Just How Important is a Laugh?

[HighwindPilot]

*Note - So, before I start, I have to apologize if any of this is unclear... The thoughts in my head aren't entirely organized, so I'm not entirely sure how to structure this:

This is something I've been thinking of for a couple of weeks now.. I was reminded of this joke that I heard a show make about a particular disease. It was a situational kind of humor, in which they kind of undermined the severity disease by way of the character's reaction towards having it. Admittingly, I laughed as I thought of it...

A bit afterwards, I began to think about the actual austerity of the disease and began to feel terrible. I'm no bigot, I knew how serious it is to begin with. I've had to do many "disease diaries" and "case reports" on all sorts of illnesses, so I'm familiarized with a lot of them more than most would be. But for whatever reason, I sat down and actually began to think about it, and just felt awful for having laughed.

It made me wonder how people could really even write jokes about such things given their offensive nature. But the truth is, jokes are always being made about something touchy, at the expense of another, a group of people, etc... All the time. The "topic" at hand could be completely disrespectful, but that doesn't keep people from making them or people from laughing, does it?

And so I thought of it more, and I suppose an argument can be made that jokes like these are sometimes made to lighten the actual "negativity" about an otherwise harsh reality. So in certain instances, I don't think it's unrealistic to say that it does help keep us from misery or depression by making light of *whatever*. It can help us keep our sanity.

So that brought me to this topic. Just how important is a laugh? At what extent are people willing to go in order to give or have a laugh? Is there a line that shouldn't be crossed? Should there be a line? And if so, just where is the line? How do you feel about it all?

Thanks.

 

[blakstang98]

I think this all depends on the person. But I think in general, lines are drawn as to what subject matters are okay to joke about and others never will be. I'm with you on this, I feel that medical conditions are not grounds for joking about. Sure, you can use a small, clever joke about an illness and it can lighten the mood on the severity of it. But I still feel that medical issues are not a joking matter. I have a multi-handicapped sister, so I'm pretty sensitive to medical conditions, so maybe my opinion is a little biased.

As for the general topic point, laughing is great! I'm a big fan of joking around and using humor in conversation. Actually, pretty much all my friends on FFF know me as a person who makes jokes frequently. And I'll also admit that my jokes tend to be of sexual nature, which can also be offensive and controversial in many ways. If people are offended, I simply stop. So I'm no stranger to using humor in conversation to get people and myself to laugh. So I don't draw the line at sexual humor, or most sexual humor rather, but I see medical humor as a no-no.

http://www.whitecollarzen.com/maharishiphucknucklezen.html
Number 25, "The most wasted day of all is one in which we have not laughed."

 

[Shu]

Well, its hard argue the latter about this because in the U.S. everything is turning out to be too PC. Everything is off limits now, and because of it comedians have to actually tone down their humor in order to exist. The problem I have with people is when they make everything they see into a joke, so their entire life is filled with basically what they want to see.

Hince why I call it borderline insane when people do so. Its like a coping mechanism for most. When HIV/Aids, Gays, Abortion, Wearing Real fur, Racism, or Rape are even snickered at, people go all activist and loony toon. Honestly people think nothing is off limits, but living in America they have to find the right audience in which to be a general douche bag too.

Granted I laugh about stuff Lisa Lapeneli (who cares how you spell it) or Daniel Tosh say, but at the same time it is either very off limits.

Just the other day Lisa Lapeneli called deaf people "retards." She used it in her bit, and that's how she gets famous along with Kathy Griffin. They touch on things most people wouldn't even dare to do. Just look how George Carlin became famous (in my opinion). All he had to do was be completely controversial towards religion, and boom he hit it big. Then he pounded on the American Family Cultures of raising kids and such, then bam.. he hit it bigger.

But hey I am not against it after all, because everyone is entitled to free speech. As long as I don't say it or think it, that's all that really matters. To be honest some of them have good points, and they are very smart when it comes down to putting themselves on the top comedians. Do they really mean what they say? Hard to tell, even if they say they don't.. but hey anything for a laugh right?

 

[Dionysos]

I tend to stop if I feel the person I am making the joke about has found it offensive or has told me to stop it themselves. Then I tend to apologise. If I don't do this it tends to be because I think the person is joking with me.

I like to laugh and make jokes / hear others make jokes. Without it life would be pretty boring really... Well ok there would still be plenty of interesting things in the world but it is humour that really lightens the mood and makes your life complete.

I can get very serious, and I guess I could exist like that, but I don't see the point. I'd drive myself even more insane.

Sensitive subjects are often used for jokes, and I guess some of it may be down to them trying to counter the negativity. Sometimes these jokes are ok as they only touch the surface and make us laugh about the way people behave and react. Sometimes, however, they can get out of hand and do nothing but upset the targets of the joke, and shock many of the people who heard the joke.

As for drawing a line I think people should know within themselves when to stop and when they have crossed the line, and people will have different perceptions on where the line should be (which is the problem with having a line). If there is to be a line I don't think we should be able to define it as a collective as we probably would never agree. Some people find some things more offensive than others do. One joke might be fine for some people, but is crossing the line for others that have had personal experience with the subject of the joke. I don't think a line should be drawn legally or in any other means as that will hinder peoples freedom of speech.

Saying something super bad isn't nice, but there might be something of lesser impact that isn't as bad / bad at all that many people would find funny but would not be allowed with a line being drawn. It’s not right to draw a line, as some would want it drawn at different places and what we can joke about will only get smaller and smaller, and eventually we'll never be able to joke at all.

I'd only draw a line at really offensive jokes about illness, and personal jokes to the extent of bullying rather than teasing. I tease people a bit I guess when I joke sometimes, but I try not to take it too far as to upset the person.

Jokes by nature tend to be directed at some sort of target, directly or not. People should know within themselves when they are crossing the line and going too far. People sometimes don't, but since we can't clearly define the line we can't tell them to stop. It's up to themselves to know when it is too far.

 

[Talon]

Whether people think so or not, there most definitely should be a line. There is always going to be that one person who's not going to have that great of a sense of humor and in that regards, many other factors come into play. A joke told to a close friend might mean something completely different to a stranger on the bus.

As for the importance of laughing, I find it critical. I think I'm a pretty funny guy sometimes, I love to make people laugh but there's always a time and a place for it, created by the people you take up company with. I'm no racist either and I don't mind hearing jokes about white people (me being one) and in the right company I'm sure there's people in other races that don't care about hearing racial jokes either. It all depends on what kind of emotion is behind them as well. A joke can be anything but with the wrong tone and mixed company.

That all being said, live and laugh; and have fun. It's what gives life it's spice

 

[HighwindPilot]

First of all, Stang--Dan, I'd like to thank you, personally. For what it's worth, I really appreciate your will of contribution. I know that must be a very sensitive subject, so, I mean, it's just a really powerful means of conveying your opinion, and, just, best wishes to you and thanks.

I completely agree with you as far as to where the line is drawn. I also agree with your comment about the dependency on certain things, and also about the general value of humor. Great post.

Indeed, those are my lines, but I know that everyone certainly has different lines and different standards. And I suppose, because of that, it comes down to the "speaker", the "audience", and perhaps more than anything, the intent. There tend to be some notable changes in tone and presentation when someone's joking in a friendly "mood easing" manner vs. something colder. Argor worded it very well in saying "bullying vs teasing".

Also, Argor, when asking about the lines and stuff, I meant that more as in like, where you would draw it. I know that we could probably never come to some universal agreement as to the "rights" and "wrongs", so I just meant to ask for personal opinions. Thank you for your insight though, great post.

And to everyone in this thread, thanks.

 

[SapphireStar]

Laughter is important to everyone. But as its been said there is a line that you cannot cross. I mean when Michael Jackson died, the amount of jokes that surfaced was unbelieveable. One I laughed at cause it was clever, it wasnt hurtful towards Michael Jackson in anyway, it used lyrics of his songs and it was comical. The rest however were dis-tasteful.

I love laughing, it makes me feel so much better if Im having a crappy day. But some comedians can be terrible with their jokes. Others have repsect.

 

[Mitsuki]

Interesting topic. I do have a story to share regarding this. It made me think about the topic of laughter a few weeks ago when I was at the hospital visiting my uncle.

My uncle is about 45 years old, and already he's suffering from lung cancer, bladder cancer, prostate cancer (although I think it's gone now due to chemoteraphy) and a possible lymphomia. For his bladder cancer, they removed a jejunum (part of a small intestine) and reconstructed it to act as a new bladder, although it's non-functional, so it acts like a holding place for his urine. His urine is transfered into a bag that he wears on his thigh, which gets emptied a couple times a day, and that's how he'll live for the rest of his remaining life.

I was there at the hospital a couple days after he had his operation done, and I could tell he was very depressed about the situation. But he tried to make light of things, and seeing this, my cousins and I joined in. We made jokes about his urine situation and said that whenever he's pissed off at one of the nurses (he was complaining about a few that day), he could just take his bag of urine and squirt it on them. We all had a good laugh, but then I wondered if that was a little too much on him seeing that he was pretty down about the whole thing. But nevertheless, we saw him laugh even though it kinda hurt him physically due to his many stitches, and that's what counts. Did we offend him? Maybe, maybe not. But he knew we did it for the sake of 'laughter'. Did we offend the nurses? Well they'll never know about the joke since they didn't hear about it in the first place. Besides, it wasn't as if we meant what we said. I think as long as you and the other person know that you're not meaning to offend, the jokes should be acceptable enough. But I'm sure there are other demeaning jokes out there that are just way too harsh and shouldn't be used. Make your best judgment.

As for the subject of laughter itself, it can actually save your life. Some might say that's a little too far-fetched, but I have heard of cases where laughter does contribute to positive health attributes. Laughter affects bodily and neurochemistry. The nervous system and endocrine system are distributed throughout your entire body. Every thought and every action relies on your nervous system, so when we laugh, they are responsible for the release of all the various hormones which produce an overall positive sensations in the body. There are many more factors, such as improving our immune system, stimulates cardiovascular system, increased ventilation in our lungs, and many more. You're right - it does help keep our sanity when placed in such extreme conditions, health-related or not.