Just Kidding

I love to laugh. I enjoy a good joke. To me, a good joke is intelligent, crafty, smart, clever. I also get a kick out of laughing at myself, and respect people who can laugh at themselves. I mean, let's face it, human beings are ridiculous sometimes, and can be ridiculously funny.

I do not appreciate jokes that are not funny. Especially those that are made at the expense of someone else. I'm not talking about jokes made about celebrities or certain pop-culture events or icons. I'm talking most specifically about passive-aggressive jokes. You know the ones....Bill says to Sarah "Nobody likes you. Haha, just kidding." or in email, text or social media form when someone laces a subtle insult with a winky face to pretend they are just kidding.

You know what? That is the lowest form of humor, in my opinion. One has to feel pretty shitty about themselves to use passive aggressive humor.

I have a large extended family. Some of my married-in family use passive aggressive humor at every family event we attend. Everything is an insult followed by a "just kidding". The interesting dynamic in this part of my extended family is the jealousy and score-keeping amongst the siblings. It's obvious to those of us who are not an original part of that family, but it still makes us uncomfortable to be around. I've even avoided social gatherings with this part of the family because I don't appreciate being around people who are so rude to one another. The people using this type of "humor" are some of the saddest, most envy driven and insecure people I have ever met. I think these types of character traits are a common thread through people that use P.A humor.

Here's a news bulletin for ya: the winky face/"just kidding" doesn't undo the damage of your insult, nor does it let you off the hook.

Think about it. You've been insulted. Immediately the person who lobbed the insult at you says "Just kidding!" How do you feel? Do you feel relieved that they were just kidding? I kind of doubt it...I bet that you're still feeling the sting of the insult. The damage is done and the perpetrator got to do what they intended: insulted you without the guilt.

I believe that if you thought enough to insult someone publicly, you meant it. Being all cute about it afterwards does not exonerate your bad behaviour. It's especially obvious when you continually insult someone and always follow it up with a "winky face".

The bottom line is that if you use this type of humor, you're a bit of an asshole. Keep your insults to yourself.

You're not funny.

And, I'm not kidding.