Getting Sick Jokes by Text Message or Email
A lot of us who have mobile phones or an email facility are well aware of the viral nature of jokes that spread like wildfire - many being in very poor taste if not absolutely sick.
What does it say about us ?
I owe the spark of this thought to an insightful comment made on Facebook from somebody who was getting ‘jokes’ about the Haiti earthquake and wished they’d stop.
It would be fair to say those that propagate these things are at best unworthy of sympathy or at worst moronic.
Of course it’s easy to point at them but what about us ?
What does it say about us ourselves that we cultivate friends who do this sort of thing ?
An interesting twist is; chances are those people sending text messages have you in their address book for a reason - generally because they’re friends or acquaintances.
Of course humour, or what passes for it, defies a definitive description. We all have different ideas of what is funny and we draw our own lines in the sand as to what we’d regard decent or in poor taste.
The fact that line moves in both directions points to the fallibility of trying to pin down what a ’sick joke’ actually is.
I know personally I find things amusing that others may feel is too near the knuckle. That said my line in the sand is I find no humour in the real suffering of an innocent.
I can, by contrast, find great mirth in the suffering of a deserving party !
I’m minded of the famous line about how do you define pornography in legal terms, is a topless woman simply sunbathing or is she a porn star.
The answer, from a Supreme Court Judge, was, of course, I know it when I see
It could be argued that, in theory at least, in order to understand something is in ‘bad taste’ it requires you have ‘taste’ yourself but that philosophical quandary aside most right-thinking people know a sick joke when they hear it - or in this case read it in an SMS text message or email.
That does raise another question as well, does the medium of transmission lend itself to this ?
Would the person who sends that txt message tell that joke to somebody in person ? In some cases I suspect not.
Either way what do you think of my theory that getting them reflects on the recipient even if they are offended or see it as a humourless subject.
It was, after all, probably sent to us by one of our friends !
A Robin in Bradley Woods
Just to show you there are nice things in the world - a picture I took of a Robin.
Philosophically Yours
Rod
Little Brother said,
January 17, 2010 @ 9:32 am
Rod,
Great post. I too got a ‘Haiti text’ and trust me the member of my staff who sent it will be getting told. I remember the ones about Gary Glitter and how many missed the point with it. As vile as he is the texts were, wether meant or not making light of a much bigger, sicker picture. Everyone was poking fun and insults at Glitter but forgetting about the children he had abused and the lives ruined as a result.
People just don’t think, as usual.
LB
Femme Fatale said,
January 17, 2010 @ 3:06 pm
LB,
People just don’t think, as usual.
You hit the nail on the head!
FF
xx
Lindi lou said,
January 17, 2010 @ 3:44 pm
Aah yes. A subject with which I am all too familiar. Recently I had to discipline a member of staff for leaving printed copies of racist emails around the place. As we have at least one staff member who is of asian origin as well as patients who are not White British, you would think that this person would have had more sense.
Here’s a tip for those who find these emails/texts funny: Have a small minded giggle to yourself and DON’T send them on to me. I have more important things to deal with than your sick humour. A little bit of thinking would go a long,long way.
Beautiful Robin by the way. Now that is something worth looking at.
Annie Flinn said,
January 18, 2010 @ 8:17 pm
My mum put it this way: Small minds, small people. I would prefer not receiving ANY jokes via email or other medium, thank you very much.
Annie
Lucy said,
January 20, 2010 @ 2:22 pm
A friend of mine has a theory that phone companies have people on hand to write these things as soon as the event occurs. The combined sickness and topical relevance makes it irresistible to text morons, who propagate it-sending texts that wouldn’t otherwise be sent- nice profits kthx
or something along those lines
Beautiful picture by the way!
Lucy
Rod said,
January 20, 2010 @ 2:45 pm
Lucy,
great to have you back !
That’s a big spooky because I used to say years ago that if I ran a mobile phone company I’d employ joke writers and send the gags out hoping they’d go viral, at 10p a good it would have been a real money spinner.
Given that it wouldn’t surprise me if they didn’t !
I imagine now that so many have free texts it just sucks bandwidth - probably a few joke writers on the dole now
Best
Rod