I quite liked this article in the Sun yesterday. I've included some of it here and the rest can be read on the link. I guess what attracted to me is I am always fascinated by the subtle, the gray aspects of life....I can never see things in black and white terms. It would be easier to just not ever touch on race, religion, ethnicity, or gender in humour and I certainly hate with a passion jokes that are ignorant and only meant to hurt. But laughter can promote understanding.
From the article: Humour my be our most unifying weapon
"Religious humour is especially delicate, since Jews, Catholics, Doukhobors, Muslims and others have long suffered persecution.
Given the context, British Muslim comedienne Shazia Murza is bravely
reaching out when she jokes: “I was walking around the Kabbah, the black
stone [in the holy city of Mecca], and somebody pinched my bum. It must
have been the hand of God.”
Similarly, Jews are poking fun at grandiose members of their own religion when they ask: “How do we know Jesus was a Jew?”
Answer: “He thought his father was God, and his mother was a virgin.”
Spence, a retired United Church minister in Metro Vancouver, agrees
that “deep laughter” comes from being pleasantly surprised in difficult
times, from recognizing the wonder of life and common humanity.
“To be ‘delighted,’ perhaps one must embrace the tragic in life,”
Spence said. “To be ‘lighthearted’ – perhaps one must experience the
broken-hearted, the – bitterness of life.”
Just as humour created solidarity among our multi-ethnic band of
religion journalists in Italy, I was often struck by the drollness of
many of Canada’s aboriginal people when I travelled to research the
legacy of residential schools and the rise of self-government.
Many aboriginals may have a right to be bitter. But while some are
angry at the devastating effects of colonial-ism and continuing abuse,
many I’ve met also have a mischievous sparkle in their eyes or are quick
to tell jokes. They were far beyond passively thinking “poor me.”
Even some people in the over-ear-nest world of scholarship seem to be getting the irony. In a research piece in The Journal of American Culture, Stephen Hall et al. wrote that humour is the most useful tool for social integration in an increasingly fractured society.
“Laughter usually comes when we have revealed our own or others’
weaknesses and limitations. What could be more ‘popular’ than this
reminder of our human vulnerabilities?” Hall said.
“Doesn’t being able to laugh with others bring us together? The
message humour communicates is that people share common values; this in
turn makes them feel closer to each other. It is sort of a ‘smile of
recognition’ involving shared experiences.”
The Search | Vancouver Sun
