Crofton Online: Around the World
The View From Poland: Racial Segregation Common in America?
'American' joke reveals much about opinions overseas

As our readership continues to grow, we have begun receiving mail from around the world. (See this month's Reader Feedback). One letter was of particular interest.

Tomek Wisniewski, a journalist in Poland, wrote to us inquiring about Maryland. It seems there is a small town in Poland named Maryland, but no one there knows how the town got its name. He speculated that maybe our histories were intertwined.

We sent him details about the state of Maryland from a high school textbook.

Mr. Wisniewski replied with the following:

Subject: Odp: Maryland in Poland
Date: Thu, 11 Mar 1999 11:39:17 +0100

Hello Friends
Lets start exchange jokes.
We will send to You jokes about Americans.
Please send to Us jokes about Poles.
We will publish such jokes - as a lesson...
What do You think about it?
Article about Marylanfd on the mail.

Editor of Magazine
Tomek Wisniewski
Kurier Poranny
Lipowa 19/21
15-666 Bialystok
Poland

Was translated by Anna Pyzewska

An American flew from San Francisco to New York. After his long journey he is tired, he wanna have a rest. He is looking for a hotel, but everywhere he is told: "No places". First hotel, second, third, ... tenth. The same thing. At the end, he is finding a hotel, where there are free places, but... it's hotel only for Negros.

Our tourist is coming back on the street, he is buying a boot polish. Then he is putting it on his face. And... he gets a room. At eight o'clock at the morning he is woken by the ring of the telephone. "You ordered to call at eight" - he is hearing. Morning-dress. But he can't clean the boot polish! He is taking a soap, boil water - nothing can help!

The man is in panic, he is trying to scrape the polish boot with the pocket-knife...

And?

They woke up wrong man!

Quite frankly, we're not quite sure how to respond. We're not even sure we 'get' the punchline.

We will probably explain to our Polish readers that, despite our reputation, hotels (and all other places of "public accommodation") were desegregated by law in the 1960s.

We will also probably send him a Polish joke. Anyone out there have a good candidate? Let us know.

To see Mr. Wisniewski's article about Maryland, click here.

More reader feedback.


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