Gun control

[Judah14]

My opinion is based on my experience, as I don't think such jokes count as libel and no one got charged for libel here for telling racist jokes.

It's not known as "libel" here, but rather as "hate crime" -- and can definitely land one in jail. One must be exceedingly careful of what one says, and to whom one says it to.

Based on experience, Filipinos just like making racist or sexist jokes, even though they are tolerant in practice (well, usually). AFAIK such speech is not usually considered libel (unless directed at a specific person).

[crfriend]

Based on experience, Filipinos just like making racist or sexist jokes, even though they are tolerant in practice (well, usually).

You're trying to compare different cultures, although I use the terms "Culture" and "USA" in the same sentence with a great deal of cynicism and irony.

AFAIK such speech is not usually considered libel (unless directed at a specific person).

That's the way it's supposed to work, but here in the USA insulting a class, a race, a religion, or a sexual preference is considered a hate-crime against that class and can land one in very, very, hot water. Is that sane or right? No, but here in the USA there is a very large difference between what's "right" and what's "legal" -- and it depends on what class of individual is doing what. A CEO here can embezzle millions and destroy tens of thousands of lives and walk away from it whilst retaining the ill-gotten spoils; if I roll somebody on the street and net a tenner I can get 50 years, and have to pay the tenner back to the guy I rolled. Donald Trump can say pretty much whatever he wants, but little people need to watch their mouths lest the State get involved.

One really needs to live in this place for a while to see how bad it's gotten.

[Stevie D]

I hear the situation in the UK is improving, but for a while, as I understand it, if an armed burglar had you cornered in your house at 3:00AM, and you bashed his head in with a frying pan you could expect to be arrested and convicted of murder. From the perspective of both justice and trying to lower crime, that policy, to me, is insanity. cui bono?

As I understand it, you can use 'reasonable force' to protect your person and property, so in the event of a burglary, a frying pan (not normally considered to be a lethal weapon) being used to deter the burglar could well be interpreted as reasonable force. If the burglar was armed and was about to shoot you, you could use the plea of self-defence if the frying pan happened to cause a fatal injury to the burglar; you would have a very strong case for being acquitted of murder.

[Tor]

Stevie: That's the way it is supposed to work. From what I've read, the situation in the UK had gotten to the point where my scenario was, if perhaps somewhat exaggerated, not out of line. I'm sure that varied to some degree by location within the UK, with some localities maintaining a more reasonable approach. In any case, from what I hear, it got so bad that your constables (or those issuing the orders) had to back down and tend more towards presuming self-defence because there were lives being destroyed contrary to any semblance of justice.

Besides, why should one be immediately arrested and tried for murder in the case where the dead person has no business being where he was killed? It would seem proper to me in that case that the presumption should tend towards assuming self-defence and letting the person continue to live their life as best they can. Mount a case if need be, and only arrest if there is hard evidence that it was likely something other than self-defence.

There are lives being destroyed by enforcement of laws that should not exist in all to many places, and I could not fault those people for deciding to turn on those enforcing those laws, even if I think it counterproductive.

[Sinned]

In the UK and Ireland there is a very old tradition of jokes against the Irish, being thick, the Scots, being mean, the Welsh, well just for being Welsh, and the English for being, well tight-arsed, stiff upper lip and so on. Some of the biggest teller of nationalistic jokes have been the nationals themselves. The Establishment frowns upon such jokes but it doesn't seem to have stopped them. I often cite the definition of a Yorkshireman as a Scotsman with the generosity bred out. Yorkshiremen have a reputation for frugality hence the description of them having short arms and deep pockets. I must admit that I don't tell nationalistic jokes very often. Not had any complaints so far even from customers at work.

As for protecting my property I have a good wooden baseball bat in the bedroom and am prepared to use it to defend my family and property, and deal with the consequences later. Since I don't know if the intruder is armed or not the assumption is that he is and has to be disabled fast.

[pelmut]

In the UK and Ireland there is a very old tradition of jokes against ...

Not just in the UK and Ireland. A while ago a Frenchman told me an anti-English joke that was circulating amongst hotelliers:
In the early hours of the morning an Englishman in dressing gown and slippers comes padding down the hotel stairs and whispers to the concierge: "I wonder if I might have a glass of water, please?". The concierge fetches a glass of water and the Englishman pads softly back upstairs - only to re-appear a couple of minutes later. "I'm so sorry to bother you, but may I ask you to refill my glass please?"
When the Englishman re-appears for the third time, the concierge asks "What is the problem, monsieur". "Ahem - my room is on fire."

[Tor]

If you want a good many English stereotypes all rolled into one (or at least I'm led to believe they are), look up Michael Flanders' and Donald Swann's "A Song of Patriotic Prejudice". I have always enjoyed that one, not that there are any truly bad songs out of them (or at least not on any of the recordings I have).

[pelmut]

If you want a good many English stereotypes all rolled into one (or at least I'm led to believe they are), look up Michael Flanders' and Donald Swann's "A Song of Patriotic Prejudice"....

Another bundle of stereotypes is "The European Dream of Heaven and Hell":
In heaven the cooks are French, the policemen English and the engineers German; the lovers are Italian and it is all organised by the Swiss.
In hell the cooks are English, the policemen German and the engineers French; the lovers are Swiss and it is all organised by the Italians.

[Ray]

Being picky, but do you mean English or British? Bit confusing when a joke references several countries, then a region.

[Tor]

I seem to recall seeing this joke with "British" where "English" is in pelmut's posting of it. Then again, I live nowhere near the UK, so I'm probably not the best one to ask.

[Sinned]

For a really subtle English joke: A man sets off for work one day and passes his neighbour who says to him, "I passed your house yesterday", to which the man says, "Thank you."

[crfriend]

[...] to which the man says, "Thank you."

Oh, that's good! Thank you for the laugh.

Sometimes playing it deadpan is spectacularly hilarious -- much more so than piling it on.

[crfriend]

Another bundle of stereotypes is "The European Dream of Heaven and Hell":

I love that joke, but in my memory it had the lovers being German and the police being French.... Either way, it's a riot.

[Tor]

I first heard the joke with the police German. If nothing else, that fits very well with my (perhaps stereotyping, but if we can't make fun of stereotypes labeling them as such, what kind of world do we have?) perceptions of Germans as being inflexible in following rules, i.e. "This is the way how it should be." Bureauracy run amok with absolutely zero tolerance for deviation certainly sounds like a hellish police force to me.

[Sinned]

Now this is what I call thread drift.