One day long, long ago, when I was a summer camp counselor for a cabin of junior-high-aged girls, my campers short-sheeted my bed. This classic practical joke involves making a bed with one sheet doubled back so the occupant can’t straighten her legs. When I climbed under the covers and got trapped in the sheet, I burst out laughing. I’d once been a camper myself.
One reason their trick was fun for us all was that the girls knew me well enough to know I’d enjoy it. One person’s friendly tease is another person’s harassment. “Can’t you take a joke?” is right up there with “You’re in denial” on my list of obnoxious things to say; to disagree just proves the speaker’s point. “Just kidding” claims a free pass for anything, however offensive. It frames pushback as humorless literalism. Nothing against healthy laughter, friends. But unhealthy laughter is becoming more dangerous as traditional norms of civility break down. Actual beliefs or intentions masquerade as jokes. Mockery is dehumanizing. April 1 is a day for innocent fun. Words and deeds that aren’t innocent don’t become so by calling them jokes. Image: George Vasey, The Philosophy of Laughter and Smiling (1875). Vasey considered roaring with laughter a vice of the depraved, dissipated, and criminal.
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AuthorI'm a historian who writes novels and literary nonfiction. My home base is Madison, Wisconsin.
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