The Origin of the “Polish Joke”
The Case Against the Polish Joke (February 2014)
A Polish Boy’s Struggle with Bullying (October 2013)
The Origin of the “Polish Joke”
Polish “jokes” came from Nazi German propaganda that was then pushed ironically by Soviet communist sympathizers in Hollywood.
The racist stereotype that Poles are intellectually inferior or have subhuman intelligence, originated from Nazi German propaganda and Soviet propaganda.
For example, the myth that Polish horses were used to attack German tanks in World War II was total Nazi German propaganda that the Nazi Germans repeated over and over until it took a life of its own using the “Big Lie” technique. (Click on link for more on the Nazi propaganda on Polish Calvary attacks). The Big Lie is defined as "the intentional distortion of the truth, especially for political or official purposes." This tactic of trying to deceive a country's citizens was written about by Adolph Hitler. ["The great mass of people will more easily fall victim to a big lie than to a small one." Adolf Hitler (1889-1945), Mein Kampf, Vol. 1, Chapter 10, 1925].
The Soviet Communists saw the value of this myth and the racist notion that Polish people have subhuman intelligence, so they had their Left-Wing sympathizers in Hollywood push it to the American public using Anti-Polish Television and Movie imagery.
The image of Polish people having subhuman intelligence was useful to the Soviet Communists too, since then, people would not mind too much if Poland is occupied by the Soviet Union if Poles are portrayed as having a Slavic culture that is inferior and less then human.
Nazi German Hatred of Polish People
As for the German Nazis (and even the Soviets) they killed off the educated class of Poland first to make their racist stereotype of “Poland having inferior intelligence” a reality. The Nazi Germans also felt “Poles only had the intelligence for Nazi slave labor”.
Polish "jokes" were in Hitler's two speeches after he invaded Poland.
Hitler ridiculed Poles in his Sept. 19, 1939 speech in Danzig (today called Gdansk) and in his Berlin speech in Oct. 6, 1939 with these hate-through-humor anti-Polish “jokes” and references.
Michael Preisler who was a Polish-Catholic survivor of the German Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz (Auschwitz prisoner #22213), has stated on many occasions how the Nazis ridiculed the Polish people as having less then human intelligence. Polish jokes were quite popular among Nazi guards in the parts of the Nazi death camps where there were Polish Catholic prisoners being tortured and killed.
Ironically, Left-wing Hollywood and the TV Networks (like NBC-TV) pushed these racist Polish “jokes,” even though Hollywood claimed to hate Nazis. Hollywood and NBC-TV evidently hate Nazi propaganda but not when its applied to Poles. Hollywood and Network-TV (NBC) have demonstrated a deep hatred for Anti-communist, Pro-American, Pro-Catholic Poland. The Polish American Guardian Society has documented NBC-TV’s attacks on Poland with racist Polish “jokes”.
The recent movie “Katyn” shows the German Nazis and Soviets killing the educated Polish class in Poland in order to make Poland “intellectually inferior” and easier to rule. This was during the time Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia were Allies, and were collaborating with each other to destroy Poland as per their Molotov-Ribbentrop pact to destroy Poland together.
Although there were degrading jokes about all ethnic groups in the United States due to assimilation problems when they arrived, the jokes that portray Poles as having subhuman intelligence, did not predate the 20th Century in America, since it was introduced by left-wing bigots in Hollywood and TV networks like NBC-TV in the late 1960s and 1970s.
Many Polish Americans who lived before this time have reported that they never heard these racist subhuman intelligence jokes about Poles, until after they were introduced by Left-Wing networks like NBC-TV in conjunction with Hollywood. NBC-TV launched Polish-bashing shows such as “Laugh In” which ridiculed Polish people constantly. Polish Americans felt the producer of “Laugh In,” George Schlatter, was an Anti-Polish bigot. In addition late night bigots were encouraged to bash Poles with “jokes” that portrayed the Polish people as having subhuman intelligence. Therefore the power of Television and motion pictures was used to demean and dehumanize Polish people with repetitive Big Lie type propaganda.
Anti-Polish movies such as “The End” were some of the earliest movies meant to degrade Poles with racist humor. In addition other anti-Polish shows such as “All in the Family” were used to degrade the Polish people even though the left-wing producer claimed the ruse that the show was suppose to be “against bigotry”. “All in the family” was filled with racist anti-Polish sound bites such as “Dumb Polak” in an attempt to influence its viewers to have the same anti-Polish prejudice, that the Left-wing producer of the show (Norman Lear) had.
So basically, Polish “jokes” were part of a Hollywood/TV media hate campaign against Polish people.
From Hitler’s speech of Sept. 19, 1939 in Danzig (Gdansk Poland):
At this moment we want to give the Polish soldier absolute justice. At many points the Pole fought bravely. His lower leadership made desperate efforts, his middle-grade leadership was too unintelligent, his highest leadership was bad, judged by any standard. His organization was — Polish...
http://www.hitler.org/speeches/09-13-39.html
Note: What Hitler fails to talk about is the tremendous help Nazi Germany got from Soviet Russia in invading Poland. Soviet Russia provided Nazi Germany millions of tons of war aid to be used in Germany’s invasion of Poland as per the Molotov-Ribbentrop agreement between Germany and Soviet Russia. Of course Hitler didn’t talk about that or how Polish troops held the Germans back well until Nazi Germany’s ally Russia attacked Poland from the Eastern side.
From Hitler’s speech of Oct 6, 1939:
Towns as well as villages are in a state of neglect. The roads, with very few exceptions, are badly out of repair and in a terrible condition. Anyone who travels in that country for two or three weeks will get the proper idea of the classical German term 'Polnische Wirtschaft,' meaning a 'Polish state of affairs!'
http://www.hitler.org/speeches/10-06-39.html
What Hitler failed to say in his speeches about Poland is that much of the problems Poland had in the early part of the 20th century was because of Poland being destroyed and pushed off the map from 1795-1917 by Germany and Russia.
Poland was basically licking its wounds and catching its breath in the early part of the 20th Century when it was back on the map.
Hitler’s Anti-Polish hate was sadly a continuation of Germany’s prejudice towards Poland/Slavic nations although Hitler’s hatred of Poles/Slavic people went far beyond prior German Anti-Polish/Slavic prejudice.
In conclusion its disgusting that Nazi Anti-Polish hate-through-humor subhuman intelligence “jokes” about Poles would be introduced (and pushed) by part of the Hollywood and “American” TV media such as NBC-TV in the 1960’s and 1970’s.
Polish “jokes” started to decline in the United States when Polish Americans put aside their good nature and aggressively spoke out against this Anti-Polish hatred.
Today, Polish jokes and ethnic jokes in general are seen as ethnic slurs by most fair minded Americans. In December 2008, former Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter apologized for telling “Polish jokes” after offending Polish and non-Polish Americans.
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2008/12/17/Specter-apologizes-for-Polish-jokes/UPI-44361229547951/
http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/archive/Specter-Apologizes-for-Polish-Comments.html
Despite the fact there is less tolerance for Polish jokes today than decades ago (due, in part to the Civil Rights movement, and the increased use of social media, which is quick to point out injustices), this does not mean Polish jokes have been eradicated. There are still unsophisticated people out there insecure with their own ethnic identity, who take pleasure in making themselves feel better, by ridiculing other groups of people. Not to mention there are still Anti-Polish bigots who use hate websites and other media to push these subhuman intelligence jokes about Polish people.
Polish people, and people of decency everywhere, should always speak out against these racist Polish jokes as well as degrading ethnic jokes of all nationalities.
Polish American Journal, February 2014
Editor's Note: Decades of “Polish jokes,” deemed “harmless,” have created a culture that makes such degrading humor acceptable. Sadly, it takes a toll on the self esteem of its victims, sometimes tragically.
To wit: Bart Palosz, the 15-year-old Connecticut boy who shot and killed himself in August 2013 after years of being harassed (See “A Polish Boy’s Struggle with Bullying,” below). Palosz, a Polish immigrant, was the target of bullies due to his size (the teen was 6 feet, 3 inches tall) and Polish accent.
by Richard A. Pacer
Beneficial changes in society occur slowly, but they do occur. Long-term change is positive, but such change has its peaks and valleys, much like the stock market. Thus slavery is no longer acceptable, as it once was. Many countries in Europe no longer invade one another, as they did for thousands of years, but have united in mutual defense (NATO) and economy (European Union). Years ago, physical and verbal abuse was commonly used in disciplining children, but now Society knows that such methods are wrong. (Discipline is still as important as ever, but it need not be abusive.) Society does learn and does make progress, albeit slowly.
Ethnic, racist, and sexist humor is gradually coming to be viewed by the more intelligent segment of society as simply wrong. In most cases, such humor is yet another form of abuse. Why is such humor wrong? Decisions made about whom to hire, or promote, or strongly encourage, are based on more than just academic credentials and experience. There is always an intangible element which plays a major role. Part of that element is rooted in a general impression, often subconsciously arrived at, of that person simply based on that person’s sex, race, or ethnic heritage. How is this impression nurtured? Humor, which may portray the members of a group by means of a negative stereotype, unfortunately still plays a role and has a crippling effect.
Here’s an example to consider: “Equal pay for equal work” has long been regarded as a desirable goal for society. Yet when all of the usual factors (academic credentials, years of experience, and so forth) are taken into consideration, women still earn less, on the average, than men. Why? One of the reasons for this lies in the negative stereotypes about women which were propagated in years past by means of cruel jokes, jokes in which women were presented (all in supposedly good fun, mind you!) as inferior to men. Thank goodness women no longer put up with this kind of abuse. Women (and even some men) are to be commended for speaking out. Yet the effects of such discrimination still linger, and are only very slowly dying out. Unfortunately, a “glass ceiling” still exists.
Yet, one such type of abuse still remains and is widely propagated. I’m referring to the Polish joke. Such humor is not innocent. It is a form of bigotry which results, in most cases, in anger, depression, and anguish. We know, for example, that when children are told that they are stupid or that they won’t amount to much, this verbal abuse truly has a debilitating effect. Obviously, when children of Polish heritage are bombarded by Polish jokes, it cannot help but have negative consequences.
At this point the reader may protest, “But I would never tell such jokes to children.” Granted, but the perpetrator is helping to disseminate such jokes among the population at large. Certainly, children are bound to hear or overhear such jokes. Either the people who tell such jokes are ignorant or they have no regard for the consequences of their actions. How can otherwise decent and intelligent people, who tell Polish jokes, not realize that they are attacking the spirit of an entire group of people? If they do realize this, how can they possibly be so cruel? A lie, when repeated widely, comes to be accepted by a certain segment of the population as true. When the message is presented in the form of a joke, it still has an impact, and some people will believe this message is true.
Unfortunately, a few people of Polish heritage are partly to blame for the present state of affairs. They need to speak out whenever they encounter the abuse of a Polish joke, and follow the lead of other groups who, by speaking out or working with anti-defamation organizations, have been more effective at combating abuse. Polish jokes are not innocuous, although the person telling such jokes may look upon them as good-natured ribbing and nothing more. The intention might be to just “break the ice” by supposedly innocent humor. But again, like the misguided abusive treatment of children in past years (but with the best of intentions), the road to hell is paved with good intentions.
Some people of Polish heritage will actually laugh at Polish jokes. They are in denial, much like the person with chest pains refusing to believe he could possibly be having a heart attack. They may pretend that they are totally unaffected by such jokes. They will never admit that such jokes have affected their spirit or sense of well-being. They may even go so far as to tell such jokes themselves. This is sad.
Society changes slowly and moves, in the long run, in a positive direction. But it can be prodded along by peaceful, nonviolent means.
Do your part to help the process along. Oppose bigotry wherever it exists. Educate the public about the harmful effects of Polish jokes, and all jokes which portray any group of people by means of a negative stereotype.
Polish American Journal, October February 2013
NEW YORK — At one time, immigrants dealt with becoming “more American,” but in today’s world it’s about celebrating “who you are” and “where you’re from.” So why did a Polish boy become a target in a long, and difficult struggle?
Being taller than other students, heavier, having acne, a Polish accent, and being from Poland — Bartłomiej “Bart” Palosz was ostracized for being different. The 15-year-old Connecticut boy committed suicide after the first day of school and authorities are investigating whether a long history of bullying was the factor.
Friends remember Bart as a gentle giant — a friendly, quiet boy with a welcoming face who never had a harsh word for anyone. He was a kind soul, a gifted student, and was always ready and willing to help those in need.
Bart was proud of his Polish roots and Poland was one of the few places where he was truly happy. In addition to local schooling, he attended The Polish School in Port Chester, New York and completed his Polish regional exam. Unlike his sister Beata, he never fully lost his native country’s accent.
In the days since his suicide, Bart’s family has described relentless bullying that had dogged him since he enrolled in the Greenwich public school district when he was in first grade. Physical and psychological torments were part of his daily life.
The boy who felt so alone had more than 400 people at his funeral — a Mass celebrated in English and Polish at The Holy Name of Jesus Church in Stamford, where he received his First Communion. The family has taken Bart’s body to be buried in Poland.
Palosz, a former Boy Scout, enjoyed playing video games and volunteered at a local library. He loved the outdoors, technology and politics. He also was an active social media user and his postings told the story of a troubled teen. When other Google+ users in his network assured him his difficulties would subside, he replied that he had been bullied at school every day for the last 10 years.
The Palosz family immigrated in 2002 from Kalna, Poland – near Kraków. Anna, a homemaker, and Franciszek, who owns a carpentry business, settled their family in Stamford. Bart was enrolled in kindergarten and karate classes. After their house was robbed, they relocated to a rental home in the Byram section of Greenwich, where they thought their children would be safer and better educated. In Greenwich, Bart was bullied and belittled by his peers.
Police say Bart Palosz died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at his family’s home. The shotgun used in the suicide was family-owned and had been stored in a gun locker inside the home.
Questions remain whether school officials did enough to prevent the taunting and bullying that family, friends, students and officials say were the underlying causes for the teen to take his life. There were numerous occasions when his parents and sister Beata reached out to school administrators for help addressing Bart’s bullies. They wrote letters to guidance counselors. Exchanged emails with administrators. Set up meetings with teachers and principals. “I honestly do not think the school addressed the bullying. It could have saved him if they did,” Beata said.
Beata last saw her brother alive when he hugged her goodbye after dropping her off at her freshman dorm room six days earlier. Palosz had a close relationship with his sister, who graduated this year. They always ate lunch together at school because he had no one else to eat with; she was one of his allies – his protector.
From smashing a brand new cell phone on the floor, to bashing his head into a locker and pushing him into thorny bushes on a daily basis, the torture was unending – and Bart chose to stay silent. He tolerated the ridicule and hid under a happy disposition.
Students who witnessed the locker incident on the last day of eighth-grade, said a bully bashed the metal door into Bart’s head on purpose. His forehead was cut by the corner of a locker, sending him to the emergency room for stitches. School administrators called it an accident and refused to share surveillance video recorded by security cameras with the family. Who were they protecting in this affluent neighborhood? Or was it simply indifference?
In silence, Bart endured verbal attacks from peers who picked on him for his uncommonly tall, 6 -foot-3-inch stature, his Polish accent, his extra weight, and the pimples on his face.
A sad, isolated young man, Bart was quiet and did not defend himself. but it seemed his outlook had brightened. During the summer he lost weight, his acne started to clear up, and he even started hanging around with people who seemed like genuine friends. It wasn’t until police directed the family to Bart’s page on the social media site that they learned he had spent the summer grappling with frequent suicidal thoughts because of the intimidation.
“The simple observation that `kids can be cruel’ is not action, it is an excuse, an inequitable pardon for those whose actions lead us being here today and an excuse for not teaching our children well,” said Brian Raabe in Bart’s eulogy.
Bullying and suicide too often go hand-in-hand. The incident continues to be investigated by members of the Greenwich Police Detective Division.
— Staś Kmieć from news reports.
The Case Against the Polish Joke (February 2014)
A Polish Boy’s Struggle with Bullying (October 2013)
The Origin of the “Polish Joke”
Polish “jokes” came from Nazi German propaganda that was then pushed ironically by Soviet communist sympathizers in Hollywood.
The racist stereotype that Poles are intellectually inferior or have subhuman intelligence, originated from Nazi German propaganda and Soviet propaganda.
For example, the myth that Polish horses were used to attack German tanks in World War II was total Nazi German propaganda that the Nazi Germans repeated over and over until it took a life of its own using the “Big Lie” technique. (Click on link for more on the Nazi propaganda on Polish Calvary attacks). The Big Lie is defined as "the intentional distortion of the truth, especially for political or official purposes." This tactic of trying to deceive a country's citizens was written about by Adolph Hitler. ["The great mass of people will more easily fall victim to a big lie than to a small one." Adolf Hitler (1889-1945), Mein Kampf, Vol. 1, Chapter 10, 1925].
The Soviet Communists saw the value of this myth and the racist notion that Polish people have subhuman intelligence, so they had their Left-Wing sympathizers in Hollywood push it to the American public using Anti-Polish Television and Movie imagery.
The image of Polish people having subhuman intelligence was useful to the Soviet Communists too, since then, people would not mind too much if Poland is occupied by the Soviet Union if Poles are portrayed as having a Slavic culture that is inferior and less then human.
Nazi German Hatred of Polish People
As for the German Nazis (and even the Soviets) they killed off the educated class of Poland first to make their racist stereotype of “Poland having inferior intelligence” a reality. The Nazi Germans also felt “Poles only had the intelligence for Nazi slave labor”.
Polish "jokes" were in Hitler's two speeches after he invaded Poland.
Hitler ridiculed Poles in his Sept. 19, 1939 speech in Danzig (today called Gdansk) and in his Berlin speech in Oct. 6, 1939 with these hate-through-humor anti-Polish “jokes” and references.
Nazi Anti-Polish propaganda/Polish “jokes” in Nazi Death Camps
Michael Preisler who was a Polish-Catholic survivor of the German Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz (Auschwitz prisoner #22213), has stated on many occasions how the Nazis ridiculed the Polish people as having less then human intelligence. Polish jokes were quite popular among Nazi guards in the parts of the Nazi death camps where there were Polish Catholic prisoners being tortured and killed.
Ironically, Left-wing Hollywood and the TV Networks (like NBC-TV) pushed these racist Polish “jokes,” even though Hollywood claimed to hate Nazis. Hollywood and NBC-TV evidently hate Nazi propaganda but not when its applied to Poles. Hollywood and Network-TV (NBC) have demonstrated a deep hatred for Anti-communist, Pro-American, Pro-Catholic Poland. The Polish American Guardian Society has documented NBC-TV’s attacks on Poland with racist Polish “jokes”.
The recent movie “Katyn” shows the German Nazis and Soviets killing the educated Polish class in Poland in order to make Poland “intellectually inferior” and easier to rule. This was during the time Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia were Allies, and were collaborating with each other to destroy Poland as per their Molotov-Ribbentrop pact to destroy Poland together.
Although there were degrading jokes about all ethnic groups in the United States due to assimilation problems when they arrived, the jokes that portray Poles as having subhuman intelligence, did not predate the 20th Century in America, since it was introduced by left-wing bigots in Hollywood and TV networks like NBC-TV in the late 1960s and 1970s.
Many Polish Americans who lived before this time have reported that they never heard these racist subhuman intelligence jokes about Poles, until after they were introduced by Left-Wing networks like NBC-TV in conjunction with Hollywood. NBC-TV launched Polish-bashing shows such as “Laugh In” which ridiculed Polish people constantly. Polish Americans felt the producer of “Laugh In,” George Schlatter, was an Anti-Polish bigot. In addition late night bigots were encouraged to bash Poles with “jokes” that portrayed the Polish people as having subhuman intelligence. Therefore the power of Television and motion pictures was used to demean and dehumanize Polish people with repetitive Big Lie type propaganda.
Anti-Polish movies such as “The End” were some of the earliest movies meant to degrade Poles with racist humor. In addition other anti-Polish shows such as “All in the Family” were used to degrade the Polish people even though the left-wing producer claimed the ruse that the show was suppose to be “against bigotry”. “All in the family” was filled with racist anti-Polish sound bites such as “Dumb Polak” in an attempt to influence its viewers to have the same anti-Polish prejudice, that the Left-wing producer of the show (Norman Lear) had.
So basically, Polish “jokes” were part of a Hollywood/TV media hate campaign against Polish people.
Hitler’s Two Speeches after Invading Poland (parts of speeches)
From Hitler’s speech of Sept. 19, 1939 in Danzig (Gdansk Poland):
At this moment we want to give the Polish soldier absolute justice. At many points the Pole fought bravely. His lower leadership made desperate efforts, his middle-grade leadership was too unintelligent, his highest leadership was bad, judged by any standard. His organization was — Polish...
http://www.hitler.org/speeches/09-13-39.html
Note: What Hitler fails to talk about is the tremendous help Nazi Germany got from Soviet Russia in invading Poland. Soviet Russia provided Nazi Germany millions of tons of war aid to be used in Germany’s invasion of Poland as per the Molotov-Ribbentrop agreement between Germany and Soviet Russia. Of course Hitler didn’t talk about that or how Polish troops held the Germans back well until Nazi Germany’s ally Russia attacked Poland from the Eastern side.
From Hitler’s speech of Oct 6, 1939:
Towns as well as villages are in a state of neglect. The roads, with very few exceptions, are badly out of repair and in a terrible condition. Anyone who travels in that country for two or three weeks will get the proper idea of the classical German term 'Polnische Wirtschaft,' meaning a 'Polish state of affairs!'
http://www.hitler.org/speeches/10-06-39.html
What Hitler failed to say in his speeches about Poland is that much of the problems Poland had in the early part of the 20th century was because of Poland being destroyed and pushed off the map from 1795-1917 by Germany and Russia.
Poland was basically licking its wounds and catching its breath in the early part of the 20th Century when it was back on the map.
Hitler’s Anti-Polish hate was sadly a continuation of Germany’s prejudice towards Poland/Slavic nations although Hitler’s hatred of Poles/Slavic people went far beyond prior German Anti-Polish/Slavic prejudice.
In conclusion its disgusting that Nazi Anti-Polish hate-through-humor subhuman intelligence “jokes” about Poles would be introduced (and pushed) by part of the Hollywood and “American” TV media such as NBC-TV in the 1960’s and 1970’s.
Polish “jokes” started to decline in the United States when Polish Americans put aside their good nature and aggressively spoke out against this Anti-Polish hatred.
Today, Polish jokes and ethnic jokes in general are seen as ethnic slurs by most fair minded Americans. In December 2008, former Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter apologized for telling “Polish jokes” after offending Polish and non-Polish Americans.
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2008/12/17/Specter-apologizes-for-Polish-jokes/UPI-44361229547951/
http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/archive/Specter-Apologizes-for-Polish-Comments.html
Despite the fact there is less tolerance for Polish jokes today than decades ago (due, in part to the Civil Rights movement, and the increased use of social media, which is quick to point out injustices), this does not mean Polish jokes have been eradicated. There are still unsophisticated people out there insecure with their own ethnic identity, who take pleasure in making themselves feel better, by ridiculing other groups of people. Not to mention there are still Anti-Polish bigots who use hate websites and other media to push these subhuman intelligence jokes about Polish people.
Polish people, and people of decency everywhere, should always speak out against these racist Polish jokes as well as degrading ethnic jokes of all nationalities.
The Case Against the Polish Joke
Polish American Journal, February 2014Editor's Note: Decades of “Polish jokes,” deemed “harmless,” have created a culture that makes such degrading humor acceptable. Sadly, it takes a toll on the self esteem of its victims, sometimes tragically.
To wit: Bart Palosz, the 15-year-old Connecticut boy who shot and killed himself in August 2013 after years of being harassed (See “A Polish Boy’s Struggle with Bullying,” below). Palosz, a Polish immigrant, was the target of bullies due to his size (the teen was 6 feet, 3 inches tall) and Polish accent.
by Richard A. Pacer
Beneficial changes in society occur slowly, but they do occur. Long-term change is positive, but such change has its peaks and valleys, much like the stock market. Thus slavery is no longer acceptable, as it once was. Many countries in Europe no longer invade one another, as they did for thousands of years, but have united in mutual defense (NATO) and economy (European Union). Years ago, physical and verbal abuse was commonly used in disciplining children, but now Society knows that such methods are wrong. (Discipline is still as important as ever, but it need not be abusive.) Society does learn and does make progress, albeit slowly.
Ethnic, racist, and sexist humor is gradually coming to be viewed by the more intelligent segment of society as simply wrong. In most cases, such humor is yet another form of abuse. Why is such humor wrong? Decisions made about whom to hire, or promote, or strongly encourage, are based on more than just academic credentials and experience. There is always an intangible element which plays a major role. Part of that element is rooted in a general impression, often subconsciously arrived at, of that person simply based on that person’s sex, race, or ethnic heritage. How is this impression nurtured? Humor, which may portray the members of a group by means of a negative stereotype, unfortunately still plays a role and has a crippling effect.
Here’s an example to consider: “Equal pay for equal work” has long been regarded as a desirable goal for society. Yet when all of the usual factors (academic credentials, years of experience, and so forth) are taken into consideration, women still earn less, on the average, than men. Why? One of the reasons for this lies in the negative stereotypes about women which were propagated in years past by means of cruel jokes, jokes in which women were presented (all in supposedly good fun, mind you!) as inferior to men. Thank goodness women no longer put up with this kind of abuse. Women (and even some men) are to be commended for speaking out. Yet the effects of such discrimination still linger, and are only very slowly dying out. Unfortunately, a “glass ceiling” still exists.
Yet, one such type of abuse still remains and is widely propagated. I’m referring to the Polish joke. Such humor is not innocent. It is a form of bigotry which results, in most cases, in anger, depression, and anguish. We know, for example, that when children are told that they are stupid or that they won’t amount to much, this verbal abuse truly has a debilitating effect. Obviously, when children of Polish heritage are bombarded by Polish jokes, it cannot help but have negative consequences.
At this point the reader may protest, “But I would never tell such jokes to children.” Granted, but the perpetrator is helping to disseminate such jokes among the population at large. Certainly, children are bound to hear or overhear such jokes. Either the people who tell such jokes are ignorant or they have no regard for the consequences of their actions. How can otherwise decent and intelligent people, who tell Polish jokes, not realize that they are attacking the spirit of an entire group of people? If they do realize this, how can they possibly be so cruel? A lie, when repeated widely, comes to be accepted by a certain segment of the population as true. When the message is presented in the form of a joke, it still has an impact, and some people will believe this message is true.
Unfortunately, a few people of Polish heritage are partly to blame for the present state of affairs. They need to speak out whenever they encounter the abuse of a Polish joke, and follow the lead of other groups who, by speaking out or working with anti-defamation organizations, have been more effective at combating abuse. Polish jokes are not innocuous, although the person telling such jokes may look upon them as good-natured ribbing and nothing more. The intention might be to just “break the ice” by supposedly innocent humor. But again, like the misguided abusive treatment of children in past years (but with the best of intentions), the road to hell is paved with good intentions.
Some people of Polish heritage will actually laugh at Polish jokes. They are in denial, much like the person with chest pains refusing to believe he could possibly be having a heart attack. They may pretend that they are totally unaffected by such jokes. They will never admit that such jokes have affected their spirit or sense of well-being. They may even go so far as to tell such jokes themselves. This is sad.
Society changes slowly and moves, in the long run, in a positive direction. But it can be prodded along by peaceful, nonviolent means.
Do your part to help the process along. Oppose bigotry wherever it exists. Educate the public about the harmful effects of Polish jokes, and all jokes which portray any group of people by means of a negative stereotype.
A Polish Boy’s Struggle with Bullying
Polish American Journal, October February 2013NEW YORK — At one time, immigrants dealt with becoming “more American,” but in today’s world it’s about celebrating “who you are” and “where you’re from.” So why did a Polish boy become a target in a long, and difficult struggle?
Being taller than other students, heavier, having acne, a Polish accent, and being from Poland — Bartłomiej “Bart” Palosz was ostracized for being different. The 15-year-old Connecticut boy committed suicide after the first day of school and authorities are investigating whether a long history of bullying was the factor.
Friends remember Bart as a gentle giant — a friendly, quiet boy with a welcoming face who never had a harsh word for anyone. He was a kind soul, a gifted student, and was always ready and willing to help those in need.
Bart was proud of his Polish roots and Poland was one of the few places where he was truly happy. In addition to local schooling, he attended The Polish School in Port Chester, New York and completed his Polish regional exam. Unlike his sister Beata, he never fully lost his native country’s accent.
In the days since his suicide, Bart’s family has described relentless bullying that had dogged him since he enrolled in the Greenwich public school district when he was in first grade. Physical and psychological torments were part of his daily life.
The boy who felt so alone had more than 400 people at his funeral — a Mass celebrated in English and Polish at The Holy Name of Jesus Church in Stamford, where he received his First Communion. The family has taken Bart’s body to be buried in Poland.
Palosz, a former Boy Scout, enjoyed playing video games and volunteered at a local library. He loved the outdoors, technology and politics. He also was an active social media user and his postings told the story of a troubled teen. When other Google+ users in his network assured him his difficulties would subside, he replied that he had been bullied at school every day for the last 10 years.
The Palosz family immigrated in 2002 from Kalna, Poland – near Kraków. Anna, a homemaker, and Franciszek, who owns a carpentry business, settled their family in Stamford. Bart was enrolled in kindergarten and karate classes. After their house was robbed, they relocated to a rental home in the Byram section of Greenwich, where they thought their children would be safer and better educated. In Greenwich, Bart was bullied and belittled by his peers.
Police say Bart Palosz died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at his family’s home. The shotgun used in the suicide was family-owned and had been stored in a gun locker inside the home.
Questions remain whether school officials did enough to prevent the taunting and bullying that family, friends, students and officials say were the underlying causes for the teen to take his life. There were numerous occasions when his parents and sister Beata reached out to school administrators for help addressing Bart’s bullies. They wrote letters to guidance counselors. Exchanged emails with administrators. Set up meetings with teachers and principals. “I honestly do not think the school addressed the bullying. It could have saved him if they did,” Beata said.
Beata last saw her brother alive when he hugged her goodbye after dropping her off at her freshman dorm room six days earlier. Palosz had a close relationship with his sister, who graduated this year. They always ate lunch together at school because he had no one else to eat with; she was one of his allies – his protector.
From smashing a brand new cell phone on the floor, to bashing his head into a locker and pushing him into thorny bushes on a daily basis, the torture was unending – and Bart chose to stay silent. He tolerated the ridicule and hid under a happy disposition.
Students who witnessed the locker incident on the last day of eighth-grade, said a bully bashed the metal door into Bart’s head on purpose. His forehead was cut by the corner of a locker, sending him to the emergency room for stitches. School administrators called it an accident and refused to share surveillance video recorded by security cameras with the family. Who were they protecting in this affluent neighborhood? Or was it simply indifference?
In silence, Bart endured verbal attacks from peers who picked on him for his uncommonly tall, 6 -foot-3-inch stature, his Polish accent, his extra weight, and the pimples on his face.
A sad, isolated young man, Bart was quiet and did not defend himself. but it seemed his outlook had brightened. During the summer he lost weight, his acne started to clear up, and he even started hanging around with people who seemed like genuine friends. It wasn’t until police directed the family to Bart’s page on the social media site that they learned he had spent the summer grappling with frequent suicidal thoughts because of the intimidation.
“The simple observation that `kids can be cruel’ is not action, it is an excuse, an inequitable pardon for those whose actions lead us being here today and an excuse for not teaching our children well,” said Brian Raabe in Bart’s eulogy.
Bullying and suicide too often go hand-in-hand. The incident continues to be investigated by members of the Greenwich Police Detective Division.
— Staś Kmieć from news reports.
Decades of “Polish jokes,” deemed “harmless,” have created a culture that makes such degrading humor acceptable. Sadly, it takes a toll on the self esteem of its victims, sometimes tragically. One example is Bart Palosz, a 15-year-old Connecticut boy who shot and killed himself in August 2013 after years of being harassed (See “A Polish Boy’s Struggle with Bullying,” below). Palosz, a Polish immigrant, was the target of bullies due to his size (the teen was 6 feet, 3 inches tall) and Polish accent.
Fighting Defamation
