Delicious LiveJournal Links for 5-4-2010

[andrewducker]

• The results of the xkcd Colour Survey
  (tags: xkcd colour statistics funny survey)
• The Nordic approach to financing the welfare state
  (tags: socialism government economics politics taxes)
• What Would Don Draper Do?
  (tags: madmen funny television)
• Frankie Boyle defends his humour and calls the BBC cowards
  (tags: bbc comedy speech)
• Discovery of genes associated with autistic traits, empathy, and Asperger syndrome.
  (tags: genetics personality aspergers autism empathy)
• Ten reasons why, if you’re considering voting Labour, you should think again
  (tags: labour politics uk)

Comments

[usmu.livejournal.com]

He might, but that still doesn't excuse his joke. He's right in calling attention to the problem, but the way he does is wrong. If being Jewish was the sole part of it, he would be right. It's not so it's racial stereotyping, which makes him wrong.

I can't understand why Jeff Dunham is so hugely popular for the same reason. His material consists mostly of racial stereotyping and is rather offensive because of it.

[andrewducker]

I didn't see any racial stereotyping. He didn't say "The jews are like..." or "How very Jewish to.." He said that they were being attacked by angry Jews. And he's right. They are. There's no general statement that all jews are involved, or that it's a general Jewish trait, just a statement that they are being attacked by angry Jewish people. Which is factually accurate.

[usmu.livejournal.com]

I don't have a problem with his views on this problem. I do have a problem with his jokes. His explanation comes after the fact. Based solely on the jokes, which I don't find funny to begin with, he implies that the only thing the Israeli army does is kick woman in the back and that the Jews are responsible for the situation in Palestine.

Fact is, it's not a Jew - Palestinian problem, it's a Israeli - Palestine problem. If you constitute race into something where it doesn't belong, and I don't think it does in this particular case, you're doing it wrong.

Not only that, it's a rather one-sided view of the problem. He seems to forget that both the PLO and Hamas aren't really friendly people either.

[andrewducker]

Israel is a nation founded on race. You cannot take the fact that it is incredibly highly Jewish out of the equation. The fact that, for instance, non-Jews are not included in national service should make this incredibly obvious.

[usmu.livejournal.com]

Yes, Israel is founded on race, but ut not all people of the particular race live in that country. You don't speak for all Jews if you speak for all Israelis. Nor are all Israelis Jewish.

Nor is race the only cause of the problems. The Jewish religion, which is tightly bound with race, is part of the problem facing the state of Israel. Just as much as it's Islamic and Christian problem because of the holy sites in Jerusalem.

Franky made a joke about Jews. He should have made a joke about Israelis. Just as in the first case. Wouldn't have made it funny, but at least it would have made it less bad.

[andrewducker]

He didn't make a joke about Jews. He made a joke about the Israel/Palestine situation, which referenced the fact that the Israeli army is Jewish.

[usmu.livejournal.com]

And this is different how? If you reference the fact that they're Jewish, you obviously think it's relevant. Why do it otherwise? He doesn't do it in the first joke, so why in the second one?

[andrewducker]

Because it is relevant, for the reasons I listed above.

[usmu.livejournal.com]

I guess we're not going to see eye to eye on this one, because I fail to see how either race or religion is relevant to the joke that was made.

Even if it's factually correct and does play a part in the general problem.

[andrewducker]

Yeah, I guess we're going to have to drop it.

I see it as being in the same vein as, say, "I've never met a nice South African" by Spitting Image. Which was clearly wrong in any kind of literal sense, as there were many perfectly nice white South Africans, plus a lot of Black South Africans who the song wasn't about at all. But anyone listening to the song knew not to take it entirely literally, and it was clear that it wasn't, for instance, talking about Nelson Mandela.

You see it as increasing the negativity about Jews, which is clearly a bad thing.

Call it a day?

[usmu.livejournal.com]

Call it a day?

Only if it's actually a day and relevant to the issue at hand. ;)