The New York Times Metropolitan Section, print edition, Feb. 25, 2024
A
reader also responded by letter to Hilary Howard’s Feb. 11 article
on how comics are increasingly turning their attention to the
climate crisis:
IS
THERE SUCH A THING as a topic that should be “off limits”?
Schopenhauer
knew all truth must pass through three stages:
First it is ridiculed.
Then
it is resisted.
Then it is accepted as self-evident.
Given
that each stage is inevitable, we might as well get the ridicule over
and done with as completely as we can.
The
‘That’s Not Funny’ Crowd, the latest self-appointed incarnation
of the Society for the Preservation of Decency and Morality,
prefers to shut down everything they disagree with. That is
more dangerous than the ridicule we fear, as it only postpones
acceptance.
Comedians are on our side whether they intend to be or not. Those with us lampoon our beliefs of “how things should be.” Those who seem to oppose us uncover those same prejudices.
When thoughts that are “not allowed” are driven underground, they silently fester and become malignant, erupting in the violence that accompanies resistance when we’ve tried to bypass Step One.
Comedy is healing, but only if we let it be, rather than direct it to be. The marker indicating your movement has succeeded is that it is able to laugh at itself, which only comes through (self-)acceptance.
TIM McNERNEY, SHUTESBURY, MASS.
The writer is a standup comic who also works with startup electric vehicle companies.
Yes, I like my letter that much
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There's more to the story, and maybe one day I write a whole article on this, but, if you are half as interested in thinking about this as I am, here it is:
"Laughter became a path to acceptance as audiences went from laughing at people they didn't understand to laughing with people they were beginning to understand."
Cappy McGarr is a co-creator of the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. His article appeared one month after my letter to the Times.
Is there such thing as a joke that cannot be told?
Q: How do you make sure being offensive isn't confused with trying to get someone to laugh at themselves?
There is no joke that cannot be made. Every joke can be made as long as it is excellently crafted. So, I think if you are veering in the way of offensive and people are being offended by your writing, then you just need to write better.