From Sherman Alexie’s “What You Pawn I Will Redeem”:
“I don’t know how you guys do it,” he said.
“What guys?” I asked.
“You Indians. How the hell do you laugh so much? I just picked your ass off the railroad tracks, and you’re making jokes. Why the hell do you do that?”
“The two funniest tribes I’ve ever been around are Indians and Jews, so I guess that says something about the inherent humor of genocide.”
I let out a wry laugh when I read that on the metro the other day. Read the rest of the story in The New Yorker (April 21 & 28, 2003, p. 168), available on their website, along with an online-only interview.