Arrested for "Joke Speech"

You think being tried for "hate speech" is bad? (Ask Mark Steyn). How about telling a joke? Ben Lewis directed a film about Soviet humor, and now has a book out under the same title. From his article on the topic at Prospect Magazine:

The first jokes about the Russian revolution surfaced immediately after October 1917. In one, an old woman visits Moscow zoo and sees a camel for the first time. "Look what the Bolsheviks have done to that horse!" she exclaims. As the system became harsher, a distinctive communist sense of humour emerged—pithy, dark and surreal—but so did the legal machinery for repressing it. Historian Roy Medvedev looked through the files of Stalin's political prisoners and concluded that 200,000 people were imprisoned for telling jokes, such as this: Three prisoners in the gulag get to talking about why they are there. "I am here because I always got to work five minutes late, and they charged me with sabotage," says the first. "I am here because I kept getting to work five minutes early, and they charged me with spying," says the second. "I am here because I got to work on time every day," says the third, "and they charged me with owning a western watch."

Yet there is an obvious problem with the idea that communist jokes represented an act of revolt: it wasn't just opponents of the regime who told them. Stalin himself cracked them, including this one about a visit from a Georgian delegation: They come, they talk to Stalin, and then they go, heading off down the Kremlin's corridors. Stalin starts looking for his pipe. He can't find it. He calls in Beria, the dreaded head of his secret police. "Go after the delegation, and find out which one took my pipe," he says. Beria scuttles off down the corridor. Five minutes later Stalin finds his pipe under a pile of papers. He calls Beria—"Look, I've found my pipe." "It's too late," Beria says, "half the delegation admitted they took your pipe, and the other half died during questioning."

Stalin's laughter underlines the cynicism of the Soviet enterprise. But after his death the joke trials petered out. One of Khrushchev's first acts was to release all those imprisoned for minor political crimes, which included telling jokes.

So what would happen to you in Canada if you told a joke about hate speech laws?? Would that just be hate speech? Or what if you just told a joke about one of the "human rights" commissioners? Do we have a right to laugh or tell jokes?

More Ben Lewis:

Guenter Schabowski, the East German newspaper editor and later politburo member, told me: "At Neues Deutschland we told each other jokes in the canteen. We weren't blind to the failings of the system, but we convinced ourselves that this was only because it was the early days and the class enemy was perpetrating sabotage. One day, we thought, all problems will be solved and there won't be any more jokes because there won't be anything to joke about."

Can you imagine? A world with nothing to joke about? Will there be laughter in heaven? Over what?

Comments

[Bobby Winters]

>>Will there be laughter in heaven? Over what? <<

Long-term planning.

[Rob G]

Those of you who've seen the film "The Lives of Others" will recall the joke told by a young government staffer in the cafeteria:

One morning Erich Honecker wakes up early to see the sunrise. As it rises, the German leader cries out, "Good morning, dear sun!" And the sun answers, "Good morning, dear Erich!"

At lunchtime, Honecker again opens his window and looking up says, "Good afternoon, dear sun!" The sun replies "Good afternoon, dear Erich!"

In the evening, the leader wants to see the sunset, so he again opens his window. "Good evening, dear sun!" he says. The sun replies, "Screw you! I'm in the west now!"

In the film, everyone hearing the joke laughs, including a commandant, who laughs just as hearily, then takes the officer's name, rank, and station.

[James A. Altena]

As an undergraduate history major at Wayne State U. in Detroit, with one of this nation's leading authorities on Communist Eastern Europe (Richard V. Burks, who was also policy director of Radio Free Europe from 1965-1970) as my advisor, I cut my eye teeth on Iron Curtain Bloc underground humor 30 years ago. I love it, and have three different volumes that collect many such jokes. Unfortunately they're in storage at this time, so I don't have all the titles, but one of them (the first one I ever acquired) is John Kolasky, "Look, Comrades, the People are Laughing: Underground Wit, Satire, and Humour from behind the Iron Curtain." I just checked Amazon and it has two used copies available.

A Soviet 1st grade teacher asked each of her students to give an example of communism from their daily lives. Little Ivan stood up and said, "Yesterday our cat gave birth to seven communist kittens." The teacher praised Ivan for his ideological insight.

The next week she asked the class the same question again. Little Ivan stood up again and this time said, "Eight days ago our cat gave birth to two communist kittens."

"But" said the puzzled teacher, "last week you said she gave birth to seven communist kittens."

"Yes," said Ivan, "but since then five of them have opened their eyes."

[James A. Altena]

I just discovered a Wikipedia article that has a promising list of sources:

* Emil Draitser, Forbidden Laughter (Los Angeles: Almanac Press, 1980.) ISBN 0896260453
* Emil Draitser, Taking Penguins to the Movies: Ethnic Humor in Russia (Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1999.) ISBN 0814323278
* Tiny Revolution Russia: Twentieth Century Soviet and Russian History in Anecdotes and Jokes
* Laughter through Tears: Underground wit, humor, and satire in the Soviet Russian Empire
* Is That You Laughing Comrade? The World's Best Russian Underground Jokes
* Rodger Swearingen, What's so funny, comrade? (1961)

[Bill R]

Probably some of the funniest jokes you've ever, um, Red....

[Rob G]

Here's the scene from the film where the staffer tells the joke. If you haven't seen the film it is well worth a look. Wm. F. Buckley called it one of the best movies he'd ever seen.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8vDQaAYaQg

[Simon Fleischmann]

"There are no jokes in Islam." - Ayatollah Komeini, Iran 1976

[Joe Long]

Dr. Tolstoy, who failed to teach me Russian years ago as an undergrad (no fault of his, he tried manfully), was the source for this one I think:

An elderly man sits in the park outside KGB headquarters daily, studying assiduously. An agent approaches him and asks what he's doing.

"Studying Hebrew", he replies.

"Why? You'll never travel to Israel", the agent points out.

"Well, someday I'll go to Paradise and I'd like to be able to the language there."

"Oh? But you could be wasting your time. What if you go to hell?"

"Oh, I already speak Russian."

[Maureen]

"Anekdoti" are still alive and well in Russia, and now make fun of other targets. I'm not sure if that's a good sign or a bad. :)

[Stuart Koehl]

Here is a list of the top ten Commie jokes as decided by the Times of London:

Top Ten Communist Jokes

1) Three workers find themselves locked up, and they ask each other what they’re in for. The first man says: “I was always ten minutes late to work, so I was accused of sabotage.” The second man says: “I was always ten minutes early to work, so I was accused of espionage.” The third man says: “I always got to work on time, so I was accused of having a Western watch.”

And here are the nine runners-up:

2) An old man is dying in his hovel on the steppes.
There is a menacing banging on the door.
‘Whose there?’ the old man asks.
‘Death ‘comes the reply.
‘Thank God for that,’ he says, ‘I thought it was the KGB.’

3)Pravda announced that it welcomed letters to the editor. All correspondents were required to include their full name, address and next of kin.

4) Q. "Why do the KGB operate in groups of three?" A. "One can read, one can write and one to keep an eye on the two intellectuals."
Lee Jakeman

5) Leonid Brezhnev pays a state visit to France and he's given a VIP guided tour of Paris. He's conducted round the splendours of the Élysée Palace, but remains as stony-faced as ever. He's shown the masterpieces of the Louvre, but the curators fail to get any reaction out of him. He's taken to the Arc de Triomphe, but displays not the slightest interest. Eventually, the official motorcade drives him to the foot of the Eiffel Tower, where Brezhnev finally stares up in amazement and astonishment. He turns to his French hosts and asks in bewilderment: "But, Paris is a city of 9 million people... surely you need more than one watchtower?"

6) Stalin decides to go out one day and see what it's really like for the workers, so he puts on a disguise and sneaks out of the Kremlin.

After a while he wanders into a cinema. When the film has finished, the Soviet Anthem plays and a huge picture of Stalin appears on the screen. Everyone stands up and begins singing, except Stalin, who smugly remains seated.

A minute later a man behind him leans forwards and whispers in his ear: "Listen Comrade, we all feel exactly the same way you do, but trust me, it's a lot safer if you just stand up."

7) A man saves up his ruples and is finally able to buy a car in Soviet Russia. After he pays his money the he is told he will have his car in three years.
"Three years!" he asks "What month?"
"August"
"August? What day in August?" He asks
"The Second of August" is the reply
"Morning or Afternoon?"
"Afternoon. Why do you need to know?"
"The plumber is coming in the morning.

8) Why do ex-Stasi officers make the best Berlin taxi drivers?
Because you only need to tell them your name and they'll already know where you live.

9) Moscow in the 1970s. Deepest winter. A rumour spreads through the city that meat will be available for sale the next day at Butcher's Shop no. 1.

Tens of thousands turn up on the eve of the event: wrapped up against the cold, carrying stools, vodka, and chessboards, they form an orderly queue.

At 3 am the butcher comes out and says, "Comrades, I've just had a call from the Party Central Committee: it turns out there won't be enough meat for everyone, so the Jews in the queue should go home."

The Jews obediently leave the queue. The rest continue to wait.

At 7 am, the butcher comes out again: "Comrades, I've just had another call from Central Committee. It turns out there will be no meat at all, so you should all go home."

The crowd disperses, grumbling all the while: "Those bloody Jews get all the luck!"

10) A KGB officer is walking in the park and he sees and old Jewish man reading a book.
The KGB says "What are you reading old man?" The old man says "I am trying to teach myself Hebrew."
KGB says "Why are you trying to learn Hebrew? It takes years to get a visa for Israel. You would die before the paperwork got done."
"I am learning Hebrew so that when I die and go to Heaven I will be able to speak to Abraham and Moses. Hebrew is the language they speak in Heaven." the old man replies.
"But what if when you die you go to Hell?" asks KGB.
And the old man replies, "Russian, I already know."

(Number nine is my favorite; I heard it for the first time in 1973, and almost wet myself).

[James A. Altena]

A couple of days ago I acquired what is the largest treasure trove of Soviet jokes I've ever found (including all the ones Stuart just posted): "The Jokes of Oppression: The Humor of Soviet Jews" by David A Harris and Izrail Rabinovich. (The second name appears to be a collective pseudonym for thousands of anonymous contributors.)

[GL]

Number 9 is my favorite as well. I laughed aloud when I finished reading it and had a tear in my eye. (I am prone to laugh so hard that I cry.)

[Truth Unites... and Divides]

#9 is my favorite as well. #6 is a distant second.