Revue jokes predicated on myths
Shamus Rohn
junior
Since many of our community saw the Keenan Revue this weekend, it allows me to pose a question I have been struggling with on my own for some time.
What does our collective sense of humor say about us?
Many of the jokes in the Revue, like many of the jokes we hear and tell everyday, were predicated on racial, religious, sexist or homophobic myths. I worry that these jokes suggest we are not nearly as serious as we claim about ending prejudice and discrimination along those lines.
I use the Revue only as an example of what I feel to be a fairly strong reflection of everyday humor. We hear these jokes constantly and dismiss them saying, "It's only a joke." I can no longer dismiss them so easily. I have to ask whether or not the jokes are representative of how we really feel about issues like race and religion more so than are our public proclamations of acceptance and non-discrimination.
I want to make clear here that I am not simply another thought-censor looking to silence what I find inappropriate. I have little use for political correctness or tastefulness, and too often they prevent us from openly dealing with these issues. If these issues are not dealt with openly, no progress can be made. This is the only good I see in the jokes: They seem to carry a higher level of honestly than our non-joke, politically-correct-for-the-sake-of-political-correctness statements.
The problem I see is this: There is a major conflict between the loving and accepting community we claim to be and the jokes we tell in close company (or at the Revue). I invite responses from those who feel they can reconcile this conflict.
Shamus Rohn
junior
Stanford Hall
Feb. 4, 2002
All Viewpoint Stories for Tuesday, February 5, 2002
