Episode 15: You're Not Funny, You're Just A Jerk

I'm sorry I'm later with this one, I've had a lot going on and writing this just slipped by me. But I remembered! Here it is. To quote Daughtry, "Yeah, he's still coming, just a little bit late. He got stuck at the laundromat washin' his cape."

Dark humor is a very tricky thing.

  There are people out there who like to make jokes about unconventional things. Things that most people don't find funny, or may even get offended at someone for their finding it funny. Things like war, disease, divorce, murder, tragedy - people make jokes about these things. Depending on who you are and what your sense of humor is, you either find these jokes funny, maybe even make them yourself, or you're angered and offended. 

   The thing is, if you're going to make an offensive joke, you have to be sure you're just making a lighthearted jab that is understood as not being mean-spirited. 

Know your audience.

  Before making an offensive/dark joke, you have to know who you're making it to. Don't make one of these jokes to someone who doesn't know you're joking. Don't make them to strangers (unless, I guess, if you're a celebrity who's known for making such jokes).

   If you must incorporate such humor into your style, do it around people who know you and who you are. If you make an offensive joke, make sure the people who hear it know that you don't mean it.

Don't cross the line (poor taste).

  Of course, there are some boundaries no one should cross. If you have to wonder if a joke is too far, just don't make it. If you know someone that will hear it will be hurt by it, again, don't make it. You shouldn't ever make jokes about recent tragedies, or act like it would be funny for a tragedy to occur. And this isn't a hard thing to decipher. Any decent person should be able to tell what shouldn't be spoken.

Don't just be a jerk.

  Some people use the excuse of "dark humor" to cover the fact that they're just an ass. Some racist people will say racist stuff and then say it's just a joke to cover themselves. Don't be like one of these people.

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia

   I'm gonna annoy my veteran readers by talking about my favorite show once again. If you are unfamiliar with this show, it's about a group of five alcoholics, called "The Gang", who own and "operate" a bar in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The group consists of Charlie Kelly, Ronald "Mac" McDonald, Dennis Reynolds, Deandra "Dee" Reynolds, and Frank Reynolds.

   The Gang are horrible people. The show is very explicit in making them out to be awful people. With this show being centered around a group of bad people, of course a large portion of the humor in the show is dark/offensive. 

   And in an age of offensive jokes causing people to get canceled, how has this show survived for fifteen (and counting) years? It's simple: satire. The Gang are satirized versions of crazy people, so it's easy to laugh at their antics, and not sympathize for them when bad stuff happens to them. That's why it's so funny. They serve as satirical devices for how weird the world is, and being able to laugh at them and their shenanigans provides an escape from the real-world darkness.

In Conclusion

   It's fine to be a little edgy with your humor sometimes. In fact, it can be pretty funny. Just know you're limits, know what you're doing, and just don't be a jerk.

See you next week!