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Nov
28
I know I’m not the best barometer of when to laugh, but can a laugh stand alone, without commenting on substance? Or does the laugh itself have to be interpreted?
Because I know that sometimes, I do just laugh, but then, I feel like, if I say I laughed - if I tell someone that I laughed, or that something specific made me laugh, then will I be told, Oh! How insensitive! because even I know that to laugh at some things really isn’t so proper?
Some things that have made me laugh today:
The title of this post - JUST the title
This picture - JUST this picture
The very idea of the topic of this post - JUST the idea
Should I feel badly about any of them?
A star for the name of the artist who sang this post’s title line.
Update: Check out this article from CNET, “Is political correctness screwing up the workplace?” Echoes this post.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 4:45 pm November 28th, 2007 in Blogging, Culture, Mental health, Social Issues, Writing
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10 Responses to “(Updated) If I laugh, just a little bit - am I being offensive?”
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Jill:
The one lasting trait that both Jews and (those who were raised) Catholic(s) have in common is guilt. No you should not feel guilty in the slightest for laughing at any of that. If you can’t laugh at Hickmania, what else is there? Dana Perrino? Funny/not funny? Who knows? And don’t overthink the reasons for mirth. Sometimes funny is just in the mind of the beholder. Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. Don’t tell Bill Clinton that, though. And don’t laugh at that! That would be insensitive.
Yeah - I think I can chalk up some of this to overthinking - but then, there seem to be a lot of overthinkers out there these days. It just seems so hard to know sometimes.
Shalom Jill,
Ever since I bought the January 1972 issue of National Lampoon I’ve subscribed to the idea that, in the abstract, nothing is sacred.
Humor as a political tool should know no bounds.
Having said that, I acknowledge that, by its nature, humor demands the diminution of the target and that there is a difference between the public/political target and the private target.
The first is fair game. The second should be protected from public ridicule.
B’shalom,
Jeff
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Hmm - very interesting, Jeff. So, then, the question does become one of how we define who or what is a private target. Because some private ones might be political ones, or argued as such?
I do like how you say that humor demands the diminution of the target. Very interesting. I’ve never really thought of it that way but I can tell you that it’s probably at the root of why I have a hard time finding humor in a lot of things that others find humorous. More on that in a thinking post sometime - I’ve been wanting to write it for a long time but just haven’t taken the time to tackle it (revolves around an incident when I was about 10).
Jeff:
I have a nice stack of vintage early-mid 1970s vintage Lampoons at my book store if you’re ever interested. I read them when I get bored - great stuff.
Humor is whatever I think is funny.
Shalom Keith,
I still have all my Nat Lamps, as well as a complete set of Heavy Metals (I subscribed when the name was to be Nova) up through the late ’80s.
The prize of my collection is the special issue with the “If Ted Kennedy Had Driven A Volkswage He’d Be President Today” ad.
B’shalom,
Jeff
Shabbat Shalom Jill,
We once spent an evening at the Socrates Café discussing this aspect of humor.
As to who is and who isn’t a public target, I generally adhere to a standard similar to that for libel: public figures are those adults engaged in discourse in the public arena.
B’shalom,
Jeff
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Jeff - are you allowed to scan and post that Ted Kennedy ad? Wow.
As for defining public figures, aw - you know better than to do this with me! “public figures are those adults engaged in discourse in the public arena.”
Okay now - define public arena.