Eastwood thinks political correctness has made society humourless

[Zoom-boing]

Fri, Feb 27 01:15 PM

London, February 27 (ANI): Acting legend Clint Eastwood , 79, apparently believes that political correctness has rendered modern society humourless, for he accuses younger generations of spending too much time trying to avoid being offensive.

The Dirty Harry star insists that he should be able to tell harmless jokes about nationality without fearing that people may brand him "a racist".

"People have lost their sense of humour. In former times we constantly made jokes about different races. You can only tell them today with one hand over your mouth or you will be insulted as a racist," the Daily Express quoted him as saying.

"I find that ridiculous. In those earlier days every friendly clique had a 'Sam the Jew' or 'Jose the Mexican' - but we didn't think anything of it or have a racist thought. It was just normal that we made jokes based on our nationality or ethnicity. That was never a problem. I don't want to be politically correct.

We're all spending too much time and energy trying to be politically correct about everything," he added. (ANI)

Eastwood thinks political correctness has made society humourless - Yahoo! India News


I agree with Mr. Eastwood. What say you?

 

[Meister]

I saw him in an interview a few months ago, and it was refereshing to hear him speak about polititics. You can sure tell he's "old school."

 

[elvis]

Dirty Harry is 79?

 

[manifold]

One of my favorite jokes (might not translate well in print)

How does every black joke start?

[Then look all around you to check for black people]

 

[auditor0007]

Yea, I'd have to agree with Harry. All the political correctness has taken the fun out of being human.

 

[alan1]

Fri, Feb 27 01:15 PM

London, February 27 (ANI): Acting legend Clint Eastwood , 79, apparently believes that political correctness has rendered modern society humourless, for he accuses younger generations of spending too much time trying to avoid being offensive.

The Dirty Harry star insists that he should be able to tell harmless jokes about nationality without fearing that people may brand him "a racist".

"People have lost their sense of humour. In former times we constantly made jokes about different races. You can only tell them today with one hand over your mouth or you will be insulted as a racist," the Daily Express quoted him as saying.

"I find that ridiculous. In those earlier days every friendly clique had a 'Sam the Jew' or 'Jose the Mexican' - but we didn't think anything of it or have a racist thought. It was just normal that we made jokes based on our nationality or ethnicity. That was never a problem. I don't want to be politically correct.

We're all spending too much time and energy trying to be politically correct about everything," he added. (ANI)

Eastwood thinks political correctness has made society humourless - Yahoo! India News


I agree with Mr. Eastwood. What say you?

It's only fair to make fun of people with hearing problems if they have a cochlear implant like Mr Limbaugh and ears the size of Mr Obama.

 

[Harry Dresden]

Yea, I'd have to agree with Harry. All the political correctness has taken the fun out of being human.

hey thanks for agreeing with me 07.....

 

[Xenophon]

That's mighty white of him.

 

[garyd]

Um you do realize that all that PC bullshit doesn't stop racism but rather makes it more likely?

 

[Diuretic]

Humour changes and it has nothing to do with pc. What was hilarious to previous generations is met with stony silence or quizzical looks now. Humour doesn't travel well either, since it's usually deeply embedded in a culture. Good humour doesn't need a victim though, it's usually predicated on the basis of surprise, not demeaning a particular sub-group of society. When it's constructed like that the reason for it has to be examined.

For example, I understand that Polish jokes used to be popular in the US. They relied on the stereotype of the dumb Polack. They were similar in construction to the Irish jokes that started to circulate in the UK at about the time of the resurgent of the troubles in Northern Ireland. Interestingly enough though in the Republic of Ireland their progenitor was the "Kerryman" jokes. Kerry had a reputation of being a bit full of itself, it won the All-Ireland Gaelic football and hurling championships and of course is considered extremely scenic and attracts a lot of tourists. So the rest of Ireland invented the Kerryman joke as a way of getting even. The Brits adapted them to attack the Irish and to portray them as stupid while at the same time the IRA was bombing the mainland.

I like jokes about Christians myself. I can dig some up if you like.

 

[Toome]

I agree with Clint.

If a black comedian tells a joke using the n-word, it's humor. If a white comedian tells the exact same joke, it's racist.

 

[editec]

I once knew a fellow Corpsman of Polish heritage who collected Polish jokes.

He had thousands of them.

Some of them were truly hilarious.

Ethnic jokes are still often funny to liberals like me especially when the ethnic they are mocking is not actually being oppressed.

Enthnic jokes are often funny to racists when the ethnic targets are being mocked.

Plus...people can laugh at the same joke for very different reasons.

For example?

Remember that Montana police joke? The one which asked the candidate to kill minorities and a rabbit?

I laughed at it because it highlights the stupidity of White racism, and so I thoght the joke was damned funny.

Others of us might have thought the joke funny because they though it was acknowledging the value of killing minorities,

Polticial correctness comes in different flavors, folks.

PC is neither liberal nor conservative, but dependent on the attitudes of the people seeking to impose their values on others.

Bad taste (and humor) is often relative.

 

[Ravi]

I have to say what I did on the other thread we had about this yesterday. I'm disappointed to learn that Clint Eastwood is afraid of anything.

 

[pete]

I could not agree more!

Go ahead, make my day.

Everyone puts too much thought into what is said (drawn). What happened to speaking your mind?

 

[garyd]

Oh and the man isn't talking about ethnic jokes you idiots. Hell what do you think 'Borat' was?

 

[Toome]

Oh and the man isn't talking about ethnic jokes you idiots. Hell what do you think 'Borat' was?

Agreed. But ethnic jokes are usually the first things to go out the window in the name of political correctness.

The American spirit is built upon rugged individualism. That means not giving a damn about what the other guy thinks. Doesn't necessarily mean it's a license for rudeness although that can certainly be one of its results.

Political correctness, on the other hand, isn't so much that a statement or gesture insults a particular group of people. It's all about how it's perceived by others. For example, it's not the whether or not the dumb blonde joke offends women that's offensive. Nobody truly gives a damn about blonde women or women. It's the perception that comes with the telling of the joke and how it reflects upon the corporate image that's offensive. It's what others think, whether they be blonde women or men, that's the issue.

Make a negative statement about President Barack Obama and you run the risk of being branded a racist NOT by Blacks but by whites because they don't want to be perceived as racist. That's the folly of political correctness.

 

[Gunny]

Fri, Feb 27 01:15 PM

London, February 27 (ANI): Acting legend Clint Eastwood , 79, apparently believes that political correctness has rendered modern society humourless, for he accuses younger generations of spending too much time trying to avoid being offensive.

The Dirty Harry star insists that he should be able to tell harmless jokes about nationality without fearing that people may brand him "a racist".

"People have lost their sense of humour. In former times we constantly made jokes about different races. You can only tell them today with one hand over your mouth or you will be insulted as a racist," the Daily Express quoted him as saying.

"I find that ridiculous. In those earlier days every friendly clique had a 'Sam the Jew' or 'Jose the Mexican' - but we didn't think anything of it or have a racist thought. It was just normal that we made jokes based on our nationality or ethnicity. That was never a problem. I don't want to be politically correct.

We're all spending too much time and energy trying to be politically correct about everything," he added. (ANI)

Eastwood thinks political correctness has made society humourless - Yahoo! India News


I agree with Mr. Eastwood. What say you?

I think he stole my line.

I agree with him as well.

 

[Harry Dresden]

I'm disappointed to learn that Clint Eastwood is afraid of anything.

HOW did you get that out of what he said?

 

[Sinatra]

Political Correctness was a significant factor in electing our current president.

White guilt was a dominant theme...

 

[alan1]

I'm disappointed to learn that Clint Eastwood is afraid of anything.

HOW did you get that out of what he said?

Magical fairy beans?