And the Romans themselves derided their neighbors and former overlords, calling them “obesus Etruscus”, or the Fat Etruscan. Calling Americans fat is one of the favored pejoratives of European alleged humorists. In the 1980s Khaddafy let European Nazis make their demonstrations in Libya (they’re still illegal in Europe), and one of the popular signs was, “we are with you, Palestinian people, not with the fat, dirty Jew.” The upshot is, it’s possible that European humor peaked with the Roman empire. ;^)
“The upshot is, it’s possible that European humor peaked with the Roman empire. ;^)”
Times change. People don’t.
L