Stereotypes about Polish people being stupid?

Which is one of the reasons why I don't feel sorry for what is happening in Germany right now.

Show me a reputable source for that - not some propaganda crap made up by the Polish American Journal.

What's wrong with Polish American Journal unless you're polonophobic? More to the point, non Polish American journalists don't give a toss about genesis of Polish jokes so they wouldn't bother digging, for them they are just there, who cares why.

Everything. This review on Amazon says it all... :)

amazon.com/Polish-American-Journal/dp/B00006KT2F

And this review was written by....

... someone who has received almost 1500 helpful votes for his reviews on Amazon.

The origin of the stereotype that Polish people have subhuman intelligence came from Nazi German propaganda. Hitler in his speeches made "jokes" about how Polish people have subhuman intelligence, since he felt Poles were a subhuman race with subhuman intelligence. Ironically, the Leftist "Anti-Nazi"(Anti-Polish) Hollywood/TV establishment LOVED this Nazi propaganda about Poles...and imported these Anti-Polish jokes into America....RENAMING them as "Polish jokes". They did this to degrade the image of Polish people

youtube.com/watch?v=o5v_V70ZFKQ

Thanks Media watch I always wondered why Americans picked on the Poles with their Polak Jokes , The Brits picked on the Irish, Can anyone explain why would the American media pick on the Poles and their reasoning behind it?

dolnoslask,

Well actually....although the American people did "pick on" and ridicule Poles with so called "Polish jokes"....this Anti-Polish prejudice is something that did not originate from the hearts and minds of Americans Per Se. They learned this Anti-Polish propaganda from the Left Wing Anti-Polish Hollywood/TV networks that they watched day after day. It was no coincidence that the The peak of Anti-Polish Bigotry in the US....was in the 1960's to 1970's when the Left wing TV networks were going crazy pumping out shows which contained dialog of anti-Polish jokes and "Dumb Polack this" and "Dumb Polish that", etc. So unfortunately.....these constant Anti-Polish sound bites got into their brains and they thought....HEY if I see people on TV bashing Poles with Anti-Polish slurs....It must be "OK" for me to do so!

This video helps explain this - NBC-TV's Anti-Polish Hate joke slurs of 1960's and 70's and onwards
youtube.com/watch?v=zho2w1-0nCE

The Left-wing media in the US is certainly no friend of Polish people and they are reluctant to report on any thing positive about Poles.

That's why I'm glad there is alternative/internet media on Poles now that show the good things Poles do. I have found that most Americans get a favorable impression of Poles when they see media like this on Poles. Most Americans I know RESPECT Poland for standing up to Islam and think Poland is an INTELLIGENT nation for standing up to Islam. See comments on this video

youtube.com/watch?v=Hakb6S0IpgY

Just an American thing - and about other Americans of Polish descent rather than Poles. Ironically in 'All in the family' (their adaptation of 'til death us do part') the most sympathetic and down-to-earth character was of Polish descent; the partner of Archie Bunker's daughter (a copy of the role played by Tony Booth) was a Polish American and just as in 'til death us do part the joke was on the old bigot Alf Garnett/Archie Bunker.

Archie Bunker. That does sound more plausible than some kind of mass conspiracy against the Poles, why would any Americans wish Poland any harm , the vast majority of Poles like the American people (Although not always the politics and vice versa I guess)

They don't really. The jokes in question are about other Americans, ones with Polish roots rather than anyone in or from modern Poland and in any case the jokes are exactly the same ones that you used to here in Britain about the Irish, in Spain about the Portugese, in France about the Belgians and which I sometimes hear in Poland about a certain group.

I get it Jon, but I guess if the same jokes / stereotypes were made about black people all hell would break loose.

So Are the Polish Jokes dying away in America In the same way that racists jokes are a no no today?

They were and it did! Still goes on though.


I think so. Those jokes are all old and only half were funny when they were fresh anyway. Plus TV has to be a bit more careful these days about being inclusive about specific groups and not offending. Having said that, some people take offence at almost anything.

"some people take offence at almost anyth" Very true I used the term call a spade a spade once when I was at school, I never realized it was/ could be a racist term , I was refering to a garden impliment

American media have traditionally been liberal leftist aka "progressive", agnostic and anticlerical so it is obvious they would not take a fancy to a staunchly Catholic coutnry like Poland.

Secondly, Jews (around 2% of the US population) are disprortioantely represnted in the American media and blame Poles for the communist regime's 1968 anti-Semitic purge and other Polish-Jewish friction.

Exactly. All about context. At home nobody would think about the London slang meaning or even care, but in, say, a comedy about Brixton and said in an ironic way it's different.

Spade wasn't originally a racist term. It was the 'cool' word for a black person amongst the youth of the 1960s, particularly in musical circles, a bit like calling a woman a 'chic' or another man a 'cat'. I suppose that at some point a white person decided to be offended on behalf of black people and the next thing is the term is 'racist'.......

Probably more the way some people used it, and why. Most people who used the term back then wouldn't have intended to offend, however doubtless some used it to denigrate and hard to blame anyone being touchy after hearing it about them, often from lowlife - just as Pol-Ams can be over Pollack and both terms often part and parcel of a judgement about intelligence, sophistication etc..

no Atch, at some point probably some white person started using it abusively, more than likely prefixed with 'F***ing

The Polish American Journal is probably America's most influential Polonian publication with a nationwide circulation. It covers a wide range of Polonian and Polish-themed topics.

Any sort of national stereotype is just that, the result of ignorance and bigotry. Frankly, I wouldn't even dignify this thread with a reply.

Fair point Roz. I only know the term from my London days and I never heard it used in a derogatory way but I suppose things have changed.

Spade a spade,

found a link that explains the problem pretty well

npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2013/09/19/224183763/is-it-racist-to-call-a-spade-a-spade

looks like it would of been a problem at school in the 70's for me to say it links to malcom x and some books written at the time.

best advice is not to use it nowadays, I don't.

Just goes to show that you can be called out as a racists, or get accused of stereotyping when you dad no intent to do so.

I guess you have to keep up with changes in society so as not to offend, wife told me off for saying colored when refering to black and Asian people, It now should be black asian mixed race.

Trouble is that people used colored when i was a kid , and it kind of stuck , I had no intention of offending by using that term.

Is there a list that is kept up to date anywhere ,as to what is currently acceptable and not acceptable nowadays.

Calling polish people eastern Europeans is problem for for me as I don't see Poland as eastern European, it was always middle Europe, maybe it is due to Soviet occupation of Poland after WWII.

The PC mania tries to muzzle people, but the fact remains that Jews in general are astute businessmen but poor athletes, Negros are great runners and basketballers but very poor swimmers, Hungarians lead in suicides, Italians make better lovers than soldiers, Germans are obsessed about "Ordnung muß sein!"... Those are not stereotypes, those are facts.

And leather pants...

Any chance of any sources to support that load of racist claptrap?

master of the obvious statement ?

Go and check the very basic sport statistics. Olympics results or whatever.

@Polonius et al, the Jews are no more astute in business per se than Negroes are excellent in sports simply because they're Negroes, and necessarily poor in math and science simply because of same!

If you've studied the history of the Jews, you'd realize that they were forbidden from entering any field aka professional guilds as were the Christians. They were even forbidden from serving their country in the military!

As they were forced to become money lenders, tax collectors and enter other "unpopular" fields, off limits to gentiles because money changing was considered sinful and therefore forbidden, they simply were forced to hone certain skills, possibly anathema to them under more normal circumstances.

As you grow older, you'll find that there are usually as many exceptions to the rule as examples of it:-)

Yes you're right but they're helping each other are they not?

Why worry about stereotypes? In Poland some people are laughing at Americans that they couldn't find their own country on a map let alone some other country, stereotypes.