Funny, no?

It tickles me immensely when I hear people chastise those who amuse themselves by poking fun at things which the public at large deem as subjects that are off limits for humor. Why they would do that, I’m not quite sure. I have discovered that humor can in fact be a sort of wormhole to the hearts and minds of people. You could try to reason with a lay person but it’d only get you so far if the person’s beliefs (whatever they may be) are so deeply ingrained in him that he will be dogmatic enough to argue with you even if he is in the wrong (Religion being a case in point). But if you bend over backwards or underhandedly slip in a message through humor (or poetry or music), they’re more likely to remember it, so laughter in fact becomes an important carrier of social messages and values. The same goes for poetry and music, because we’re more likely to remember rhyme and verse than a long speech or dialogue.

I truly believe it has an important function when it comes to making people see the evils and wrongs of their ways. If you’re skilled enough to get someone to laugh at something like rape or mutilation you’re able to bypass the jadedness that a person may have acquired overtime about a particular subject from, say the influence of media and society. It wakes people up to the reality of things, gives them pause and makes them consider exactly what it is that they’re laughing at, so your effect has been twofold: Firstly you’ve made them that much happier by making them laugh and secondly you’ve passed on that social message I talked about earlier. That’s a dual benefit to that person, and every other person he or she re-narrates the joke or comic routine or whatever you want to call it to someone else later on. Consider the impact of something like this as opposed to conscious efforts at raising conscientiousness amongst the general public through a more proactive medium such as the press. It’s subtle enough to work very effectively, has mass appeal, and the bonus of getting people to agree with you simply because you’re an agreeable person whom they enjoy the company of.

For George Carlin. Written soon after listening to his amazing routines some time ago.

We will miss you.

Sincerely,

WittyWanker