Humor – Joke

Nationality: American - black/Mexican
Age: 25
Occupation: High school mentor
Residence: Palo Alto, CA
Performance Date: April 2011
Primary Language: English

Joke:

There were three men on an airplane; a white man, an Asian man and a Mexican man. They each had with them some cargo from their country. The white man had a bunch of hamburgers, the Asian man had tons of rice and the Mexican man had loads of tacos. The plane was too heavy so the captain told them ‘You’re going to have to throw out some of your cargo.’ The Asian man dumped the rice and said, “I have enough of these in my country,” as he threw out some rice. The Mexican man threw out some tacos and said, “I have enough of these in my country”. Then the white man threw the Mexican man out of the plane and said, “I have enough of these in my country.”

The joke is an example of blason populaire because it makes fun of one specific ethnic group. A white classmate told my informant this joke in elementary school. My informant went to a fairly conservative private elementary school and the boy who told him the joke was most likely repeating what he had heard from an adult or older person with a developed political opinion. He remembers being offended by the joke but thought it was funny at the same time. The joke definitely made an impact on my informant because he remembers the joke approximately ten years after he was first told it.  The joke reflects the sentiments of many (white) Americans regarding immigration of Mexican people to the United States. People often use jokes as a way to lightheartedly and inappropriately share their prejudices.