LH

I'm Irish - as such I have have been blessed with the ability to laugh at myself. We've been taking the mickey out of each other (and the brits ;-) ) mercilessly, ever since we discovered what an entertaining plaything the English language can be.

There isn't an Irish joke that I've heard in the UK that I didn't first hear in Ireland. And that is certainly true of the funnier ones.

But there are some unwritten codes of practice; If someone engages you in a battle of wits then of course they become fair game and must expect to be on their toes or get tied up in knots. Such humiliation is only to be expected.

A skillful verbal pugilist though has as much a sense of honour and fairness as his more violent distant cousin, in that when his opponent is knocked down, he doesn't continue to kick him so that he is unable to walk again. (unless dealing with a bully of some sort - racist for example)

Likewise, there is no glory in destroying someone of a lower weight class, or who is simply out of their depth, not being in possession of the skills required.

To find an unwilling victim and humiliate them for no reason is funny to some, but to me smacks of bullying.

My personal rule, ie that I apply to myself, is that anyone is fair game as long as they are in on the joke. It's only funny as long as they're enjoying it. The minute that ceases to be the case, a reassuring wink or comment is made and the subject changes.

I would wager LH, that while you are able to take a joke about yourself, and though you come from a country where that kind of humour is understood and enjoyed - if you were in a bar in the US and some guy decided to ridicule you for being canadian, for the enjoyment of his friends, in a way that demonstrated a distinct lack of wit and knowledge about you or Canada and that painted you and your nation in a grotesque light such that you felt offended, and he and his friends wouldn't leave you alone despite your discomfiture, and it was obvious that how you felt was something they did not give a shit for, and there were more of them and they were bigger and it was on tv everywhere for people to see, and everywhere you went people laughed and smirked and sniggered behind your back and in your face in a derogatory way ...

... I'd wager you might not be so welcoming of that kind of mickey taking.

It's not a film that would offend me, but cohen is saying to an otherwise ignorant world 'this is what Khazaks are like'

I live in a very postmodern culture and I therefore have a good understanding of postmodern irony. How postmodern is Khazak culture? and how realistic therefore is it to expect Khazaks to 'get with the program'?