Originally Posted by bearisgray
Actually, I thought a lot of ethnic/religious/political jokes to be quite funny.
Oley and Lena come to mind - - -
It usually goes over better it's a member of that particular group doing the telling of the joke than a member outside of that group telling the joke.
The overweight group doesn't seem to have a NAACP or ACLU to come to their defense - like some other groups seem to have.
I am from Minnesota and remember the Lena and Oley jokes fondly, they were funny; but they were not intended to ridicule. The movie "Fargo" made fun of the dialect that some Minnesoteans have, I still laugh at that. It didn't hurt me and it wasn't meant to hurt me.
I will continue to speak up for folks who struggle with weight. I've been there and know how much remarks can hurt. My sister struggles with her weight, she is only 5' tall and can't carry many extra pounds. She is a bright, smart, cute, hard working, funny, and loving person. She loses weight periodically and then gains it back, but she is always the same terrific person so why should she have to take cruel remarks about her appearance?
This thread has certainly generated some heart felt posts. Kudos to you, Bearisgray, for bringing it up.