Are We Losing Our Ability to Laugh?

[Calvert DeForest]

The comedian Lewis Black once observed that the scariest thing about terrorist groups like Al Qaeda and ISIS is the total inability to laugh at themselves. They take themselves and the world around them so seriously, they are willing to engage in utter destruction of themselves and others to achieve their goals. The sense of humor is a great diffuser on tension, and we've seen what happens when a group of people simply don't possess it.

Over the past few years, I've seen somewhat the same dynamic take hold in our society. Not to say that we don't face some very serious issues, but the sense of drama that has prevailed about damn near everything seems almost crippling. The PC left has interpreted almost any attempt at humor as offensive, unenlightened and mean-spirited. The right really hasn't been much better when their ideas or icons are lampooned in a humorous manner. Just seems to me like we're all getting angrier and losing our ability to just take a joke. We don't laugh at ourselves as much as we used to, and that tension-valve isn't being released. One has to ask, is it healthy for us to take every little thing so seriously?

Y'all know that I tend to be a pragmatist when it comes to certain issues like the one for which this section is named. I don't wear the traditional labels of "liberal" or "conservative"....if someone else would like to affix those to me, I'll leave it up to them. I also tend to look for humor where I can find it, if for no other reason than to retain my own sanity (which some of y'all may also question from time to time, but hey....). I've noticed, however, that I do find myself more apprehensive about making light of things in our society's modern climate, for fear that any attempt at humor may be interpreted as a serious slight by someone who thinks I'm attacking their point of view or offending them personally. Hell, I joke about my own viewpoints all the time, and I usually don't offend myself in doing so, but that's because I try never to take myself too seriously. Doesn't mean I'm not a serious person, but I know that the minute I lose the ability to laugh at myself or search for humor in my life, I'm headed down a bad road.

Thoughts?

[craig11152]

Its always easy to joke about ourselves and other people. Not so easy when we are the butt of third party jokes.
I don't know if we are worse at dealing with that than we used to be or if its just a more constant in your face occurrence. Before computers, social media and the Internet people couldn't create memes and post them to the world belittling other views. The question I suppose is whether we would have if we could have.

[Deleted User 8570]

I wonder if an ever more demanding and complex world to work and conduct ones affairs in could lead to a bunch of unhappy and perpetually ready to explode people running around?

[TC Talks]

Anyone who saw this can still laugh, SNL has been brutally honestly hilarious...

[Calvert DeForest]

I wonder if an ever more demanding and complex world to work and conduct ones affairs in could lead to a bunch of unhappy and perpetually ready to explode people running around?

Excellent point! Seems we're overloaded these days. Technology was touted in the 50's and 60's as this wonderful thing that would make our lives easier, but in many ways, the opposite has occurred. Just think of all the data we have flying around us on a daily basis. It's like we've developed collective ADD and anxiety just trying to keep up.

Could it be that the Amish are onto something?

[bmw]

What seems to me like is happening is that with each new "protected" class we create in this country, that particular class is also protected against ridicule, and thus against jokes. And as that list keeps growing, so do the groups of people who you don't dare make jokes about.

Nowadays you can't make jokes about fat people. You can't make jokes about gay people. You can't make jokes about racial stereotypes. You can't make jokes about gender stereotypes. You can't make jokes about the disabled (blind, deaf, mentally impaired, etc). And when Obama took office, you couldn't make jokes about him.

I exchange jokes with a few close friends via private message on facebook that I would NEVER, EVER post publicly.

[Deleted User 8570]

What seems to me like is happening is that with each new "protected" class we create in this country, that particular class is also protected against ridicule, and thus against jokes. And as that list keeps growing, so do the groups of people who you don't dare make jokes about.

Nowadays you can't make jokes about fat people. You can't make jokes about gay people. You can't make jokes about racial stereotypes. You can't make jokes about gender stereotypes. You can't make jokes about the disabled (blind, deaf, mentally impaired, etc). And when Obama took office, you couldn't make jokes about him.

I exchange jokes with a few close friends via private message on facebook that I would NEVER, EVER post publicly.

An alternative process would be to make them anyways and tell any naysayers to go to hell... my inner Libertarian says to do that...

[bixpchiphead]

What seems to me like is happening is that with each new "protected" class we create in this country, that particular class is also protected against ridicule, and thus against jokes. And as that list keeps growing, so do the groups of people who you don't dare make jokes about.

Nowadays you can't make jokes about fat people. You can't make jokes about gay people. You can't make jokes about racial stereotypes. You can't make jokes about gender stereotypes. You can't make jokes about the disabled (blind, deaf, mentally impaired, etc). And when Obama took office, you couldn't make jokes about him.

I exchange jokes with a few close friends via private message on facebook that I would NEVER, EVER post publicly.

An alternative process would be to make them anyways and tell any naysayers to go to hell... my inner Libertarian says to do that...

Or do it as Cleveland TV movie hosts Big Chuck Schodowski and lil John Rinaldi whose skits that involved ethnic jokes would always refer to them as "That Certain Ethnic...."


[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMW7gQ6CWLA[/youtube]

[SoupySez]

I think it would be hilarious to fill a theater with those people who are so politically correct, lock the doors, and make them watch Blazing Saddles.

[audiophile]

I was told a politically incorrect joke as kid and I turned out ok.

It involved a two black men and a garbage truck.

[TC Shuts Up]

Saturday Night Live has been very political and rarely, if ever, funny for decades. Regardless of the cast and who is hosting, it's always like a bunch of drunk and high college students. The blatant Anti-Republican and Pro-Democrat agenda has been apparent for nearly all if not the entire run. It is surprising that they are still on, unless you consider that the rest of the audience is fragmented with scary supernatural movies shown at the same time. Note that for eight years, they didn't attack the President in any way. Now, the whole show is Anti-Trump. We haven't lost our sense of humor. It's just not funny.

[Deleted User 8570]

Saturday Night Live has been very political and rarely, if ever, funny for decades. Regardless of the cast and who is hosting, it's always like a bunch of drunk and high college students. The blatant Anti-Republican and Pro-Democrat agenda has been apparent for nearly all if not the entire run. It is surprising that they are still on, unless you consider that the rest of the audience is fragmented with scary supernatural movies shown at the same time. Note that for eight years, they didn't attack the President in any way. Now, the whole show is Anti-Trump. We haven't lost our sense of humor. It's just not funny.

So the Fred Armison parody of Obama was what exactly? Looked like lampooning to me...

[Bryce]

Personally, I think conservatives are much more able to laugh at themselves and accept humor and jokes than the alt left people are.

Even what used to be the bastion of free speech and ideas, college campuses, attempt to shut down ideas and speech that doesn't fit within their accepted narrative. To wit:

The recent Milo incident at Berkley and...

Comedians give up on college campus gigs because they’re too PC

http://archive.boston.com/entertainment ... story.html

I don't recall too many protests or a single riot that took place at a far left get together.

[audiophile]

The right folks had no time for that - they must be at work to pay for the leftists in the colleges

[TC Shuts Up]

This was a good link.

http://www.thewrap.com/15-comedians-who ... ge-carlin/

Amy Schumer is a "Trainwreck", in the Movie and in real life. And her Cousin Chuckie is a Trainwreck also.