Opus 2026-028: Why Were Pollock Jokes Funny?

Do you remember laughing at Pollock jokes?  I sure do.  They were great.  Were we laughing at the Polish people when we laughed at Pollock jokes?  No.  The thing that the left wing crazies will never understand, since they have no sense of humor, is that we were laughing at ourselves when we laughed at Pollock jokes because it was a painless way of pointing out our own weaknesses.

I’ve not done a survey.  I haven’t even taken notes, but I have a feeling that liberals who are so sure of their own righteousness and superiority to us peasants, don’t have much of a sense of humor.  That was my experience when I was teaching.  I had some administrators who praised my sense of humor and others who thought it was death warmed over.  I could almost tell you the political slant that each of them would take.

When you listen to a good comedian, there’s always that element of an arrow striking into your own heart.  I don’t know how many times I’ve laughed my head off when a joke was told about manhood, marriage, raising children or just shopping for donuts, and I laughed because it touched a sensitive spot in my life.  I laughed because it helped me to realize suddenly that I was not the only person who had trouble buying gifts for his wife.

I hope the day comes when we are secure enough to go back to telling Pollock jokes.  It doesn’t have to involve Pollocks.  When I was teaching, I used to take my favorite Pollock jokes and substitute teachers.  The joke worked just as well.  The point is we need to get over our insecurities and revel in them when they are exposed in a clever way.

Meanwhile, look around before you tell a good joke.

homo unius libri