The differences between this and the Holocaust jokes, which Andy fails to grasp, are:
1. There is no settled consensus (even in Ireland) that the famine constitutes a genocide, or that the "goal" of the famine was to completely exterminate the Irish people.
2. There are no survivors of the Irish Great Famine alive today to potentially hear the jokes and be hurt by them.
3. Even the highest estimates of the death toll in Ireland are dwarfed by the Holocaust and further dwarfed by the total number of people who died in German concentration camps under similar circumstances, many of whom suffered systematic torture, rape and other human rights abuses before their deaths. There is absolutely no question that these crimes were planned and intentional.
It's worth mentioning that Poland's WWII casualty toll is over or around 6 million, including 3 million Jews and 3 million other Polish citizens. And, unlike the Irish Great Famine, many people who lived through those years are still alive and well.
Re: Andy is offended by potato famine jokes, but WWII jokes are totally hilarious!
1. There is no settled consensus (even in Ireland) that the famine constitutes a genocide, or that the "goal" of the famine was to completely exterminate the Irish people.
2. There are no survivors of the Irish Great Famine alive today to potentially hear the jokes and be hurt by them.
3. Even the highest estimates of the death toll in Ireland are dwarfed by the Holocaust and further dwarfed by the total number of people who died in German concentration camps under similar circumstances, many of whom suffered systematic torture, rape and other human rights abuses before their deaths. There is absolutely no question that these crimes were planned and intentional.
It's worth mentioning that Poland's WWII casualty toll is over or around 6 million, including 3 million Jews and 3 million other Polish citizens. And, unlike the Irish Great Famine, many people who lived through those years are still alive and well.