Jokes Are Not Funny

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  • October 24, 2014 7:46 am at 7:46 am #614008
    catch yourself
    Participant

    I was visiting a certain community recently, and in one of the shuls I was offered Pesicha (although I am not a kid, I was not offended and I happily accepted the honor).

    The gabbai (who is also the self-styled Assistant Rabbi of the Shul) gave me the following instructions:

    “The string on the left opens the curtain, and the string on the right closes it. People on the left are open-minded, and people on the right are closed-minded.”

    When I responded that that is the most closed-minded thing I’ve ever heard, he made a face and walked away.

    I’ve heard many different jokes like this one, which cynically deride various segments of K’lal Yisrael. Why do people continue to make jokes like this? Do they not understand that, even when made in jest, they are hurtful and dangerous? Do they not realize that even joking in such a way destroys the fabric of a community?

    October 24, 2014 11:04 am at 11:04 am #1036962
    TheGoq
    Participant

    Maybe it was a political reference and not a religious one?

    October 24, 2014 4:24 pm at 4:24 pm #1036963
    catch yourself
    Participant

    I suppose that’s a possibility, but it did not seem that way to me.

    Either way, it’s an incredibly closed minded thing to say.

    My main point remains in any case. Too many people make comments such as that one with religious references – on both “sides of the aisle.” Even when the joker means no harm, even when the joker is saying it in a self-deprecating way, there is lasting damage. Often, the damage is irreversible.

    [Also, I just want to note that I did not see SIDI’s “It’s Not A Joke” thread when I started this one – had I seen it, I would simply have posted there.]

    October 24, 2014 4:50 pm at 4:50 pm #1036964
    screwdriverdelight
    Participant

    title should read, “some jokes are not funny”

    October 24, 2014 7:23 pm at 7:23 pm #1036965
    frumnotyeshivish
    Participant

    Catch yourself: I don’t see why it is that close minded. Seems relatively true. Whoever said that open mindedness is an ideal?

    October 26, 2014 12:57 am at 12:57 am #1036967
    👑RebYidd23
    Participant

    Many people think they are so open-minded that they don’t accept anyone or anything they perceive as closed-minded.

    October 26, 2014 1:14 am at 1:14 am #1036968
    ☕️coffee addict
    Participant

    its true rebyidd,

    these people that are open minded are closed minded to the people that are “closed minded”

    October 26, 2014 1:48 am at 1:48 am #1036969
    Bookworm120
    Participant

    catch yourself – Which side was he standing on? 😉

    But yeah, in that circumstance, that seems a bit unfunny. I do not like it when people feel the need to polarize and pigeonhole everybody they interact with. It doesn’t bring us closer together as a nation; it divides us into more and more segments.

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