butterflyuk

I am a little unsure of the laws on reproduction of articles and copy rights so as a typical wimp I won't put down here the "joke" I am talking about. It's a poem titled Illegal Immigrant which if you look at light heartedly then is quite funny. Although I can see that it could offend if you take it the way it is read.I have put a link to the news article about the "joke" in question gone out of hand.

Are people just too touchy? It is a sad society if someone can't even make a joke about something. How can you prove that you were just have a healthy giggle and didn't intend to offend?

When is a joke is a joke? How long can you be at the receiving end of a joke? I agree that majority of the times the examples show "political correctness gone mad" syndrome. We are just too cautious to say anything that may be represented as racist. Most of us try to convince that we have minority friends hence we cannot be racist. Most of the times people affected by the joke - may the subject be Irish, Jehovah witness, Indian, Pakistani, German, French, Obese people, bald people, short people or whatever - also laugh with us but there must be a limit when they don't find it funny. Perhaps we should imagine ourselves in the situation and think if we would like it happening to us. There must be some belief in the content of the joke for someone to think it?

I think jokes in small dozes are accepted and taken light heartedly but when it gets too much of a routine then it is not pleasurable especially if you are at the receiving end. What do you think? Am I being defensive?