down with "conventional wisdom"! (or another annoying rant)

. . . so, yesterday in the whirlpool at the gym, some guy mentions that he's participating in the "jewish triathlon," that is -- steam, whirlpool, shower. at first i thought he said "douche's triathlon," to which i chuckled politely. (i don't know why, but maybe it had to do with the fact that we were both naked.)

but. he then clarifies by saying: it's okay, his jewish friend told him that. "oh," i think "jewish triathlon. is that funny?"

the more i thought about it, the more the comment bothered me. first off, why does it make it okay to spout off some thinly-veiled racist remark just because some idiot friend of yours said it? second, what does that even mean? (jews enjoy bathing more than others, or that they're lazier, or that they can't do sports?? i'm confused.) third, how did the guy know i wasn't jewish myself? was he trying to mark his territory, assert his anglo-saxon god-given authority all over my semitic ass?

now, i'm less bothered by the "un-p.c." nature of this comment, than the sheer fundamental premise of jokes like this. . . they tend to support a culture that never questions "conventional wisdom." i myself am a fan of never accepting an idea simply because every other idiot thinks it's true. (look at saddam and the weapons of mass destruction in the lead-up to the current war or the unexplainable best-seller that was the da vinci code.) everytime that joke is told, whatever stereotypes are behind it become further entrenched in our collective psyche. ick.

my points (if there are any): things can be funny or true without attributing entire behavioral characteristics onto an entire group of people. . . also, truth has very little to do, in most circumstances, with over-generalizations. think for yourself, and don't accept "givens" as true without question. as our country is all too aware these days, that kind of failure of thought can get us in a lot of trouble.

ah, springtime in chicago. . .

(from the chicago tribune)