Have we become TOO insensitive?- Page 2

[BroomstickBoy]

Posted: 10/25/08 at 10:20pm

I believe in some ways we have become TOO insensitive, but moreso a lot more tactless.

I feel humor with tact invites discussion and makes you think, and also helps you learn more about what you think is funny.

Tactless humor, however, mainly comes from the "it's just a joke" mentality, as if it makes it okay just because you were "just joking". You might find it funny, but is it okay just because one person wants to speak for the rest of people?

Same with offensive words that people say "It's just a WORD."

The insensitiveness of tactless humor comes from the fact that it's not well thought out. It's too easy to think about.

Am I just rambling or making some sense?

[JohnBoy2]

Posted: 10/25/08 at 10:33pm

Yes, you're making sense.

[Cruel_Sandwich]

Posted: 10/25/08 at 10:36pm

Well, as SOUTH PARK pointed out, AIDS is officially funny since it has been 22.3 years. More than that actually.

[JohnBoy2]

Posted: 10/25/08 at 10:38pm

I remember when the Challenger disaster was "funny", the very next day!

[Elphaba3]

Posted: 10/25/08 at 10:39pm

Very well said, BroomstickBoy.

[SweetQintheLights]

Posted: 10/25/08 at 11:33pm

"Everything and anything can be funny, but everybody isn't going to find the humor in everything."

And even a negative experience you've had, can be funny when made fun of. I have a learning disability- quite severe as a matter of fact. And people make fun of learning disabilities all the time and make jokes about people who have them, and more than not, I find them funny.

And of course, there are somethings I've experienced and there is no joke about the subject that I would find funny (but perhaps someone else does and that's fine...that's their opinion...I'm not to judge what they think is funny or not just like I expect people not to judge me for thinking something is funny).

My friend committed suicide- There is nothing I find amusing about it and there is no joke about suicide that I would laugh at. Perhaps before this happened, I would have laughed, but not since I've experienced it.

[StickToPriest]

Posted: 10/25/08 at 11:42pm

It all has to do with personal persepctive if we think something is funny or "too far over the line," as other have said.

But it is different for every person.

And, except for extreme cases where people are trying to offend or the humor has no point, then I feel we should respect one another's boundaries. And I think that goes both ways. People should understand that some topics are too much for some people. And others shouldn't feel superior because they feel a topic is too far and others don't.

It's all perspective.

For example, someone close to me had someone very, very close to them die in a plane crash. They no longer can hear plane crash jokes with out getting upset. (As in, "An Aggie, a Longhorn and a Sooner are in an airplane that is going on. There are only two parachutes...") All about perspective, and the bottom line is that people should respect each others.

But if someone goes to, for example, a comedy show with a comedian known for subversive, edgy comedy or watches a show like FAMILY GUY, they should realize that there is a chance something might be said or shown that upsets or offends them. They take that risk. If they don't want to take the risk, then don't go/watch. Because you know what you're in for when you watch.

[tazber]

Posted: 10/26/08 at 12:27am

Too sensitive as compared to what?

[tazber]

Posted: 10/26/08 at 12:27am

Too insensitive as compared to what?

[LePetiteFromage]

Posted: 10/26/08 at 1:13am

Updated On: 1/10/09 at 01:13 AM

[shira467]

Posted: 10/26/08 at 1:28am

This is an EXCELLENT article I encourage you all to read from Reader's Digest, about dark humor.
Why Dark Humor Is Sometime's The Best Medicine

[winston89]

Posted: 10/26/08 at 5:16am

The thing about the Carlin bit is this. That he was talking about how comics run into trouble left and right about how you can't joke about this and that. And, that he thought that that was total bull. He used the subject of rape not to joke about rape. But, to talk about how anything can be funny. As he says in the video " I believe anything you can joke about anything, just as long as it is how you construct the joke. I Believe every joke has to have one thing that is WAYYYYY out of preportion." He uses Rape not to joke about rape. But, he constructs what is a funny bit about rape to prove that point. And he succeeds in doing so.

Posted: 10/26/08 at 8:48am

This whole subjects gets me so worked up I have to go watch The Aristocrats. That always makes me feel better.

[jasonf]

Posted: 10/26/08 at 10:13am

"But when people get all up & arms about what a comic or show says, THAT pisses me off."

Am I insensitive for finding this sentence funny?

[best12bars]

Posted: 10/26/08 at 10:35am

A couple of decades ago, I used to work with Bonnie Hunt. She was a great person, good friend and a very funny lady, even back then (just as she was moving to Los Angeles). In addition to her work with Second City in Santa Monica (at the time) and her fledgling film & TV career, Bonnie would take one weekend off every month, fly back to Chicago, and work a couple of shifts as an RN in her old hospital (yes, Bonnie was also a Registered Nurse) in the terminal ward. She worked with AIDS patients, cancer patients, etc.

She said it grounded her, kept her focused, and reminded her of what was truly important in the world. She told me she learned more about "what was funny" from her patients than she did from any performer, writer or comic. She said (and I'm, paraphrasing a little, because it's been 18 years!), "The best humor comes from pain. It's a reflection of how we process the pain and deal with it. And those patients are the funniest people I've ever met. They really know how to laugh."

I thought that was fascinating, and over the years, I've seen her theory proven time and again.

It's possible to be dying of a disease and find it funny. It's possible to look death or pain or suffering straight in the eye and laugh.

I believe intent is very important. Context is very important too. I believe (above all else) truth is important in humor. The best jokes have a fundamental core of human truth to them. They can take you out of the most painful situations and allow you to cope with complex feelings.

Laughter, they say, is the best medicine.

That said, there is also a huge difference between laughing WITH someone or AT someone. (The old cliche holds true.) If you laugh AT someone, it's not really humor at all. Not even in the lightest sense. It's abuse. There is nothing funny about abusing someone else.

If you can laugh WITH them about something (even an abusive or destructive situation) and find the humor in it together, you've got it made.

Perspective is the key.

I believe many in our society today don't have a "sense" of humor. They can't tell what's funny and what isn't. They have no understanding (or "sense") of it. They laugh at abuse as if it were humor. They think some humor is abuse. They can't tell the difference. I'm not sure why or how that happened. Maybe it's in the upbringing (or lack thereof). They weren't taught the basic difference of "with" vs. "at."

Or maybe they's just STUPID.

Updated On: 10/26/08 at 10:35 AM

[KathyGriffinLovesYou]

Posted: 10/26/08 at 12:21pm

This is absoloutely horrible. For me NOONE can say ANYTHING even close to homophobic or sexist around me or they're going down.
My sensitive spots are---
-Animal cruelty
-Sexism
-Mental Illness
-Homophobia
-AIDS. Big time.

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 10/26/08 at 12:33pm

This thread offends me.

[best12bars]

Posted: 10/26/08 at 1:06pm

Borstal's offense offends me.

But then again, that's a choice, apparently.

Like picking out socks. Or sexual orientation.

Updated On: 10/26/08 at 01:06 PM

[Jane2]

Posted: 10/26/08 at 4:12pm

LOL Besty!

I'm choosing to be gleeful that I lost a good portion of money in the stock exchange!

[Elphaba3]

Posted: 10/26/08 at 4:18pm

I've been thinking more about this. A few years ago, I spend three days in the psych ward of a hospital and two months in a psychiatric clinic. I sometimes joke about having been in the looney bin or the nut house. It helps me deal with it, but I know that some people would find it offensive.

[miss pennywise]

Posted: 10/26/08 at 4:20pm

Besty, I think what Elphaba is trying to say (although he will have to speak for himself) is similar to that famous quote by Eleanor Roosevelt:

"No one can make you feel inferior without your consent."

Again, this is a guess on my part.

[Elphaba3]

Posted: 10/26/08 at 4:22pm

You hit the nail on the head. That's one of my favorite quotes.

[Jane2]

Posted: 10/26/08 at 4:23pm

Elphaba3-I can totally relate to you. I abhor people making fun of the mentally ill, yet I can joke around with my family when we talk about my sister and some of her escapades in and out of institutions.

[Jane2]

Posted: 10/26/08 at 4:26pm

"No one can make you feel inferior without your consent."

I totally agree. But what's offensive the the person who attempts to make someone feel inferior.

Anyway, I think Besty was talking about being offended, not being inferior.

Posted: 10/26/08 at 8:32pm

I think you've got to be crazy to make fun of the Mentally Ill.