Why are Polish Americans mocked in the american media?

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wildeckirenegat	Sep 28, 10, 20:32 #1
Where does all of this prejudice come from? Are American Jews from Poland responsible for this? Maybe Germans? Or maybe it's your own fault that you can't adapt to the other white groups and despite of being 3rd or 4th generation Americans you still work in blue collar jobs? I'm curious becaue I'm polish too (but living in the fatherland)

scottie1113Threads: 11 Posts: 873 Joined: Mar 13, 07 ♂	Sep 28, 10, 20:36 #2
Re the title of this thread: I didn't know that they were. How do you know this, and do you have any proof? Hmmmm. I didn't think so. Go away troll.

wildeckirenegat	Sep 28, 10, 20:37 #3
Scottie half of the posts here proves that you have some problems and complexes because of it

z_dariusThreads: 22 Posts: 5,091 Joined: Oct 18, 07 ♂	Sep 28, 10, 20:43 #4
wildeckirenegat: Scottie half of the posts here proves that you have some problems and complexes because of it he is not Polish, you half wit.

wildeckirenegat	Sep 28, 10, 20:45 #5
How could I know? I'm not a regular poster here

convexThreads: 46 Posts: 7,185 Joined: Nov 25, 09 ♂	Sep 28, 10, 20:47 #6
That's interesting, I never heard anything about Poles in the media when I lived in the states. I don't think the majority of Americans care about Poles one way or another.

pgtxThreads: 49 Posts: 6,327 Joined: Feb 14, 09 MEMBER ♀	Edited by: pgtx Sep 28, 10, 20:49 #7
convex: I never heard anything about Poles in the media when I lived in the states. same here... well, maybe after our president died, they were talking a bit about it, but that's it...

wildeckirenegat	Sep 28, 10, 20:49 #8
convex: I never heard anything about Poles in the media when I lived in the states. So maybe it's a false stereotype in Poland that American Polonia is a scapegoat (Not that they talk much about American Polonia)

♂

Edited by: convex Sep 28, 10, 21:04 #9

wildeckirenegat:

So maybe it's a false stereotype in Poland that American Polonia is a scapegoat (Not that they talk much about American Polonia)

I think so. Don't take this the wrong way, but Poland and Poles isn't exactly a hot topic in the US. At least not outside of a handful of places in the US with heavy migration. Most Americans will probably go through life without ever having consciously known a Pole. I didn't before moving back to the old continent.

SeanBMThreads: 41 Posts: 8,727 Joined: Mar 10, 08 ♂	Edited by: SeanBM Sep 28, 10, 21:07 #10
convex: Most Americans will probably go through life without ever having consciously known a Pole. That's outrageous! We have to do something to stop this but what? :) wildeckirenegat: Why are Polish Americans mocked in the american media? To my knowledge they are not. If you don't produce any evidence of this, I will be lead to believe you are a troll.

convexThreads: 46 Posts: 7,185 Joined: Nov 25, 09 ♂	Sep 28, 10, 21:08 #11
SeanBM: We have to do something to stop this but what? :) Send more women, give the US a reason to want to know a Polka.

SeanBMThreads: 41 Posts: 8,727 Joined: Mar 10, 08 ♂	Edited by: SeanBM Sep 28, 10, 21:10 #12
convex: Send more women, give the US a reason to want to know a Polka. You think human trafficking is the answer to everything ;)

convexThreads: 46 Posts: 7,185 Joined: Nov 25, 09 ♂	Sep 28, 10, 21:12 #13
SeanBM: You think human trafficking is the answer to everything. I never said anything about human trafficking...I'm talking about loving long term relationships... OK, maybe a little bit of human trafficking. You got me.

trener zolwiaThreads: 5 Posts: 2,786 Joined: Jun 8, 10 ♂	Sep 28, 10, 21:13 #14
convex: I never heard anything about Poles in the media when I lived in the states. I don't think the majority of Americans care about Poles one way or another. I agree. I never hear much about Poles one way or the other. Unless OP has a particular recent incident in mind...

pgtxThreads: 49 Posts: 6,327 Joined: Feb 14, 09 MEMBER ♀	Sep 28, 10, 21:21 #15
convex: Most Americans will probably go through life without ever having consciously known a Pole. when i went to Chicago, many Americans didn't even know about Chicago's big Polish community.. hmm...

guesswhoThreads: 23 Posts: 3,326 Joined: Mar 17, 10 ♀	Sep 28, 10, 21:47 #16
convex: That's interesting, I never heard anything about Poles in the media when I lived in the states. I don't think the majority of Americans care about Poles one way or another. Yep, that's the way it is. Never heard anything about Poles where I live either.

Bratwurst BoyThreads: 11 Posts: 14,563 Joined: Apr 2, 07 ♂	Sep 28, 10, 21:51 #17
wildeckirenegat: Where does all of this prejudice come from? Are American Jews from Poland responsible for this? Maybe Germans? MediaWatch? Is that you???

scottie1113Threads: 11 Posts: 873 Joined: Mar 13, 07 ♂	Sep 29, 10, 00:04 #18
I love these people who post provocative threads as guests. They can't be bothered to register. Sheesh! GO AWAY TROLLS scottie1113: Scottie half of the posts here proves that you have some problems and complexes because of it Check your grammar, then disappear troll. No, I'm not Polish, but I live here.

wildeckirenegat	Sep 29, 10, 00:36 #19
scottie1113: Check your grammar, then disappear troll. English is not my native language and I'm not a troll (btw. learn to use commas) As for this topic - are you all implying that polish jokes disappeared?

Pinching PeteThreads: 1 Posts: 1,111 Joined: Feb 23, 08 ♂	Sep 29, 10, 00:41 #20
wildeckirenegat: are you all implying that polish jokes disappeared? He probably is.. most people on the thread have told you Polish jokes are rare in the US now. They were last prevalent maybe in the 80's.

wildeckirenegat	Sep 29, 10, 00:44 #21
Pinching Pete: He probably is.. most people on the thread have told you Polish jokes are rare in the US now Nobody said anything about it earlier.. but thanks this is what I wanted to know

Pinching PeteThreads: 1 Posts: 1,111 Joined: Feb 23, 08 ♂	Sep 29, 10, 00:47 #22
wildeckirenegat: Nobody said anything about it earlier I can't say they don't exist anymore but I hear a lot more jokes about Irish drunks, Mexicans, Jews, etc.

richasisThreads: 5 Posts: 833 Joined: Jul 25, 09 ♂	Sep 29, 10, 01:16 #23
guesswho: Yep, that's the way it is. Never heard anything about Poles where I live either. For some Americans, exposure to Poles is the 'Dumb Polack' joke.

trener zolwiaThreads: 5 Posts: 2,786 Joined: Jun 8, 10 ♂	Edited by: trener zolwia Sep 29, 10, 01:35 #24
pgtx: many Americans didn't even know about Chicago's big Polish community.. I might have learned about this here. Pinching Pete: Polish jokes are rare in the US now. richasis: For some Americans, exposure to Poles is the 'Dumb Polack' joke. Haven't heard onea them in years.

IronsideThreads: 59 Posts: 6,786 Joined: Feb 26, 09 ♂	Sep 29, 10, 01:56 #25
Polish American or Poles? Well, I don't know about it but I would mock myself some of the so called Polish American if PF can be representative.... Anyway its old ....if you ain't troll register and you'll find similar thread aplenty here !

trener zolwiaThreads: 5 Posts: 2,786 Joined: Jun 8, 10 ♂	Sep 29, 10, 02:04 #26
Ironside: I would mock myself some of the so called Polish American if PF can be representative.... Poles do seem to be the peeps hardest on Poles, around here anyway...

guesswhoThreads: 23 Posts: 3,326 Joined: Mar 17, 10 ♀	Edited by: guesswho Sep 29, 10, 02:10 #27
richasis: For some Americans, exposure to Poles is the 'Dumb Polack' joke. Even when someone says "Dumb Polack", he usually means this particular person who just peed him off and not all Poles. Besides, I gotta say, the Polish jokes are pretty dead by now.

IronsideThreads: 59 Posts: 6,786 Joined: Feb 26, 09 ♂	Sep 29, 10, 02:12 #28
trener zolwia: Poles do seem to be the peeps hardest on Poles, around here anyway... yeah ! Expecting some brains from them maybe ?

f stopThreads: 33 Posts: 2,861 Joined: Dec 9, 09 ♀	Sep 29, 10, 02:47 #29
wildekinsomethig: Why are Polish Americans mocked in the american media? Could you give an example? The only one example I can only think of in TV is Dorota, the Polish maid in Gossip Girls: Not too good, but not horrible, either.

♂

Sep 29, 10, 04:56 #30

wildeckirenegat:

Where does all of this prejudice come from? Are American Jews from Poland responsible for this? Maybe Germans? Or maybe it's your own fault that you can't adapt to the other white groups and despite of being 3rd or 4th generation Americans you still work in blue collar jobs?

I'm curious becaue I'm polish too (but living in the fatherland)

Polish-Bashing in the "American" media happened a lot in the 1960's and 70's as far as anti-Polish mocking, as in portraying Polish people as having "inferior intelligence". It then gradually subsided after Polish American groups spoke out against it and people like the Polish pope was in the news.

Anti-Polish bias still exists today, but its nothing like it used to be decades ago.

What kind of mocking are you talking about? Do you have any recent examples?

Also the American media today is a big place. I have noticed that the conservative American media like Talk Radio has been relatively fair to Polish people and from time to time has been nice to Polish people. Like radio talk show host Laura Ingraham (Laura is half Polish) who is not shy about talking about her hard working Polish mother who put her through law school or talk show Host Michael Savage who is not shy about talking about how he likes English Writer "Joseph Conrad" and gives him credit for being one of the greatest English Writers even though English was his second or third language. Michael Savage is not shy about talking about Joseph Conrad's Polish ancestry.

I was pleasantly surprised the other day when I heard former Republican Newt Gingrich plug his Pro-Polish book about the Polish Pope & Poland, on the Sean Hannity Radio talk show (2nd Biggest talk show in the US) as well as plugging it on the O'Reilly Factor which is a popular cable show.

If you go to Youtube and do a search for "Quiet Hero" by Rita Cosby (who is half Polish) you will see the media has been pretty fair to her about her promoting her Pro-Polish book about her father and Poland.

Martha Stewart for years has had her own TV show and was NEVER SHY about talking about her Polish ancestry. She used to have her mom on the show and they always talked up the Polish traditions in their house when she was growing up.

I do agree there still is anti-Polish prejudice in some ELEMENTS of Hollywood and the media. I have talked about this quite a bit in the past. But in fairness, we Poles should also appreciate the positive and fair portrayals of Polish people when we see that as well.

We should always speak out against anti-Polish prejudice in that element of the media when we see it, but ALSO give credit to those elements of the media that have fair and or positive portrayals of Polish people in that part of the media complex.

The media in the US has its bad and good just like anybody else.

As for American Jews in the media, it would NOT be fair to paint them with one brush. I have seen anti-Polish Jewish Americans just like I have seen Jewish Americans who are fair and friendly towards Polish people. I personally like listening to Conservative American Jews on the radio. They seem like good American patriots in my book.

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