Young Me

Things I don’t find funny

46. I sometimes worry that I’ll get to the point where I won’t be able to relate to anyone without a tertiary education level or a finely-tuned sense of ironic irreverence. It seems that the amount of awkward silences between my mother and me have increased exponentially since I stopped pooping in my diapers when I was 14.

Generally, people tell me that my sense of humor is warped. I always counter that I have a much broader sense of humor than most. I find a lot of things funny that most people don’t. Sometimes I find them funny because most people don’t. But there are quite a few things that I don’t find funny.

So here is a short list of things I do not find funny:

  1. Sarcasm. I’m ofter accused of being sarcastic, but I’m not! I’m snarky, whimsical, ironic, hyperbolic, witty, and wry, but never sarcastic. Sarcasm is a particular type of ironic statement said to call attention to another person or statement’s ignorance or stupidity. It’s usually rude and hurtful. And it erodes relationships by wearing on the other person’s ego.
  2. Bathroom humor. He said, poopingly.
  3. Kids saying the darnedest things. I remember being a kid and having grown ups laugh at me whenever I did anything ‘cute.’ It pissed me off! ((It’s crazy that I can remember that. I swear I remember getting angry that they didn’t consider me their intellectual equal…))
  4. Shock humor. For the sake of shock, I mean. The shock should be the tool or maneuver, not the whole joke.
  5. Puns. I appreciate them, but have never really laughed at one… not that they’re meant to arouse laughter, of course.
  6. Religious jokes. I might have a different opinion if I’d heard a new one in the past ten years, but as I haven’t, it’s on the list.
  7. Racial Jokes.

CAUTION: A joke counts as a racial joke if the punchline involves an exaggeration of a crude racial stereotype. Thus any joke that begins with “a white guy, a black guy, and a mexican are on a plane” will likely be a racial joke. BUT NOT NECESSARILY. Take, for example, the following joke:

What’s sad about four black guys in a Cadillac driving off a cliff?

… They were my friends… 🙁

I find that joke hilarious. But any hyperbolic stereotypes that are usually based on a culture’s underlying resentment? Count me out. I’d rather read Garfield.

46. I sometimes worry that I’ll get to the point where I won’t be able to relate to anyone without a tertiary education level or a finely-tuned sense of ironic irreverence. It seems that the amount of awkward silences between my mother and me have increased exponentially since I stopped pooping in my diapers when…

2 Comments

  1. Wow, the first comment? Guess that means everyone else in the world is actually working. I relate to #3, not on my behalf but one of my kid’s; he is almost 9, and very funny, like Jim Carrey funny, but he never really means to be and when we laugh it hurts his feelings. I spend a lot of time saying, “I will be right back,” then running into the kitchen to laugh before I go back into the living room.