"We have just received word that there will not be enough tomatoes for everyone in line."

I lived in Sweden, just next door to the Soviet Union, in the 1970s.  Soviet jokes were a staple.  Funny in their own right and daring in their sly criticism of the central state.  Pinker's joke below is of that era.

It was funny then.  The Soviet jokes passed into nostalgic humor for a few decades, funny that they had been funny at the time.  And now, particularly those with the frequent anti-semitic leitmotif?  Well now, its still funny but with a niggling concern that the illiberal spirit of old sovietism and anti-semitism are regaining traction on the fringes of society (especially in universities and among those who consider themselves credentialed and aggressively virtuous.)

One day word got around that a grocer in Moscow would be getting a shipment of coveted tomatoes. The following morning a long line formed outside the store before the doors opened.

After 90 minutes, the manager went outside and said, "We have just received word that there…

— Steven Pinker (@sapinker) September 19, 2025

One  day word got around that a grocer in Moscow would be getting a shipment of  coveted tomatoes. The following morning a long line formed  outside the store before the doors opened.

After  90 minutes, the manager went outside and said, "We have just received word that  there will not be enough tomatoes for everyone in line. All the Jews must  leave." A handful of people left the line.

Two  hours later, the manager re-emerged. "Unfortunately, the shipment of tomatoes is less  than planned. Everyone who is not a member of the Communist Party must go home."  About two thirds of the remaining people left.

After  lunch, the manager came out once again. "The allotment is less than we had been  told. Anyone who is not a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party  should leave - there will not be enough tomatoes for you." A handful of people remained.

Late  in the afternoon, he came out again and announced, "We have just received news  that there are even fewer tomatoes than we had been promised. There will only  be enough for members of the Central Committee who are also veterans of World  War II." Everyone left but two old men.

At  the end of the day, with night falling, the manager came out one last time. "We  regret to inform you that there will be no tomatoes today."

One  man said to the other: "Goddam Jews. Always get special  treatment."