Let me explain this to you:

The joke equates these things with being horrible and undesirable:

-  Being black

-  Being gay

-  Being disabled

-  Being Jewish

-  Being in a relationship with a Mexican (or maybe it's just the fact that it's a mixed race relationship?)

In fact, those attributes are on par with having a fatal disease, being a drug addict. or being abandoned by your family.

And FTR, having a black friend doesn't make you immune from saying racist things or being a racist person.  I don't know why so many people think that.

No.

They equate those things as being as bad as having a fatal disease or being a drug addict.  The Democrat thing is supposed to make it funny, but at the heart of it, the joke is listing those attributes as being the worst possible. 

Like I said, I think you are being too generous.

"there are things worse than those"  -- is pretty much what I'm getting at.  The idea that these are negative, wouldn't wish it on myself attributes. 

Heh, I recall the OT punishment for making fun of the bald.

This was great.....all these terrible things, and a Democrat to boot. Horrifying! It'd be one of those nightmares that sticks with you all day and makes you moody, and feel all oogy inside!

Yes, it was a true account and the whole story there was of them mocking God, not really Elisha (the one they called bald).  He probably wasn't even bald.  There's more to the story .........

So Christians can't tell jokes?   I "claim" to be a Christian?  So by telling this joke, I forfeit my Christianity?  Really TW if I thought someone would really be offended I wouldn't have put it up.  So far, not one person has come to me here and said they were terribly offended and hurt.  The first one who does, I would gladly delete this whole thread. 

Where's Lucas?  If I had put Puerto Rico instead of Mexican or Black would he think it wasn't funny? 

TW....it isn't surprising you come after me like this.  You're being very tenacious here for some reason.   I'm not even sure your point here.  You've already said you're not offended so not sure other, than you just keep looking for opportunities to criticize me. 

I'd say I was sorry if I offended you but since I haven't I guess I'll just say I'm sorry you feel this way. 

Well,

To the Texas Whiner I would say THIS, to your being a Jew, I can cure that with a simple public disclaimer that you now wish to follow the Christian faith (plug in your own desire here if you wish) As to your being disabled, I can see to it that your disahbility is corrected medically or in the alternative, I can see that it is ameliorated with a human proxy at your side. As for your being married to a Mexican, NO PROBLEM. We'll get him a nomination to the US Supreme Court and his ethnicity will be changed from Mexican to "a member of the Latin community", a much more benign moniker, don't you think?

But as to your core condition of being a Democrat I am afraid that all of the magic, political and religious pull, money, and modern technology-both current and in the forseeable future, there just ain't nuttin' we can do for you. It is sadly, terminal, and in the final analysis can only be made bearable by virtue of those around you recognizing its terrible effects on you and they professing their undying devotion to you by declaring that they too are, and in fact, have been, closet Democrats all along.

However, as strong as their true love and devotion may be, it is all the more practicable that these "loved ones" will instead choose to restore themselves to their right minds and leave you. This is NOT an indictment of their love for you, only the proof of their saneness.

Remember in the words of the old Negro commedian Chris Rock "I'm Black and I'm Rich and there ain't ONE wetback in this audiance that will trade places with me...NOT ONE!

You may not LIKE that fact Texas, but you cannot change it by aspiring to be the "moral compass" for those who SEE the dichotomy of of "gods" handiwork in a different light. (littlel g is correct)

The Deuceman

I am always a bit confused about this race thing. Aren't Mexicans white?

I thought the potential bad thing with a relationship with a Mexican in the US might be that the spouse is likely poor and/or an illegal immigrant. I can see how that would be a bad thing.

It's not about mixed race relationship as such. I think "with a Chinese boyfriend" simply wouldn't create the same image.

Know what the sad part is? A couple years back, I ran a short series of horribly, terribly racist, filthy and utterly tasteless jokes, which I, at various times in my life, had found utterly hilarious.
I held nothing back; I used words like "nigger", and "fag".....you get the picture. I even titled the series "Rightwinger's Offensive Joke of the Day"....should still be on here somewhere, I think, if you wanna take time and look it up.

The worst comment I remember getting was asking me if it was really necessary to use the epithets. Little Whip told the poster to read the title.+LOL+

This was meant to be a joke; a joke with roots that gave it a rather serious point, and some socio-political commentary, but a joke, nonetheless. It wasn't worth all the in-depth analysis.

And there's nothing wrong with Christians telling jokes, as long as no one is really hurt by them; and no one was, unless they were thin-skinned and easily-offended enough to >want< to be.

It's a branch of a language family. "Race" doesn't really have any meaning in this context.

Aethiopians are "black", but they are Semites. Berbers are white, yet all of them live in Africa and always have. The only branch of the language family that is almost exlusively black is the Cushite branch (Somalis etc.).

Jew is the English version of Hebrew "Yehudi" which refers to an inhabitant of the former kingdom of Yehuda (Judaea) and such an inhabitant's descendants. The Kingdom Yehuda was inhabited by the Israelite tribes of Yehuda, Simeon, and Binyamin. The people of Israel consist (by Mosaic law and still recognised) of 12 tribes (and a priesthood) and the other 9 tribes lived in Samaria. One of those 9 tribes left for Egypt over 2500 years ago.

"Judaism" is the religion of the Kingdom of Judaea. The Kingdom of Samaria (the other 8 tribes) and the tribe who left (today's Ethiopian "Jews") have slightly different religions.

So the word "Jew" ultimately refers to a member of one of the Israelite tribes, technically to members of three of those tribes.

Non-Jewish Israelites still exist, including Indian "Jews", Ethiopean "Jews" and Samaritans in today's state of Israel. But 95% of Israelites are Jews (or of the priestly tribe) and hence the word "Jew" and "Israelite" can be used almost exchangeably, especially since all non-Jewish tribes except the Samaritans are today also "Jews" by conversion.

Numbers:

Bnei Menashe (India, descended from a northern tribe): 12,000
Jews (descended from the southern tribes): 13 million
Beta Yisrael (Ethipia, descended from tribe of Dan): 150,000
Samaritans (Israel, descended from northern tribes): 712

I find that kind of joke even useful.

It points out that there is still a stigma associated with being black or being Jewish but that it is in reality not as bad as things one does (rather than is).

The point is that being black or Jewish is not bad. That's a fact. But some people treat blacks and Jews differently. The joke makes fun of them by pretending that being black or Jewish is bad per se but not as bad as some other things.

It's similar to the old Jewish joke about the Jewish mother who learns that her son is getting "married" to a guy named Miguel. "Couldn't he choose a nice Jewish guy?"

The joke is based on comparing things perceived as bad by treating their badness level as a real thing and in doing so exposing those who really are bigoted.

And there is nothing wrong with that.