That's Funny... I Don't Care Who You Are

Is comedy fun anymore? Are we allowed to laugh? Saturday night I went to a comedy show and I laughed; not everyone in the room found the evening entertaining. It was just another example of the strange world we are living in.

The comedian was in tune with the dynamic; he travels the world and is well-known for his US touring. During the show he stumbled upon an analogy that perfectly captured today’s climate. He said, “Traveling the US I see two kinds of people: there are those who are strapped into a roller coaster and they look miserable; they look like they could die at any moment. Then there is the other group; they are strapped into the same roller coaster, but they have their hands raised into the air, are sporting a big grin, and are yelling wee!”

The line got a good laugh, but it was somewhat muted; like most of the night. People laughed but not a relaxed full-throated kind of laugh. This, even though, the comedian is hilarious and regarded as one of today’s top tier acts.

As I enjoyed the show, I couldn’t help but notice how uncomfortable some people were. It was as if every time he started to tell a story they were afraid their tribe was going to be attacked; he was an equal opportunity attacker. I don’t recall ever being in a setting where there was that much tension when there should have been pleasure.

It makes me wonder, are we so tribalized that we can no longer laugh at funny things?

For sure the woke crowd has narrowed their sense of humor. You must be damn careful not to say something in front of them they interpret as offensive. That group, however, haven’t cornered the market on overreacting, as the comedian found out. He told a funny joke about Trump. Not unusual, comedians have been making jokes about presidents since the beginning of the union. Times have changed, however. Saturday night the joke was met with joy by about twenty-five percent of the audience and strained stares by the rest. It was painful to watch. I guess humor is only funny if it is making fun of the other side.

That sad commentary may be true for some, but not me. I intend to laugh till my last day. I enjoy playful, creative, word usage to spin a story. In fact, put me around someone who can craft a tale that has me on the edge of my seat and then bent over with laughter and I am having a good day.

I learned early on the joy a good laugh could bring. I remember sitting on my parent’s porch and listening to adults talk about things in their life that you couldn’t help but laugh at. Like the time my uncle turned serious and told me he had a brother that passed away when he had a terrible accident on a stage. He said, “He was standing on the platform looking all stoic, and then the floor below him gave way.” As my uncle shook his head he continued, “It was an awful fall, he would have destroyed both legs if that rope hadn’t broken his neck.”

Down home humor has always held a special place in my heart, especially if it plays to a stereotype. Years ago, I traveled to Boston almost every week. After a few months of this, I became friends with a few people I worked with. They were always teasing me about being a redneck. That didn’t bother me much, as bad as my accent was, their thick Boston accent was equally bizarre. One evening, after a particularly brutal round of southern jokes, one of the guys in the group decided to throw me a line and change the subject. He said, “Hey bud tell us about your wife, how did you meet her?”

I saw an opportunity and I took it. “Well, I met her when my aunt brought her home from the hospital.”

The stunned looks on their faces told me I had them. I continued, “I know it might sound a bit weird, but we get along so well. We have so much in common. It’s like we think the same. You couldn’t separate us with axe.”

The room grew quiet as they considered what I had told them. I found it hilarious and often reflect on the fact that, to this day, they are not sure if my wife is my cousin.

What are we to do if we can’t laugh at ourselves? What will become of us, if we can only find humor in things that support our tribe? Won’t it become a sad place? People are already angry and on edge about everything. Have we really allowed ourselves to slide into the abyss? Sometimes it feels like it.

I saw Larry the Cable Guy last month and he was everything you expect him to be. He knew how to play to this part of the country. He told us his Momma had just moved into his basement. He was worried about her, “I bought her one of them life alert thing a ma jiggys. I told her if she was in a panic to push it and I would come running. Sure, enough she pushed the button four days in a row. Each time she said, ‘I can’t find the Fox station.”

Guess what the mere mention of Fox had some audience members groaning. I mean come on.

I have reached the point where I have settled for many things I don’t like, I refrain from engaging in interesting conversations with my wife’s family because they don’t want to talk politics; truth is they don’t want to hear anything that isn’t from their “fair and balanced” source. I rarely enjoy the news as you must spend all your time seeking the truth from behind the agenda. I have friends who aren’t much fun to be around anymore; all they want to do is debate politics, as seen from their tribe’s perspective, no accommodation of other ideas, or acknowledgment that the truth is almost always in the middle. It is all so boring.

I long for the day when people sit on their front porch and talk about the world and their future without their tribe’s talking points driving what they say. Do you remember when you could talk to someone who wasn’t like you and learn something?

What I witnessed Saturday night reflects a sad evolution in our country. The comedian, a US citizen who immigrated here twenty years ago, pointed out the change he sees and the bitter division that exists. As he said, “Jokes are no longer universal, today jokes are regional.”

I don’t know about you, but I am not giving up humor. I am open to laughing at anything and everything that is clever. If someone wants to make fun of where I came from that’s cool, just know there is plenty of funny stuff that goes on in New York.

Say, did you hear about the time I took my kids to the zoo… they only had one dog, it was a Shih Tzu.

Now that’s funny, I don’t care who you are.