Quote:
Originally Posted by Boomer
Speaking for myself. . .
A sense of humor is a study in itself. I think it is on some kind of spectrum. There is definitely a range.
Those of us who have a sense of humor know that it is very much a part of who we are as individuals.
I have known people who take everything literally because they just can’t see it any other way — no sense of humor, at all, I guess. The rest of us run the gamut from the quick and dry to slapstick and beyond, with everything in between.
And, of course, humor can be a valuable coping mechanism.
I will say though that I draw the line where others might have a need to cross it. . .
I have never laughed at a Helen Keller joke.
,
I have never mocked a disabled person.
I think Ricky Gervais goes too far in his stand-up routine. I watched his stand-up one time. Never again. (cringe, shudder)
And, now, I cannot find any laughter anywhere in what we are seeing happening in Ukraine.
I have not even watched Colbert for the past few nights. I have always loved it when he skewers those who need a good skewering. But man’s inhumanity to man, orchestrated by a megalomaniac, is in a different category. (I don’t know how or if Colbert is satirizing this one. I am choosing not to find out.)
“A woman’s got to know her limitations.”
And I just can’t laugh about any part of this one.
Boomer
PS: Today, I did look up my favorite vodka Grey Goose, just to make sure — made in France.
PPS: And, btw, please do not feel the need to lecture me about what I can and cannot control. I am not naive. I limit my news time and then go on with normal things — but damn, this is HUGE, the biggest thing I have seen in my entire boomer life — so far. . .
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Dear Boomer,
I agree that there is a spectrum of humor. This is not meant as a lecture, just conversation. I am one of those that spot a double-entendre or innuendo. Sometimes even when it isn't there. I, like you, don't mock the unfortunate, but I can see the humor in some of the situations they may encounter. Even when I am the unfortunate one, there is a humorous perspective. Example: I had cancer in my neck. Treatment was long and terrible. When I could no longer eat or drink, I had to take nourishment through a tube in my belly. When my radiation nurse saw it for the first time, she asked how I felt. I smiled and told her I was a member of the Borg collective. She laughed hysterically, not at me, but with me at my bizarre appearance.
The situation in both Russia and Ukraine is horrible. But I, for one, have no control over these events. But I, and apparently others, can find humor in the sometimes silly protests or bans that take place. Laughter is often a coping mechanism that eases the pain of horrible reality. But it doesn't change that reality.