The point isn't about the jokes being rejected by society at large--I agree with you that that is probably a good sign. Rather the author is describing a situat

The point isn't about the jokes being rejected by society at large--I agree with you that that is probably a good sign. Rather the author is describing a situation where _within_ a community there is no tolerance for self-deprecating jokes poking fun at the difference between the community and other communities. Which is definitely a bad sign.