“For every ten jokes, thou hast got an hundred enemies.” Laurence Sterne (Howard’s great, great, great, great grandfather.)
Politically correct jokes are jokes
that are tailored not to offend certain people. The problem is that anytime
anyone tries to be funny, there’s a chance he or she will offend somebody. You
don’t have to tell very many jokes to find that out. And some of the people who
get offended aren’t shy about saying so. Complaints about jokes can be very off
the wall but it will rarely do any good to try to explain a joke to someone who
feels offended. For example, there’s just no way to explain irony to someone who
does not get it.
In business settings it’s a good
idea not to offend people if you can avoid it. Tell jokes that have a broad
appeal, that don’t play on stereotypes, and that don’t take jabs at groups of
people. Unlike pitching in baseball, in comedy it’s usually better to aim for
the middle of the plate than it is to try to get strikes on the corners. You
want to pitch jokes that are obvious strikes. You don’t want to leave people
wondering whether they got it or not.
I recently saw a bumper sticker that
said, “Meat is Murder.” Well I guess that makes me a sociopath! I love the
feeling of my incisors ripping through a nice juicy steak.
As a rule, I don’t laugh very hard
at my own jokes, but that one used to kill me. I really loved telling that
joke. Even after I had been telling it for a while, it still made me smile
inside. It’s a funny joke, but not for everybody. I’m sure I alienated many
vegetarians with that joke. If I had known then what I know now, I would have
dumped that joke.
Another bit I should have stopped
using took pokes at balding TV personalities, especially the ones who do the
comb-over. I’m sure that whenever I did that bit, I alienated many men who
were, shall we say, folically challenged. Try to be aware of who might be
offended by a joke and ask yourself if the joke is worth it. Sometimes it is.
In business situations, it usually isn’t.
Further reading.
Further reading.
#MakeAmericaLaughAgain
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