Jokes

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0><script type="text/javascript" src="http://hb.lycos.com/hb.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://ratings.lycos.com/ratings/lycosRating.js.php"></script> <script type="text/javascript"><![CDATA[//><!]]></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://scripts.lycos.com/catman/init.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://members.tripod.com/adm/ad/code-start.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://members.tripod.com/adm/ad/code-middle.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://members.tripod.com/adm/ad/code-end.js"></script> <noscript> <img src="http://members.tripod.com/adm/img/common/ot_noscript.gif?rand=132375" alt="" width="1" height="1" />  <iframe frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" width="728" height="90" src="http://ad.yieldmanager.com/st?ad_type=iframe&ad_size=728x90&section=209094"></iframe>  </noscript> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0 height="100%"><tr> <td valign="top" width=160 BGCOLOR="#FFFBF0" TEXT="#080000" background="067f0f03.jpg"> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Sex War"><U><B>Sex War</b></U></A></div> <div>  <A HREF="id5.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Essays"><U><B>Essays</b></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id35.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="What is a Hate Movement?"><U>What is a Hate Movement?</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id50.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Just Sex War"><U>Just Sex War</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id129.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Equity feminism a contradiction "><U>Equity feminism - a contradiction </U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id34.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Extremists"><U>Extremists</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id52.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="No Good Feminists?"><U>No Good Feminists?</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id132.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The average feminist"><U>The average feminist</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id54.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Profeminism"><U>Pro-feminism</U></A></div> <div> <B>Jokes</b></div> <div> <A HREF="id45.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Magic Y chromosome"><U>Magic Y chromosome</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id48.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="My Definition"><U>My Definition</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id41.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Censorship"><U>Censorship</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id44.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Once Upon A Time..."><U>Once Upon A Time...</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id60.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Lesbian Separatism"><U>Lesbian Separatism</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id62.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="51"><U>51%</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id46.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Humpty Dumpty Feminism"><U>Humpty Dumpty Feminism</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id63.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Child of the Glacier"><U>Child of the Glacier</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id133.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Open Letter to Mens Activists"><U>Open Letter to Men's "Activists"</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id135.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="A Letter to the Mounties"><U>A Letter to the Mounties</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id140.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Having your cake and eat it"><U>Having your cake and eat it</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id141.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Women are children"><U>Women are children</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id143.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="A criticism of iFeminism"><U>A criticism of iFeminism</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id147.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Male DV victims"><U>Male DV victims</U></A></div> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" BGCOLOR="#CCCC99" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="068f0f03.jpg"> <div> <B>Jokes</b></div> <bR> <bR> <div> A little while ago I came across a <A HREF="http://www.menjokes.com/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.menjokes.com/"><U>man-bashing jokes</U></A> web site run by a woman named Helene. Looking at the jokes, many of them were pretty awful, and some little more than blatant vilification wrapped in the form of a joke. In full crusader mode I decided to take her to task over the sexism of presenting men (only men) in such brutal stereotypes! Oh yes!</div> <bR> <div> But what I wasn't counting on was being bowled over by the graciousness of her reply. All the more surprising now that I know how much hate-mail she used to accumulate on that site, mostly from angry guys. Well of course I have to sing her praises, because in a short time she had completely turned me around on this issue. Though I like to think I am open minded, it doesn't often happen that I am persuaded so quickly. I was deeply impressed with Helene.</div> <bR> <div> <I>When is a Joke Not A Joke?</I></div> <div> The key attitude of a hate movement is <A HREF="id35.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="What is a Hate Movement?"><U>contempt</U></A>. But many jokes are based on a similar idea of making fun of someone or of some group. What is the difference between ridiculing a group and having contempt for a group? The form of words involved might be the same. Both might use and spread negative stereotypes of the group to make their point. Perhaps it would be better to ask, if a joke makes use of negative stereotypes, when is it legitimate to use it as a joke, and when does it become contempt? When is a joke not a joke?</div> <bR> <div> For some I think the answer will be that all use of negative stereotypes is wrong. This is not so much an issue of freedom of speech --- because not all speech that is "wrong" is banned ---  but it is saying negative stereotypes in the form of an awful joke are never appropriate.</div> <bR> <div> Jokes have an appropriate use --- to facilitate intimacy and communication; to help people get along; <B>to be funny</b>. Helene's story of how she came to start the menjoke page (which she has now placed on the site) shows that even <B>the worst</b> jokes can be successfully used this way at least sometimes.</div> <bR> <div> Jokes have an inappropriate use too --- vehicles for contempt, where the underlying current of the joke is <B>this is how things really are</b>. I think I've seen too many jokes used like that.... kudos to Helene for reminding me that women who really detest men don't exchange jokes with them --- they keep as <A HREF="id60.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Lesbian Separatism"><U>far away from men</U></A> as possible.</div> <bR> <div> <I>Satire and Parody</I></div> <div> <A HREF="http://members.cts.com/king/n/ndanger/980606/patri.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://members.cts.com/king/n/ndanger/98"><U>Men Control Everything!</U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div>     <p align="center"> <A HREF="http://rd1.hitbox.com/rd?acct=WQ5011298NZC45EN0&p=s"> <IMG SRC="http://hg1.hitbox.com/HG?hc=wf153&l=y&hb=WQ5011298NZC45EN0&cd=1&n=Jokes" height=62 width=88 ALT="Click Here!" border=0> </A> </p>    </div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>