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Ethnic and racial humor, virtually taboo during the selfconsciously liberal years following World War II, is more acceptable than ever. The jokes are not the same as in the old vaudeville days, when they were based on the comic ignorance of the victim. The Rastus and Izzie jokes are gone. Today it is largely Jewish comedians who tell jokes about Jews, Negro comics about Negroes. Italian Comedian Pat Cooper (Pasquale Caputo) tells how his seven-year-old son asks what N.A.A.C.P. stands for. When he is told that it stands for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the boy wants to know whether the Italians have anything like it. "Sure," replies Cooper. "We have the Mothers and Fathers' Italian Association—the M.A.F.I.A." Another case in point is the rash of Polish jokes ("Why won't they let a Pole swim in Lake Michigan? Because he'll leave a ring"), which began almost underground but now venture into the light. Explains Comic Phyllis Diller: "If it's too close to the truth, it isn't funny. The Poles are far removed from ignorance and dirt, so it's all right."
The decline of isolation among minority groups has brought about what Bernard Malamud calls "a flowering of interest in minorities generally." This may help explain the strong popularity of Jewish writers, Malamud included, who are obviously read far beyond the Jewish audience.
Something to Teach
A great deal of ethnic feeling is still enshrined in political rituals. In New York City, for instance, there are the infuriating, hopelessly provincial national parades (on St. Patrick's Day, Columbus Day, etc.), which paralyze Manhattan to very little purpose. Some Italians still get excited when somebody pushes Leif Ericson's claim to be the discoverer of America, and John Gronouski, now U.S. Ambassador to Poland, was jeered by Polish fraternal organizations in the Midwest when they discovered that he could not speak the language. (He took some quick lessons.) There are many lingering ethnic sensibilities on foreign affairs, notably the widespread Jewish sympathy for Israel and hostility toward the Arabs. New York's Mayor John Lindsay discovered this last June when Jewish objections impelled him to cancel a proposed luncheon in honor of Saudi Arabia's visiting King Feisal. But many such protests are carried on by professional ethnic champions who profess to speak for their people but are far from solidly supported. The press too perpetuates a great many ethnic cliches.