UK: Council outlaws mother-in-law jokes

Story here. Excerpt:

'Despite surviving from Roman times, the humour no longer considered acceptable, according to officials at the London Borough of Barnet.

The edict was issued in a 12-page booklet entitled Cultural awareness: General Problems which came to light through a Freedom of Information request.

It states: “Humour can be incredibly culture-specific, and is very open to misinterpretation or even offense [sic] by other cultures. And don’t forget when you don’t know what people are laughing at, it is very easy to imagine that they are laughing at you.”

The guide adds: “British mother-in-law jokes, as well as offensively sexist in their own right, can also be seen as offensive on the grounds that they disrespect elders or parents.”

Barnet, the second largest population of the 33 London boroughs, where women outnumber men by 170,000 to 161,500, had been accused of a “sense of humour by-pass” by writer John Sessions.'