# Is this joke offensive/morally reprehensible? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 19, 2014, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-joke-offensive-morally-reprehensible/707659 "2014-12-19T13:45:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2014, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-joke-offensive-morally-reprehensible/707659/41 "2014-12-19T19:52:54Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > I’ve read this several times and I’m having trouble figuring out what makes it a joke, despite its being structured like a joke. Is “too much drums” a common thing to say about music, and “too much guitar” something that’s never said? This is mostly a counter-example to the “poop joke” under discussion. Intentionally unfunny and dumb. An anti-joke if you will. The point in common: difference of viewpoint. And that can be interpreted (or not) any way you choose. Bottom line: debating what’s funny is akin to debating what’s pretty. Same for any other issues under scrutiny. YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2014, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-joke-offensive-morally-reprehensible/707659/42 "2014-12-19T19:55:50Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > No, each roommate thinks they are the most important instrument in the band. To the drummer, the guitar is drowning out the best part, the drums, and to the guitarist, the opposite. Damn close to whatever point is in play. We had dozens of these “pointless jokes” where the loser was the one who even smiled. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2014, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-joke-offensive-morally-reprehensible/707659/43 "2014-12-19T20:00:14Z")
> [@JKilez](#): > > What struck me as odd in this “joke” was that while Hamas sent Israel something real and tangible, Israel’s return gift was just a fantasy. So the point of the joke is that Hamas lives in the real world, while Israel lives in a world of rainbows and unicorns? [Not really](http://www.timesofisrael.com/let-a-billion-chips-bloom-intel-israel-celebrates-40-years/#!). ETA: [Flowers would probably have worked, too.](http://www.israel21c.org/technology/business-is-blooming-for-israeli-flowers/) Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2014, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-joke-offensive-morally-reprehensible/707659/44 "2014-12-19T20:00:18Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > That’s my take on it as well. It certainly possible to find offense in the joke but being offensive isn’t a requirement for the joke to work. > > I think an old WC Fields routine is a decent comparative joke. > > Uptight Judgemental Woman: You sir, are a drunk. > > WC Fields: Yes, but I will be sober in the morning and you will still be Ugly. > > The joke works because the second asshole out assholes the first asshole (and in a clever way), which makes the joke funny, not so much that calling ugly women ugly is funny. No, that was [Sir Winston Churchill](http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2458430/Winston-Churchill-tops-poll-historys-best-insults.html). ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2014, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-joke-offensive-morally-reprehensible/707659/45 "2014-12-19T20:13:22Z")
> [@](#): > > Is this joke offensive/morally reprehensible? Not to me. I thought it was funny. And screw Hamas. They’re a bunch of evil terrorists. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2014, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-joke-offensive-morally-reprehensible/707659/46 "2014-12-19T20:15:31Z")
The distracting weirdness of the imaginary microchip product just makes it sort of goofy. ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2014, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-joke-offensive-morally-reprehensible/707659/47 "2014-12-19T20:20:45Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > Not to me. I thought it was funny. > > And screw Hamas. They’re a bunch of evil terrorists. Who is Hamas? Hamas leadership? Anyone who voted for Hamas? People who kinda-sorta stand behind Hamas, even though they don’t like everything about it? People who are represented by Hamas, even though they didn’t vote for the party? ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2014, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-joke-offensive-morally-reprehensible/707659/48 "2014-12-19T20:30:02Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > That’s my take on it as well. It certainly possible to find offense in the joke but being offensive isn’t a requirement for the joke to work. > > I think an old WC Fields routine is a decent comparative joke. > > Uptight Judgemental Woman: You sir, are a drunk. > > WC Fields: Yes, but I will be sober in the morning and you will still be Ugly. > > The joke works because the second asshole out assholes the first asshole (and in a clever way), which makes the joke funny, not so much that calling ugly women ugly is funny. WC Fields’s joke would have been different if he was calling her ugly because her nose was broken because he’d been beating her for years. If the target of the joke were just Hamas, I’d be cool with it. But the joke is that Palestinians are brutish savages, and that takes the joke into a different territory. ---
**Author:** ![jimbuff314](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c57346/32.png) [@jimbuff314](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jimbuff314)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2014, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-joke-offensive-morally-reprehensible/707659/49 "2014-12-19T21:15:38Z")
_Asking the people of The Straight Dope Message Board if a joke is offensive or morally reprehensible._ Now _that’s_ funny! ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2014, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-joke-offensive-morally-reprehensible/707659/50 "2014-12-19T22:18:13Z")
Of course it’s offensive; that’s the entire point. And mildly funny. ---
**Author:** ![Stringbean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Stringbean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stringbean)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2014, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-joke-offensive-morally-reprehensible/707659/51 "2014-12-19T22:52:56Z")
It’s only inappropriate if you have a stick up your ass. ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2014, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-joke-offensive-morally-reprehensible/707659/52 "2014-12-19T22:54:22Z")
It would be funny if told about Napoleon and Wellington. Well, as long you don’t use the computer chip. That would be dump. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2014, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-joke-offensive-morally-reprehensible/707659/53 "2014-12-19T23:18:58Z")
> [@JoseB](#): > > Unless what you feel is that the Palestinians are a poor oppressed minority and therefore it is not allowed to do this kind of joke… I believe this specific idea is known as “punching down.” For some, this element of a joke disqualifies it from funnyland no matter the merits of the rest of the construction. I think that’s just bullshit. Some folks can easily separate humor from reality, some can’t. It’s ok to laugh at the OP joke, it doesn’t mean you think Hamas or those they govern are shit-slinging sand monkeys. It just means you appreciate a good ‘burn’ joke. And if anyone knows a few good burn jokes, it would be the Israelis, amirite? > [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > WC Fields’s joke would have been different if he was calling her ugly because her nose was broken because he’d been beating her for years. Daniel Tosh could make it funny on those grounds. ---
**Author:** ![Tzigone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Tzigone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tzigone)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2014, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-joke-offensive-morally-reprehensible/707659/54 "2014-12-19T23:41:14Z")
It is offensive - and is intended to be. It is also utterly, utterly unfunny. Made moreso by the previously mentioned fact that Israel’s gift has no basis in reality and thus it lacks even the “zing” that would be provided by an actual relevant/real/reasonable return. It really is the equivalent to “and that man was Albert Einstein.” ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2014, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-joke-offensive-morally-reprehensible/707659/55 "2014-12-20T00:02:18Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > WC Fields’s joke would have been different if he was calling her ugly because her nose was broken because he’d been beating her for years. > [@The Great Sun Jester](#): > > Daniel Tosh could make it funny on those grounds. Again, Winston Churchill, not WC Fields. > [@Tzigone](#): > > It is offensive - and is intended to be. It is also utterly, utterly unfunny. Made moreso by the previously mentioned fact that Israel’s gift has no basis in reality and thus it lacks even the “zing” that would be provided by an actual relevant/real/reasonable return. It really is the equivalent to “and that man was Albert Einstein.” Since when did jokes have to be based on reality? Much of the humor of jokes comes from implausible situations. For example, elephant jokes. (They were funny when I was a kid. :)) ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2014, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-joke-offensive-morally-reprehensible/707659/56 "2014-12-20T00:26:20Z")
> [@The Great Sun Jester](#): > > Daniel Tosh could make it funny on those grounds. Yeah, that’s why I said it’d be different. I get the funny of the joke; it’s mildly amusing (although the over-the-top microchip description detracts from the humor). But it achieves its humor by reinforcing a racist stereotype, and sure, I have a stick up my ass about that. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2014, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-joke-offensive-morally-reprehensible/707659/57 "2014-12-20T00:49:26Z")
I find it more offensive that people would find this joke offensive. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2014, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-joke-offensive-morally-reprehensible/707659/58 "2014-12-20T01:01:11Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > Since when did jokes have to be based on reality? Much of the humor of jokes comes from implausible situations. For example, elephant jokes. (They were funny when I was a kid. :)) They don’t have to be, but in this case, the description of the amazing technological thing reads as if written by an buffoon with no grasp of technology, and this distracts attention away from (whatever the hell is) the point of the joke, ruining it. IMO. ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2014, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-joke-offensive-morally-reprehensible/707659/59 "2014-12-20T02:15:48Z")
Q: What do you do if a Hamas militant throws a hand grenade at you? A: Pull the pin and throw it back. Q: What do you do if a Hamas militant throws a pin at you? A: Step back, he’s holding a live hand grenade. (shamelessly stolen from Newfie jokes) ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2014, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-joke-offensive-morally-reprehensible/707659/60 "2014-12-20T20:08:27Z")
> [@robert\_columbia](#): > > Q: What do you do if a Hamas militant throws a hand grenade at you? > > A: Pull the pin and throw it back. > > Q: What do you do if a Hamas militant throws a pin at you? > > A: Step back, he’s holding a live hand grenade. > > (shamelessly stolen from Newfie jokes) … and I heard them as Polish jokes and I believe they are used in military training about female recruits now. They’re offensive, and, as a pair, very funny. But I would only tell them about a group I belonged to. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-joke-offensive-morally-reprehensible/707659.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-joke-offensive-morally-reprehensible/707659.md?page=4)