pudge's Journal: Jokes

I was chastised today because I told a joke about Kerry. I won't repeat it here, because the reason I told it there and not here in the first place was that many people would take it the wrong way, either getting mad at me for perpetuating something of questionable truth, or use it as a vehicle to launch attacks against Kerry, and I don't want any of that. It's not worth the trouble.

So I was accused of being susceptible to propaganda just because I told a joke that may or may not have been based on truth. Truth doesn't matter, though: it's just a joke! It is funny because it is based on our perceptions, not on truth.

The Daily Show does this all the time. Last night it showed four men who spoke at the RNC on Wednesday night, including white congressmen and senators Rick Santorum, Rob Portman, Bill Frist, and Mitch McConnell. Jon Stewart introduced the segment by saying, "the GOP stepped back from their celebration of diversity to offer their more traditional pageant of 'whiteosity.'" Ha, funny, because it plays on our perception of the Republicans as a bunch of white people. But what he didn't mention or show was that following McConnell was Elaine Chao. She is McConnell's wife, she's Asian, she's the U.S. Secretary of Labor, and she spoke for longer than Santorum, Portman, or McConnell. Nor did they mention that the evening's presiding Deputy Permanent Chair of the Convention was Michael Steele, a black man, and Lt. Gov. of Maryland.

What TDS did last night, and on many other nights, was no closer to the truth than what I said about Kerry, so why take issue, or look to deeper meaning? Granted, I am not a professional comedian. On the other hand, neither is Samantha Bee (oh, she is? huh, color me fooled!). Regardless, it was still obvious I was joking.

I am not saying The Daily Show sucks. Sometimes I think they go too far against the right wing, but whatever: they are jokes. Some work, some don't, but they should not be confused for the truth.

There are two related problems here, both centering around the problem of people taking jokes seriously. The first is that people get mad at you for telling a joke that isn't accurate, if they are somehow the butt of it. The second is that if the joke is in line with your existing biases, then you believe it's true, even if it is not.

I'm not picking on my friend who chastised me. I only spent time writing about it because I see a pattern out there. I'm sure a lot of viewers of TDS will walk away thinking, hey, everyone speaking at the convention on Wednesday night was white! That's because people are stupid. We all need to stop taking jokes so damned seriously, and stop taking seriously people who do take jokes seriously. Or something.

Sadly....

[ellem]

Sometimes a joke is just a joke but in this idiotic climate everything is up for complete scrutiny. there are many Bush jokes I find hilarious. the weird thing is all of a sudden Rs have the sense of humor the Ds lost sometime after they lost the Senate.

All one can do is shrug and hope this will all be over soon.

Gov. Pawlenty

[LinuxWhore]

I was listening to Gov. Pawlenty of of MN in a radio interview [am1500.com] at the MN state fair this weekend and he shared a joke with the crowd. I forget the context of the joke, and I can't find any audio of the joke iself, but it was in reference to the protesters at the RNC. Here's the gist of it:

He was asked by someone who noticed the protests of the RNC this week: "Where were all the protesters at the Democratic National Convention?" to which he responded "They were there. They were the delegates."

No, pudge

[jamie]

You made a joke.

I politely asked what it was about.

You responded with a false Republican talking point.

I corrected you.

Then you stuck to the talking point like it was glue, so we talked about that for a while.

Nobody has any problem with you telling jokes. The conversation arose because of what you said afterwards.

Yes, jamie

[pudge]

Then you stuck to the talking point like it was glue, so we talked about that for a while.

Your memory is flawed. I wasn't sticking to it like glue or otherwise. What happened is you grilled me on it, and I told you the basis for it. I told you where it was from. My words even implied I wasn't sure it was true: you asked me "do you know this?" And I said, "so and so said it." Then, "well, I am not sure if it is so and so, but someone affiliated with so and so." And then you accused me of what you di

TDS

[Iamthefallen]

I am not saying The Daily Show sucks. Sometimes I think they go too far against the right wing, but whatever: they are jokes. Some work, some don't, but they should not be confused for the truth.

I think it's the other way around, there's not nearly enough jokes about Kerry or Edwards. My wife pointed out to me that there were plenty about Clinton though. And to that I can't help but think that Clinton isn't running this election, Kerry is, could that have anything to do with TDS lack of Kerry/Edwards jokes

Re:TDS

[pudge]

I think the biggest reason why there are fewer Kerry jokes is simple: he isn't President!