I want to tell a terrible story...

[PCIntern]

I debated whether I wanted to share this, but I know I'm among friends...

On Saturday, I had a full day of patients starting at 6 AM here, and I had awakened to the tragedy which had occurred involving the airplane. So what do you talk about with people? The news, sports, etc...

So the first patient who came in I said, "Did you hear about the plane carrying nearly the entire Polish government?"
The man replies, "That's funny...what?"
I said, "No it's not a joke" But I couldn't' help but smile.
He replied, "Go ahead."
I repeated, "No really, it's not a joke."
He stared at me, took his Blackberry out of his pocket, and got the Internet and lo and behold! he saw I was telling the truth. He started laughing.

+++++++++++++++++++

So the next patient, I said, "Now this is not a joke, but a plane crashed this morning carrying many of the principals of the Polish Government. Really."
She says, "Doctor, I don't find ethnic jokes funny."
I said, "Honest, it's not a joke" and I led her to my TV which had CNN on in my private office.
She said after watching for a minute, "I'm sorry." And then she started laughing.

+++++++++++++++

I gave up talking about it, talked about the Phillies instead. So towards Noon, a guy I was checking in hygiene says to me, "Did you hear about all those Poles killed in that crash?" I said, "Go ahead...what?" :evilfrown:
He said, "No really..."
I said, "I know...I was just messing with you."

+++++++++++++++++++++++++

...and so the day went.

On edit: I have a Polish last name...though I'm Russian by extraction. who knows where the borders were?

[DURHAM D]

1. I guess I missed something. Why does anyone find it funny? nt

[PCIntern]

3. They thought I was starting a Polish joke...

and what's amusing, is that I never tell ethnic jokes in the practice...well, except for Jewish ones. But I can do that. Rank and Privilege, you know.

[DURHAM D]

11. In the mid 70s I spent a month in Poland.

I was traveling with a Polish-American friend from Buffalo. Over and over again we were asked about "Polish" jokes and why Americans find them funny. They knew many of the jokes and repeated them to us. They just don't get it and no amount of explaining helped. They just thought they were stupid and very unfunny. Also, most Europeans don't get it either. They just think it shows how juvenile Americans can be because they clearly know nothing about Poles.

[BurtWorm]

17. It might be a misdirected racist or anti-Semitic joke.

Maybe originally, the idea was to make ethnic jokes it was ostensibly ok to tell in public. They could have picked Norwegians or Albanians but they picked Poles. Suddenly they found out Poles didn't find them very funny--let alone intelligent. Now they complain everybody is so PC and you can't make fun of anybody anymore.

I think it's still all right to make fun of Republicans, though.

[DURHAM D]

25. Its possible that when John Paul II became Pope -

and he was much admired for his intellect and for the fact he could speak our language (and 9 - 12 more) the dumb Pole jokes just didn't work anymore.

JFTR - the friend I was traveling with in Poland was one of two Americans assigned to JP II when JP was still a Bishop. He helped him with his English. My friend left the priesthood when he realized he was gay. This was right after he hooked up with an American marine in Rome.

[Demoiselle]

30. Canadians tell (or used to tell) Newfie Jokes. About New Foundlanders.

And I know that there are all kinds of other dumb (fill in here) jokes out there. If memory serves, North Dakotans of Swedish origin used to tell dumb Norwegian jokes...and North Dakotans of Norwegian origin used to tell dumb Swede jokes. (I was born in North Dakota, and for all I know, South Dakotans tell dumb North Dakotan jokes.
The thought that this horrible tragic plane crash story sounded a bit like the start of a Polish joke tiptoed softly through the back of my mind this weekend. (Of course it's tragic!) What surprises me a little, PC, is that not all your patients had heard the story already when they came to see you. I guess I'm a real news junkie. Sometimes I think I'd be happier if I just ignored the news.
But that's not gonna happen.

[PCIntern]

31. they don't call it Friday News Dump fer nuthing....

very few of us pay attention from Fri to the Sun AM papers...

[Demoiselle]

42. You're right, of course. And I'm a junkie with no sense of Fridays..

[SidDithers]

44. Newfoundland. Just one word...

:)

Sid

[Demoiselle]

54. Thanks, Sid. It didn't look right, either. (Feel free to make a Dumb Demoiselle joke.)

[merh]

26. I am Polish American

my father's parents came over from Poland. When he enlisted in the Army Air Corp in the 40's his military records listed him as being proficient in Polish. My mother's grandparents also came over from Poland.

We were taught to be proud of our heritage and, at the same time, to laugh at the stupid Polish jokes (not to be offended). We collected them at my house and shared them every chance we got (my father loved them). We also celebrated the genius Polish people who made a difference in this world (e.g, Marie Curie, Copernicus, Hevelius, General Kosciusko). As far as we were concerned, the joke was on those who believed that Poles were stupid people.

Over the years I have worked with some folks who came here from Poland and held work visas. Their English was labored and translating our words to Polish words was not easy. I think perhaps that is why the myth of dumb pollacks was born. A Polish speaking person trying to master the English language often struggles and their struggles are often mistaken as the person being dense or dumb.

.

[emilyg]

32. Add Chopin and Paderewski to your list.

:hug:

[merh]

36. Why of course, they should be added.

And there are so many others.

Like I said, we always thought those fools who thought Pollacks were dumb were the joke. ;)

:pals:

[eridani]

52. In my mother's day. Polish jokes were known as "little moron" jokes.

As in the little moron was engaged to be married and didn't know what to do on his wedding night. A friend advised "Just take that thing you play with and put it where your wife pees."
So on his wedding night, he took his bowling ball and dropped in in the sink.

[treestar]

53. They don't get living in America

The ethnic conclaves likely led to jokes about the other groups.

There are Irish jokes, too. The Irish are tough and can take it. Heck, they probably started those themselves. They have a sense of humor.

[BurtWorm]

10. How old are, out of curiosity?

You've never heard of Polish jokes?

I don't know why people picked on Poles, but they did--probably because Polish is so intimidatingly foreign to a lot of American ears and Poles hired for contract work tended (and actually still tend) to speak to each other exclusively in Polish. Maybe people thought they were too stupid to learn English. (I'm slavic myself. In fact, I think it's ludicrous that anyone would think Poles as a group are stupid.)

There's a horrible, horrible Polish joke now used for any group the joke teller feels it's safe to joke about: what's worse than a busload of (let's just say teabaggers, for example) teabaggers going over a cliff? Finding out one seat was empty. I think PC Intern's clients were hearing echoes of that joke in the story.

[DURHAM D]

13. Please see my response above. nt

[Mojeoux]

12. Pollack jukes used to be as ubiquitous as blond jokes are now.

Then the Polish were the first European country of the USSR to strike for Independence.

[DURHAM D]

15. I am aware of that but nothing about this tragedy is funny. Nothing. nt

[Mojeoux]

43. so not funny..

I get that Durham. It indicates how popular P. Jokes used to be.

My cousins and I thought they were a hoot until we learned about what the Nazi's did to Poland, and our own distant relatives.

Maybe they were laughing that embarrassed "I'm so stupid" kind of laugh.

maybe....

[eShirl]

2. You're going to hell

and so am I.

[grantcart]

4. I was going to give this a serious read but after "I know I am among friends'

couldn't stop chuckling.

sorry.

[PCIntern]

8. Honest...it really did happen...

Can't make this stuff up...

[cliffordu]

23. .......you are going to burn in the lake of fire, Hitler.

[Beetwasher]

5. All I Could Think Of When They Reported That The

Polish head of the Navy was killed was "submarine's with screen doors". I know it's wrong, but that's where my sick fucking mind went.

[PCIntern]

6. !

[MUAD_DIB]

7. I never even thought of it that way. It is a tragedy.

[PCIntern]

9. I said it was a terrible story...

I felt badly all weekend...that's why I didn't post it right away...then I figured, confession's good for the soul.

[MUAD_DIB]

39. Oh, I wasn't referring to the OP inasmuch as the whole joke thing.

No worries. Gallows humor and all...

[DesertFlower]

14. it's nice that you're open on saturdays.

[PCIntern]

16. Only for 31 years...

.started my practice on Saturdays b/c very few others wanted to do it...have loyalty to thsoe folks who come in...they were the vanguard of the practice and I wouldn't have what I have if it weren't for them.

[DesertFlower]

18. i don't know of any dentist or doctor

here in arizona who is open on saturdays. most don't even have a night where they stay open later. i feel sorry for the people who don't get paid when they take time off from work.

[PCIntern]

20. I have to tell you...

it's a great way to get a day's work done easily...I work from 6 to Noon, no break, it goes fast, the phone hardly rings except emergencies, and people are more fun to treat when they don't have to run back to work or whatever.

I love Saturdays...

[DesertFlower]

41. when i lived in new york, my oral

surgeon (who i worked for part time) was open saturdays and so was the endodontist. my regular dentist was not, but he had a few nights where he was open late.

[Brickbat]

19. I thought it sounded like a joke too, and when I told Mr. Brickbat about it, he said, "That sounds

like a bad joke."

I'm a Pollack Bohunk.

[mrs_p]

21. polska ancestry here

not offended at all. i had a similar conversation.

[Demeter]

22. Having Endured the Raving Stupidity of 3 Generations of Polish Men

in my own bloodline, the joke's on us.

Why put all those people on the same plane?

Why did the pilot not take direction from the tower and divert?

Stubborn Pollack is purely descriptive, not an insult.

[graywarrior]

24. Ha ha ha ha! I'm Polish, too!

I don't get it.

[jaysunb]

27. Polish jokes have been around for a long time now

but you could easily insert any ____ into it.

Growing up in Cleveland back in the late 40's and early 50's the Slavic community exploded w/ what was called "DP's" or displaced people who had recently escaped Eastern Europe after WWll. While I don't have any historical facts to back it up, I was always led to believe they settle in these areas because of the similarity in climate and their long experience w/ steel & iron making skills.

The Poles being the largest of this group took most of the usual, "new kid on the block" abuse. Easy targets w/ " ski " being the obvious identifier. Polish joke abounded, w/ Poles telling the funniest.

:shrug:

[aikoaiko]

28. SInce we're all admitting our Polish ancestry....

Does anyone know of a mail order polish butcher where I can get good keilbasa and babka?

There used to be a place in Pasaic NJ, but they closed. They'd send meat in an iced styrofoam cooler.

I love living in GA, but decent keilbasa and babka are hard to find.

[virgogal]

29. I have no answer but find a Polish church and give them a call.

There are many Polish Catholic chuches.

[aikoaiko]

46. Thank you.

[emilyg]

33. Try Polana.com

[aikoaiko]

47. Thank you.

[Blue Diadem]

34. Stanley's market in Toledo has an online store.

http://www.stanleysmarket.com/index.php

We buy our kielbasa from them and occasionally another market but Stanley's is the only market around here that I know of that has an online store.

[aikoaiko]

48. Thank you.

[Michigan-Arizona]

37. Hamtramck, Michigan (PolTown)

Google Hamtramck, Michigan, it's a Polish community & they may have some online availability.

[aikoaiko]

49. Thank you.

[REP]

51. Hamtramck is a suburb INSIDE the city limits...

My father was from there. Apparently Hamtramck's location is or was the source of good-natured fun (my father used to take care of the Lone Ranger's horse, if that tells you how long ago he lived in Detroit).

[njlib]

38. Try searching for delis in Wallington, NJ

Garfield or Clifton, too. I'm sure you'll be able to find someone to ship to you.

Wallington has a huge Polish population. My grandmother's second husband's parents were off the boat, lived there for years, and never spoke a word of English.

[aikoaiko]

50. Thank you.

[JustAnotherGen]

35. Wow

See I'm 'tuned' in - you would have gottten a , "Yep. And how the hell so many dignitaries were on the same plane astounds me." It's sad. I feel terrible for their surviving family members and the people of Poland.

[LearnedHand]

40. I know there's something truly broken about me (K&R)

But that made me laugh my ass off! I don't like ethnic jokes either, but trying to tell someone about the headlines and it SOUNDS like the setup for a Polish joke is hilarious. I'm really broken, right?

Edited to rec because you just can't make this shit up.

[SidDithers]

45. Stick with the Phils...

And, it's OK to start every conversation with "How about that Roy Halladay?" :)

Sid