Too many times, so called “Jewish humor” was cloaked in terms of racist, mycogonistic or ethno-derogatory jokes which sadly weren’t really funny and perpetuated the types of negative stereotypes through which yidden themselves had been victimized. Many of the “chelm” stories and jokes we heard growing up were fairly innocent and not especially problematic whereas the Jackie Mason/Borscht Belt humor was incredibly inappropriate in its derogatory treatment of goyim and certain yidden.
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