And speaking of the Irish, most countries have their fall guy. The French have the Belgians, the Italians have the Spanish, and in Ontario, the people of Newfoundland are the butt of the jokes. For a variety of reasons we're all on the receiving end of someone's joke at some time, so it's best not to be too sensitive about it.
For example, in Spain the Spanish waiter Manuel from Fawlty Towers was depicted as Italian, and on French television 'Allo Allo' was set in Belgium.
I actually think it's the timbre of the joke that's important. Some jokes are tasteless and crude - others are just soppy and funny - so I don't believe it's necessarily racist to laugh at racist jokes.
Here's one for you.
An Arab and an Irishman aboard a plane and the hostess asks them what they would like from the bar.
'I'll have a whisky' says the Irishman.
'No, not for me', says the Arab, bristling with indignation. 'I'd rather be raped by a thousand w h o r e s!!'
'Can I change my order', says the Irishman. 'I didn't know we had a choice'.
Is that racist? I don't think so.