When did we lose the ability to laugh at ourselves?

ComputerBreath wrote: My ancestry is Polish and Irish...I joke (and welcome others to, as well) that the luck I get from the Irish side is negated by the Polish side. The Leprechaun sitting on my shoulder is named Leprecock (a combination of Leprechaun and Pollock).

I'm also short and when I say that I've been chastised and its been suggested I refer to myself as vertically challenged instead of short. Bump that!! I'm a short Irish Pollock. Have fun with it.

My children have my sense of humor and it is interesting that no one has really taken them to task for not being politically correct.

The above being said...there are absolutely places I won't go with humor...but that doesn't mean I won't get the joke. Unless it is supposed to be mean-spirited, I take it for what it is and if I don't like it I just move on.

There is far too little laughter in this world...and any chance I get to enjoy a good belly laugh, I take.

Agreed totally. There is nothing better than laughter. Unlike those who take themselves too seriously, those able to laugh at themselves, find humor a cure for all kinds of ills. There is too much sensitivity brought about by those who look to point out their faults (PC). I've no use whatsoever for PC. Why does everything have to degenerate into a political, racists, of sexist theme? Had a woman look me up and down when she got on the elevator and then smile and give me a thumbs up. Thank you you made me smile. Glad you liked what you saw. Conversely, is it inappropriate, gals, to have me say you look stunning? Satire hit close to the truth of the matter. Hence not everyone finds it funny. What is funny is that many take offense when the person who is the object of the satire laughs at it. Tell, me why is that? I'd suggest it is an inability to laugh at yourself and when that happens you certainly can't laugh at anything else. Lighten the hell up.

Would you all find it as funny if the National Geographic offer had been to Gloria Cain and the centerfold offer to Marcus Bachmann from Playgirl? If so, then I'll give you a pass with a head shake at the juvenile nature of your sense of humor.


Once again though. This is NOT laughing at yourself. It is mocking another. No wriggle room on that one.

Rockdoc Franz wrote: Agreed totally. There is nothing better than laughter. Unlike those who take themselves too seriously, those able to laugh at themselves, find humor a cure for all kinds of ills. There is too much sensitivity brought about by those who look to point out their faults (PC). I've no use whatsoever for PC. Why does everything have to degenerate into a political, racists, of sexist theme? Had a woman look me up and down when she got on the elevator and then smile and give me a thumbs up. Thank you you made me smile. Glad you liked what you saw. Conversely, is it inappropriate, gals, to have me say you look stunning? Satire hit close to the truth of the matter. Hence not everyone finds it funny. What is funny is that many take offense when the person who is the object of the satire laughs at it. Tell, me why is that? I'd suggest it is an inability to laugh at yourself and when that happens you certainly can't laugh at anything else. Lighten the hell up.

Sexual harassment is more than just an innocent comment about how nice I look. It's often a continued series of comments designed to make the other person uncomfortable in an attempt to form a sexual relationship. For all of you here that keep saying that you can't tell someone they look nice, that's bulls**t. You can. Just don't turn it into harassment by crossing boundaries.

To insinuate that sexual harassment is just "politically correctness" makes me seeth. You've obviously never been on the receiving end of unwanted advances in the workplace.

chickaree wrote: Would you all find it as funny if the National Geographic offer had been to Gloria Cain and the centerfold offer to Marcus Bachmann from Playgirl? If so, then I'll give you a pass with a head shake at the juvenile nature of your sense of humor.


Once again though. This is NOT laughing at yourself. It is mocking another. No wriggle room on that one.

Of course not. It is the notoriety and position of the two people listed. Without that, the surprise association does not exist and hence not much humor. So it is not the race or the gender that provides the punch line....

daisypusher wrote:

chickaree wrote: Would you all find it as funny if the National Geographic offer had been to Gloria Cain and the centerfold offer to Marcus Bachmann from Playgirl? If so, then I'll give you a pass with a head shake at the juvenile nature of your sense of humor.


Once again though. This is NOT laughing at yourself. It is mocking another. No wriggle room on that one.

Of course not. It is the notoriety and position of the two people listed. Without that, the surprise association does not exist and hence not much humor. So it is not the race or the gender that provides the punch line....

You already admitted in your earlier post that the "commonality" of the race between the First Lady and the nude natives in National Geographic was the "humor" of this "good" joke. This "joke" was intended to be derogatory towards the First Lady based on her race. There is no wiggle room.

No wiggling. And the joke does need that association to work. I am sorry if you do not appreciate that many jokes rely on the celebrity status of the person being cited. I wonder how long Jon Stewart would stay on the air if his jokes were not mostly about celebrities. In addition, consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds - tell it to the Chaplin.

It is one thing to use celebrity status as a basis for humor, it is quite another to use race to make a derogatory slam against another. No one is claiming that the celebrity status angle is racist, it is the use, to use your term, of race as the "commonality" as the primary basis of the "joke".

I love humor...even that directed at myself or others I associate with. I draw the line at humor that is intended to humiliate or demean another. That's hate disguized as humor and I don't find it funny.

Something the Dog Said wrote: It is one thing to use celebrity status as a basis for humor, it is quite another to use race to make a derogatory slam against another. No one is claiming that the celebrity status angle is racist, it is the use, to use your term, of race as the "commonality" as the primary basis of the "joke".

No wonder you missed the humor. I think of the first lady and Hillary first as celebrities and then if the context mentions it, their physical characteristics such as gender or race. I now understand how other people can take issue with the joke when the first thing that pops into their minds is race/ethnicity or gender. Now, there are your racists/gender bigots. Too bad people must first think in terms of race and gender instead of who people really are.

If the reference to National Geographic isn't racial or ethnic then what is it? It seems to me that you are trying to wriggle out of blame for a blatantly sexist/racist joke by trying to call those who have called you on this a bunch of humorless Bluestockings.