"two couples in ireland decided to swap partners. In the morning paddy asked murphy 'I wonder how the girls got on'" (why ireland? I mean really....)
Hi
RP! I've never lived in Canada, so I don't know if you have there the same "haha, the Irish: how ridiculous! How stupid!" culture that is a plague in the UK.
To be boring and go into the subject a bit deeper:
a) I believe that the REASON that the Irish were [still are by all too many] considered stupid by the British was because of naivité: Many RURAL Irish emigrated to CITIES in Britain looking for work. Because they didn't know how the Underground worked or even flush toilets, they were considered "thick" when it was merely a case of things that they'd never experienced.
b1) The Irish are among the nicest people on Earth. [Some people reason that the British are cold because they live in a cold climate. The Irish climate is just as cold (and even rainier!) but the Irish are (generally) warm-hearted and generous/open with strangers.] This - and their naivité - made it easy for the British to cheat them. Arseholes who cheat others think that they are oh-so-clever and that their victims are oh-so-thick.
b2) The Irish are among the nicest people on Earth, warm-hearted and generous/open with strangers. This - and their naivité - made it easy for the British to constantly make fun of them without getting a fist in their faces.
But I'll give you an exception to the rule by telling my favourite "Irish joke" (TOLD by the Irish, for a change):
Q: Why are Irish jokes so stupid?
A: If they weren't, the Brits wouldn't understand them.
[Dexys Midnight Runners made
a nice comment on the supposed stupidity of the Irish. Listen to it
here... And they left out James Joyce and the greatest Irish literary genius of them all,
Flann O'Brien.]
And back to your joke in particular. I don't know if this has any bearing at all, but [quoting from Wikipedia]
Today, Ireland is increasingly liberal on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) issues. Both male and female same-sex sexual activity are legal in the state. Government recognition of LGBT rights in Ireland has expanded greatly over the past two decades. Homosexuality was decriminalised in 1993, and most forms of discrimination based on sexual orientation is now outlawed. Ireland also forbids incitement to hatred based on sexual orientation.
A 2012 survey showed that 73% of Irish people agreed that "same sex marriage should be allowed in the Constitution".[1][2] Earlier, a 2008 survey showed that 84% of Irish people support civil marriage or civil partnerships for same-sex couples, with 58% supporting full marriage rights in registry offices
Did you get that? From TOTAL illegality prior to
1993 to that level of acceptance in just 20 years!!! Whereas in the UK,
In 2001, the age of consent was equalised to 16 under the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 2000, regardless of gender or sexual orientation.
Before that, the age of consent for straight women was 16, for homosexual men 21 [this after the 1967 Sexual Offences Act
partially legalising homosexuality: it had to be consensual (fair enough), both partners had to be over 21, and it had to be in private (meaning - among other things - no more than 2 at a time) ... and this act only applied to England and Wales: male homosexuality continued to be illegal in Scotland until 1981 and in Northern Ireland until 1982], and a legal loophole existed that - because women weren't even interested in sex so would only get it on because a
man was interested in them - lesbianism wasn't illegal at all... because it didn't exist! So there was no age of consent for lesbians.
So... there are 3 possibilities:
1) This joke dates from before 1993, when the British considered the Irish "backward" and "ridiculous" for still not having legalised homosexuality!
!
2) It dates from between 1993 and 2000, when the Irish were "quaint", "funny", and "queer" for being even more liberal than the British!
!
3) "The Irish are so
thick that they don't
realise that when you say 'partner swapping', you're supposed to swap the little woman for
another little woman!"
!
Ah, me! Those Irish! Always good for a laugh!
p.s. Please don't think that I've got it in for the British. "Some of my best friends are Brits." (Remind you of anything?) I've just got it in for louts who make fun of the Irish... or anybody else because of their cultural differences.