posted 09 March 2004 02:33 PM
According to the first paragraph in the article, he is Jewish.
Is he therefore self-hating, or does he merely have a lousy sense of humour?
From: Saskatchistan | Registered: Feb 2003
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Michelle
Moderator
Babbler # 560
posted 09 March 2004 02:47 PM
I was wondering that too. After all, ethnic stereotype jokes are often quite acceptable when someone from the ethnic group that the joke is about tells it. How many Jewish comedians have I heard telling Jewish mother-in-law jokes, etc.
Although probably telling a Holocaust-themed joke when you're talking about a Holocaust memorial to people who are either Holocaust survivors or family of survivors wasn't the best display of judgment in the world. There's a difference between joking about cultural stuff and joking about genocide. On the other hand, I tend to be the "whistling in the dark" type myself, and I've laughed at lots of jokes that aren't politically correct. So I don't know.
From: I've got a fever, and the only prescription is more cowbell. | Registered: May 2001
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lagatta
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 2534
posted 09 March 2004 03:34 PM
Personally, I suspect that what happened is that Mr. Eisenman thought that as a Jew, he was part of the "in" group, and could tell such jokes. I suspect his error was that the Berlin Jewish community saw him as an American, albeit Jewish, and thus not someone who had gone through the same wartime experience as they and their families had.
People do joke about the most dire subjects, including genocide. It is a well-known survival strategy.
From: Se non ora, quando? | Registered: Apr 2002
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posted 09 March 2004 10:28 AM
