist

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "G. Reinhart-Waller" <waluk at earthlink.net>
To: "The new improved paleopsych list" <paleopsych at paleopsych.org>; 
<bigbangtango at yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Saturday, March 26, 2005 9:04 PM
Subject: Re: [bigbangtango] Re: [Paleopsych] Morality

> Hi Vole,
> I find your explanation of Lutherans fascinating, especially the religious 
> thugs.  This is the group I'm intimately familiar with.  Yep, I might even 
> compare them to the KKK....they're really scary and clueless.  Too bad all 
> the jokes from many of our finer folks have gone the way of podunk.  Humor 
> is something I was raised with as a child and something now I never hear. 
> Tis a pity I must say.
> I know lots of Russian jokes but as far as Communism ones, I can't seem to 
> separate the two.  Hmmm,  could it be something that Breznev said? Yes. 
> Yes.  Maybe a tale about landing on the moon?
> Both Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer were politically incorrect in the 1960s so 
> I'm not surprised you found an unwatered down version reading them in 
> German.  Americans hated the word Nigger et. al used by Huck and that 
> started the squabble.
> Wow....your stream of consciousness is wonderful....so knowledgeable about 
> American Literature.  But I must confess......as an English major the only 
> Lit I avoided was Americn.  I found it too undisciplied and too WILD for 
> my tastes.  So be it.
> Humor is a wonderful way to express inner feelings only my German inlaws 
> haven't seen the light.
> Take care,
> Gerry
>
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> Val Geist wrote:
>
>> Now, now Garry, not all the Lutherans I know are big hugs. Some are 
>> religious thugs, extremists every bit as pathetic and pitiful as 
>> religious thugs with other labels. However, the worst I only met on this 
>> continent, where I first became aware of the Lutheran split into two 
>> factions, one truly mindless in its religious zeal. They are as 
>> representative of Germans as the Klu Klux Clan is of Americans. A 
>> collection of pitiful creatures both and neither of great interest to me. 
>> And, yes, the protestant north of Germany does abound in less humor than 
>> the Catholic south, where I have most of my contacts, but they do share 
>> historically a rich ethnic humor just the same. But again, humor is a 
>> wonderful human attribute that transcends ethnicity despite a rich sample 
>> of Jewish jokes, Polish Jokes, Newfie Jokes....Come to think of it what I 
>> will miss about Communism is the loss of Communist jokes, you know the 25 
>> year, 10 year, 5 year varieties (if you got caught telling the first 
>> type: 25 years in jail! ...the second: 10 years in jail.. etc). Nazi and 
>> Communist jokes both debunk authority in a juicy fashion, and though I 
>> appreciate both, its nice to know that they will be appreciated less and 
>> less as time goes on. I am a great fan of Mark Twain (his debunking of 
>> the German language is truly priceless, almost as good as his debunking 
>> of the writing style of James Fennimore Cooper). I read and re-read - in 
>> German translation - Tom Sawyer about 12 times, and got a shock reading 
>> it in English: the German translation was funnier! My heroes in humor 
>> transcend nationality and I am a fan of all of it. We do not remember 
>> heads of states as humorous, but Germany had one, Fredrik the Great, a 
>> king who wrote and conversed in French, who wrote 32 books, crossed 
>> swords with Voltaire, wrote classical music good enough to be honored by 
>> the Toronto symphony with a night of his compositions, adored by Napoleon 
>> for his military skills, but remembered best of all for his humor. In the 
>> Seven Years War, he first fought at Rossbach against the French and 
>> defeated them. A contingent of French officers stood under guard in the 
>> evening, clearly not in the best of mood. A lonely horseman approached 
>> them, and they recognized the king who had defeated them. Fredrick 
>> halted, tipped his hat to the French officers and a hush fell over the 
>> dejected crowd. "Gentlemen" the king said. "I was expecting you. But not 
>> so many and not so soon". At war with France, and yet he was the rage in 
>> Paris! War humor? Maudlin! The humor of this wonderful American, then a 
>> youngster marching with Patton's army, moves me to tears. And it moved 
>> Patton to white rage who wanted Maudlin court-martialed for his cartoons. 
>> This young man saw not the enemy as the evil, but war itself within which 
>> friend and foe were caught helplessly, and he had - ongoing! - the 
>> courage to portray it as such. The great Will Rogers once said in his 
>> cow-boy humor that at all times there is somebody somewhere who does in 
>> dead earnest what brings smiles to the faces of the rest of us. Maudlin 
>> must have been listening, for he debunked his country's war 
>> propaganda....despite his superior's rage! That's what heroism is all 
>> about. That kind of humor could not thrive on the other side, alas, but 
>> it was present. Germany has a rich history in humor going back to 
>> medieval times: Till Eulenspiegel, Simplizius Simplizissimus, Baron von 
>> Munchhausen and there is no shortage in the recent. "The Captain of 
>> Koperick" a true story debunking the Kaiser's military culture, set as a 
>> play by Carl Zuckmayer, a WW I hero decorated with the highest German 
>> military honor, the Kaiser's "Pour le Merit", a Jew who had to flee 
>> Germany and spent the war in the USA. Humor and tears are not far apart. 
>> And it's not because you laugh till you are in tears! After all, the 
>> court jester was valued because only he could say the truth to the king! 
>> "Weisspferdl" (little white horse) was a wartime humorist on stage in 
>> Munich. He appeared one night on stage with three pigs: a boar, a sow and 
>> a piglet. "/Ladies and Gentlemen, may I introduce to you the Family Mann! 
>> This is Boy Mann, this is Frau Mann, and this/" and he pointed to the 
>> big, fat boar " /*is Hermann*/!". he was promptly hauled off to jail for 
>> insulting Hermann Goering. After his jail time he appeared on stage. In 
>> trot the three pigs - a turmoil broke out in the audience! "/Ladies and 
>> Gentlemen, whom have I brought with me?/" The audience roared "/Die 
>> Familie Mann/". Quieting the turmoil he shouted "/No, No/. /This is not 
>> the Family Mann. These are merely pigs, pigs and nothing else. An this/" 
>> and her pointed to the boar" is /the goddmned fat hog I sat three days in 
>> jail for/!". Weisspferdl is dead now, but the citizen of Munich erected a 
>> small stature of him and he is well remembered. And Germany is a culture 
>> that has suffered a lot of suppressed truths, and humor is one way to let 
>> it out. Sorry that you had such run in with Lutheran sour pusses. Cheers, 
>> Val Geist
>>  ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "G. Reinhart-Waller" <waluk at earthlink.net 
>> <mailto:waluk at earthlink.net>>
>> To: "The new improved paleopsych list" <paleopsych at paleopsych.org 
>> <mailto:paleopsych at paleopsych.org>>
>> Sent: Friday, March 25, 2005 8:25 PM
>> Subject: Re: [bigbangtango] Re: [Paleopsych] Morality
>>
>> > How interesting that all the Lutherans you've known give hugs.  I've
>> > known quite a few (Germanic through and through) and most of them
>> barely
>> > smile.  Yet, to each his own.
>> > Sadat was assassinated.....guess there were a few who didn't connect
>> > with his message.  Sad though about his death.  Apparently the timing
>> > then was incorrect to denounce Iranian ayatollahs.  I even doubt if
>> > timing would now be correct.
>> > Why would Luther or anyone be self-righteous towards the poor....that's
>> > like claiming to be emperor of ice cream.  Luther could not relate to
>> > poverty.
>> > The German welfare state will be the downfall of the country.....what
>> > with worker expectations of high salary, long vacations, pre-paid
>> > benefits, etc. the country can no longer sustain its workers.
>> >
>> > Regards,
>> > Gerry Reinhart-Waller
>> >
>>
>
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