Some months ago (primarily because the French government opposed America’s invasion of Iraq), many Americans were telling jokes about the French, many of them quite rude and tasteless. Of course, Americans were telling jokes about the French long before this.
But of course, it works both ways. We make fun of the French for not bathing as often as we do, and the French call us the “balloon people” because so many Americans are overweight. The French must certainly have been telling American jokes at about the same time that Bush started beating the war drums, and obviously they must have been telling such jokes long before the recent unpleasantness between our two governments.
I’d like to hear those jokes. As I expect some of these jokes will be quite harsh, I’m posting this in the Pit.
I don’t speak French beyond a few words and phrases that have managed to make it across the Atlantic, and of course humor is a delicate thing. Unless you understand the cultural context of joke, the humor can be completely lost on you, and even when cultural context isn’t important the humor can be lost in the translation from one language to another.
Even so, I’d still like to hear some of those jokes. There might be some laughs there, and I can always use a laugh.
And if you’re not French, don’t hold back. I’d like to hear American jokes from the British, Canadians, Australians, Germans, Italians, Russians, Poles, Spaniards, Egyptians, Iraqis, Syrians, Israelis, Turks, Indians, Pakistanis, Chinese, Mexicans, Brazilians, and anyone else who wants to get in a jibe or two.
So come on! We can take it! Let’s hear it!