My friends are acusing me of losing my sense of humour!
The thing is I have noticed that whenever people tell jokes, it always appears to be at someone else's expense. I know what it feels like when people laugh at you out of a sense of riddicule and try to prevent myself from doing that which I hate!
If a comedian tell a joke - then the audience laugh at the joke.
If the subject of the joke are people - then surely the audience are laughing at the people?
When I watch old movies of actors like Charlie Chaplin, am I laughing with or at him?
How can I tell the diference between when someone is laughing with or at someone? What or where is the dividing line?
Should we laugh about everything - the Holocaust, Slavery, famine, Global warming etc?
Thanks
- omoatayo
2007-02-04 09:35:31 · 6 answers · asked by omoatayo 2 in Society & Culture ➔ Cultures & Groups ➔ Other - Cultures & Groups
When it's at someone else's expense.
2007-02-04 09:40:37 · answer #1 · answered by Nico 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Humour can be a choice of response, a lifestyle, a release, a bonding experience, or in the negative sense a form of tribalism or discrimination against the subject being parodied.
Personal experience, upbringing, enlightenment, education, culture or exposure of inadequacies or mindsets can bring different perspectives and levels of understanding to what is essentially the same joke.
Personality type as well can go a long way to determining what is funny and what is not, or what is offensive and what is humorous.
I am offended by virtually nothing, so I laugh about almost anything. I am very hard to insult.
Others take offense at the slightest cooment, directed or otherwise.
It is all in the mindset and the spirit of the humour and how you perceive it.
2007-02-04 09:49:59 · answer #2 · answered by Chef 1 · 2⤊ 0⤋
No one can answer that question and it be everyones same view. Too much is how you view it. Some may laugh at suicide becuase either they've tried it and can now laugh at how stupid it is, or laugh at it because they don't understand it. Same with any topic. Really you need to pick your battles or it will make you depressed. If it's something small like your friend tripping, it's ok to laugh as long as he's not seriously hurt. Now the holocaust and all that. Well the majority of the world don't laugh at that except the ones that still follow the Nazi regime.
2007-02-04 09:50:31 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
I think you would be laughing with Charlie Chaplin because he is just acting and TRYING to be funny. Laughing AT someone means laughing becuase you think that what they did is idiotic, stupid and becuase you feel the person is a dumbass. laughing with someone means that you think the person has a good sense of humor and you are laughing becuase of it. You can normally tell this from the way the person is laughing. I think we should only laugh at what we find funny.
2007-02-04 09:42:39 · answer #4 · answered by bevmoonshine 2 · 4⤊ 0⤋
I agree, jokes aren't funny if they're about hurting people.
People have different ideas about laughing "at" or "with", mostly it depends on whether or not they see the object of the humor as a human being or, well, an object.
I like math humor and puns, because words and numbers don't get their feelings hurt if you laugh at them.
2007-02-04 10:01:03 · answer #5 · answered by Joni DaNerd 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Some people follow the rest if one laughs the rest laugh.You have a different sense of humor & do not follow the crowd stay has you are.
2007-02-07 01:44:15 · answer #6 · answered by Ollie 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋