Murphy's Law Breaker: St. Patrick’s Day and jokes based on stereotypes

St. Patrick’s Day is coming up. Inevitably, we’ll be hearing lots of jokes about drunken Irish alcoholics. Using stereotypes for jokes is a bad idea. It’s so unfair to lump a group of people together and make fun of them just because of where they or their ancestors came from. For example, there are many people of Irish ancestry who don’t abuse alcohol at all. Many prefer to pop pills or smoke dope. They might partake of legal drugs when they can get a prescription for painkillers or sedatives, or illegal drugs when they can’t.

Here are some jokes for St. Patrick’s Day, many of which are examples of terrible stereotyping.

Two Irish guys walked out of a bar on St. Patrick’s Day. Hey, it could happen. (I heard that one from Jimmy Shubert when he was at The Comedy Zone.)

Why can't you borrow money from a leprechaun? Because they're always a little short.

Why wasn't Jesus born in Ireland? He couldn't find three wise men or a virgin.

How does every Irish joke start? By looking over your shoulder.

Why don't you iron 4-leaf clovers? Because you don’t want to press your luck.

What do you call an Irishman who knows how to control his wife? A bachelor.

What's the main difference between an Irish wedding and an Irish funeral? One less drunk at the reception.

Are people jealous of the Irish? Sure, they're green with envy!

Why are leprechauns so hard to get along with? Because they're very short-tempered!

If you're lucky enough to be Irish... you're lucky enough!

"Hey," said a new arrival in the pub, "I've got some great Irish jokes."
"Before you start," said the big guy in the corner, " I'm Irish."
"That’s OK," said the newcomer, "I'll tell the jokes slowly."