Humor: It Isn't Up To You.

Let me offend you or delight you with a few pictures before we begin:

OMG POOR FELLOW!

Why are you laughing at that man?!

You shouldn't laugh at aliens!

The above pictures are just a few examples of things being funny at other peoples expense. That's part of what makes humor funny. Why? Nobody really knows. But if you try to think of an example of something that is funny 9/10 it's going to be something that happened to another person that wasn't good.

Try it. Take a few seconds and think about funny things that have happened to your friends or some of your most humorous stories. I'm willing to bet a donkey on the fact that possibly all of them have to do with something going wrong. That's the essence
of humor. Laughing at the bad things in life.

So why do we constantly see people in the public eye making jokes getting crucified for attempting to be funny? A few years ago CBS radio fired multiple DJ's for making jokes they deemed "inappropriate". It seems like a day can't go by without a public figure having to apologize for making a joke that offended someone. Satellite Radio Jockeys Opie and Anthony even have an apology clock that they keep to see how much times elapses between celebrity apologies.

So what's wrong with being offended by a joke? What's the issue to be taken with not wanting to hear jokes about fat people, violence, or even murder? Well let's start with a great little clip from now deceased comedian Parice Oneal on the subject.

Being offended and dealing with it in a way that doesn't affect the person that offended you is one thing. However, saying you are offended is also saying that you think the offender shouldn't be able to say what they said. In essence you are trying to limit another person's speech because you can't deal with the emotions of being offended by them. Which is worse? Someone saying offensive things or another person limiting speech?


So before you decide to declare that a joke or a statement has "offended you" perhaps take a moment to think about what you are really saying. You have the right to be offended certainly, but that doesn't mean you have the right to force someone else not to offend you.

The beauty of humor is that it allows us to deal with the bad things in life with the phenomenon of laughter. That's why terrible things that happen to us one day are hilarious stories when we retell them later. To laugh is human, especially at offensive things.

People have tried to corner the market on being offended, corner the market on language and corner the market on opinion. Should I lose my job 'cause I offended somebody? No, of course not. Your life should never be affected by public opinion.

-Patrice O'Neal