Monday, December 8, 2008

It's Bean Fun

Whatever happened to our sense of play? What happened to our lightheartedness? Why's it got to be so bleedin' serious all the bleedin' time? I know I've said it before, and I'll say it again. We've become so politically correct that we live in abject fear of saying the wrong thing. So we say nothing - we don't joke around, we don't goof around, we don't play. As one of the founding members of Sarcasm Anonymous, I've had to bite back words too many times to count. Would I ever intend to offend with my words? Nah. Most of what I say is in jest - I have too much in my life to be serious about to afford taking it all seriously.

The other day I showed someone the above ad with the idea that there would be a shared laugh over the silliness of it. Instead, I damned near got spanked myself for my insensitivity. How could I find funny something that fosters and supports spousal abuse?! How could I be amused by something that shows a woman being subjected to the upper hand of a man?!

Oh PUH-leeeeze!

I suppose I could share a bit of my (warped?) slightly masochistic sexual views and say that spankings can be kind of fun (ohhhh yeah). But we probably don't wanna go there, and that's beside the point. I could (nearly truthfully) say that I do believe that anyone who would buy and/or serve bad coffee deserves a beating, but that's just my own caffeine addiction talking and I really don't believe that I'd haul off and deck someone over a lousy cup o' bean. Though I have been known to hug someone as reward for a particularly good cup o' bean.
Point is, I'm a pacifist at heart. I don't like seeing anyone (unless they really are deserving of severe punishment) get hurt, physically or emotionally. Anyone who takes five minutes getting to know me ought to recognize that much about me. Point is, just because my wicked sense of humor takes me to (and through) some dark places, doesn't mean I'm wicked and dark at heart - or if I am, it's that sense of humor that keeps me floating above the murk and able to cope in the "real world." Anyone who's spent more than five minutes in my presence ought to recognize that as well. Point is, oh hell... lighten up!

Most humor is our way of raging against the dying of the light, of whistling past the graveyard, of staying buoyant on the big waves. Sure, sometimes it's used in ugly ways (such as ethnic jokes), which (I believe) is born of fear. Sadly, some unenlightened people find that's the only way to cope with fear. But, rather than take offense, I just feel sad for those folks.

Here we are heading to the darkest day of the year, with most cultures in some way celebrating a Season of Light. So, lighten your heads and hearts. Laugh a little, laugh a lot... it's okay. A sense of humor is the finest tool we have in our mental kits; it's the best gift we could ever have been given. Don't push it to the side and let it rust unused. Open it up... let it fly... light up the dark corners.

Laugh, dammit... or I'll spank ya!

2 comments:

  1. i hear ya', Barb. Between my close friends and family i feel comfortable joking around, but sometimes others take things the wrong way. People do need to lighten up. i, personally, am offended by very little, though when Zach was a baby one of my friends at the time(she cut ties w/me and everyone from her past - don't know exactly why) felt the need to constantly make dead baby jokes. i guess my raging hormones at the time didn't like that, and it stung. That's probably the only time i was truly offended by someone's jokes. Life is too freakin' serious most of the time, and laughter keeps us sane.

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  2. Yup it does seem that some people have been whipped in for a sense-of-humor bypass - that's like a heart bypass only they work on you funny bone...
    I'd say I'd come over and *cough* *cough* but I think you'd enjoy it too much, Scott would give a very funny look and I'd feel some lovely "sweet and innocent young lady's" eyes burning into the back of my skull..
    I think you know how warped my sense of anything is, very...
    "Sarchasm - The Gulf between those who get it and those who just don't."

    I have a colleague like that, If I don't talk to them, it's a fault if I do but in the wrong way it's a fault so I've given up. Just got a text message as well saying my "silence speaks volumes" in reference to an earlier text I choose to ignore. What was I supposed to say, all the questions about their time off had been asked, I had said hello, I'd passed over all the information what freaking more did they want I just wanted to go home.. Oh I'm sorry I didn't stay for 10 minutes...
    sorry barb in mild rant mode after that message..

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