"Stop It." THAT'S What She Said

I love funny. Seriously, comedy serves a very important purpose in my life. I'm even of the opinion that a well-placed joke at the right time can do wonders for a person's soul.

That's right - I'm mixing humor and spirituality, and if you think there's nothing funny about spirituality, you obviously haven't read this.

Seriously, even the NAME "St. Francis of Assisi" is hilarious!

Now, I'm not all about "Rabbi, Priest, and Bishop" jokes, nor do I think the only jokes we should laugh at are the ones that people would feel comfortable sharing in a chapel (actually, I find most of those jokes offensively bland and refuse to laugh at them as a matter of principle). Going one step further, I have to say that I like my jokes a little... vulgar?

There's something about "off-color" humor - especially in my little, Mormon-conservative environment - that people find to be exciting in the same way that anything that's forbidden is funny. I fall victim to this all the time - I think profanity is HILARIOUS, and I treat the "That's what she said" joke as a test of my own skill and wit.

(For the record, I gave up "That's what she said" jokes after a New Year's resolution and I'm still going strong).

To me, profanity is a strong spice. Too much of it, and you'll smell like garlic for days. However, in just the right amount, some cussin' makes for good comedy. I know I should probably be indignant at the use of profanity, but, heaven help me, around some comedians I can't help myself.

The trouble is, though, that, in our era of ever-relaxing morality, the line you have to cross to be "transgressive" is further and further out there. As a result, off-color jokes get more and more... disgusting. Spend any amount of time on internet forums and you've probably seen this - people use language of intense violence and sexual depravity with incredible ease. Every time a new movie comes out, I hear people talk about how this director or that producer is "raping my childhood." Sadly, I think these metaphors show that we've lost something more important than our sense of "decency." We've lost our empathy - our ability to feel for and respect the feelings of others.

Jokes about "rape" are a strong example. I know one or two people who have been the victims of rape and I have to say... that's REALLY not funny. When we joke about something, we trivialize the subject matter to the point where it's meaningless and hollow. That's why you almost never hear jokes about both Nazis and Jews - at least, not from someone you ever plan on speaking to again.

I've heard it said that comedy, by its very nature, is subversive and offensive. No matter what the subject matter - blondes, blacks, or bar mitzvahs - SOMEONE will get offended. I'm sure that's true, to some extent - especially of parody, which I love and strongly encourage. The barbs of parody usually serve a purpose, though, beyond objectifying or tearing-down another.

Of course, I last heard the argument that "comedy = subversion" used in a workshop a couple of years ago to justify a cancer joke. However, the cancer joke made one of the workshop participants run out into the hall in tears. Apparently, she had a relative recently diagnosed with cancer, so she was hurt to hear the subject treated so cavalierly. So the workshop instructor came across looking like a complete tool.

Do I mean to say that I can't ever make jokes about cancer? Well... maybe I do. At the very least, though, I think I can show more consideration for those who ARE upset by a joke and not make it in their presence. Maybe that doesn't make me virtuous, but it does make me kind (not that I mean to brag about how kind I am... you get my point).

Bottom line: "No" means "no." Even in comedy.

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