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From: hollombe@ttidcc.UUCP (The Polymath)
Newsgroups: net.jokes.d,net.women
Subject: Re: Offensive humor
Message-ID: <132@ttidcc.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 5-Feb-86 16:47:47 EST
Article-I.D.: ttidcc.132
Posted: Wed Feb  5 16:47:47 1986
Date-Received: Sun, 9-Feb-86 04:45:14 EST
References: <428@mmm.UUCP> <9096@amdcad.UUCP> <1726@jhunix.UUCP>
Reply-To: hollombe@ttidcc.UUCP (The Polymath)
Distribution: net
Organization: The Cat Factory
Lines: 41
Xref: watmath net.jokes.d:1424 net.women:8766
Summary: 

In article <1726@jhunix.UUCP> ins_acae@jhunix.UUCP (Carolyn Ann Ewald) writes:
>> In article <428@mmm.UUCP> mrgofor@mmm.UUCP (Michael Ross) writes:
>> >	The question: Are ALL jokes offensive in SOME way to SOMEone?
>> >Can anyone supply a joke that is completely inoffensive to anybody
>> >(yet still funny to someone)? 
>
>	****Theory:  (stated as a question)  Is all humor really based
>on laughing at someone else who is hurt, discomfited, embarrassed, 
>made to look inferior, placed in an undignified situation, etc ? 
>
>	I can't think of a single joke where there isn't someone who is
>the loser...

Try listening to George Carlin or Robin Williams some time.  Lots of  humor
with  no  one  hurt.  ("Flammable,  inflammable, non-inflammable -- why are
there three?  Seems like two words could cover that concept  pretty  well."
-- G.  Carlin).

>                                ... THE ONE PERSON WHO IS GUARANTEED
>NOT TO LAUGH IS THE BUTT OF THE JOKE.   

This is highly situational.  Also depends  on  the  person  involved.  Just
three  days  ago  a friend played a joke on me in public.  Sparing the long
details, it caused me some consternation and embarrassment in  front  of  a
group  of  friends.  The point being that no one laughed harder than I when
the joke was revealed.  (A definite gotcha).

I've noticed the ability to laugh at one's self is  definitely  lacking  in
some of the posters to this news group.  It's not the humor but the lack of
a sense of humor that seems to cause problems.

In other words: Lighten up, damnit!  Life is much too important to be taken
seriously.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
The Polymath (aka: Jerry Hollombe)
Citicorp(+)TTI
3100 Ocean Park Blvd.     Geniuses are people so lazy they
Santa Monica, CA  90405   do everything right the first time.
(213) 450-9111, ext. 2483
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