Saturday, April 13, 2019

Funny but not funny.


 Have you ever witnessed something that happened and you know that it's not funny but at the same time it's a little funny. You are not laughing at the people, you are laughing at the irony of the situation.

  I read something this morning that is tragic... but it made me think of those uncomfortable moments where your inner voice, is scolding you not to see any dark humour in the situation. I won't mention the gentleman's name but apparently a comedian lay down on stage and the audience giggled and laughed for a few minutes... before someone finally realized he had died! Horrible; however I could see myself being part of that audience, thinking it was all just part of his act.

A while ago I saw something that wasn't tragic but slightly awful at a large complex that employs hundreds of people near where I work. This complex is large enough that it has two lanes of traffic entering and two lanes of traffic exiting. Also there are four lanes of traffic that merge into the two lanes entering, two from the north and two from the south. One morning as I passed by, there was a huge commotion, police cars, ambulances and even fire trucks on standby. It appeared that some people must have been overzealous trying to get into work that day and didn't wait for their turn entering the complex. I am not sure what happened but I think the rest of the drivers must have panicked and hit the gas instead of the breaks. The entry lanes were plugged solid with cars crashed into each other.

Fortunately no one was hurt, they would have been going at a slower speed, more like a giant fender bender than like a highway pileup. Now you are probably asking how can I see any amusement or irony in something like this, well without tempting fate to bite me on the butt and also to be clear, I really felt bad for everyone involved... it's just that I can't help remarking that the complex employs people for one of our police forces!

20 comments:

Ur-spo said...

Nearly all - or perhaps all? - comedy is based on someone else's 'suffering' - the slip on the banana peel, the mistaken identify, the insult. It's always there so one can't help it. Recognize it, and let it be: then add a little tact/manners so as not to be bad. :-)

Richard said...

I wonder if anyone got a citation.

Leanna said...

I saw that not on the internet about Ian's passing. It's tragic but he did mention he wanted to go that way. The street you mentioned of the traffic flow sounds like an accident waiting to happen and it did. Ironic indeed.

Tio Walter said...

Reminds me of episodes of The Office. The British version was far more brutal than the American version. I'd sit and watch, squirming at the situation but laughing too. I've seen plenty of it, but feel no better laughing at it. I'm afraid of what it says about me.

Deedles said...

Having a very dark sense of humor myself, I can find the funny in anything except the abuse of children and animals. Probably more, but those are my major ones.

Debra She Who Seeks said...

"Context is everything," as they say.

Old Lurker said...

You have been watching too many Keystone Kops movies.

Dying on stage is not such a bad way to go. Stand-up comedians get lots of practice doing so -- when a set goes bad they say they have died (and when the set goes well they say they have "killed", so I guess comedy is a zero-sum game).

Michael said...

I remember the show America's Funniest Home Videos (it may still be on) where people were shown getting injured all of the time. The audience always laughed. Always. Sometimes I found myself smiling myself, despite how awful the pratfalls were.

anne marie in philly said...

maddie and I had lunch today; we talked about you.

Sooo-this-is-me said...

Dr Spo, yes that's true and I bet that comedian would be making jokes if that happened to someone else.

Sooo-this-is-me said...

Richard, how about cuffed, frisked and strip searched, although they kept saying that they are not allowed to do that since I wasn't involved in the squish up! :)

Sooo-this-is-me said...

Leanna, I am sure he would see the humour in if he had survived. As for the traffic flow, it's regulated by traffic lights, that's why I think someone wasn't paying attention and went instead of waiting.

Sooo-this-is-me said...

Walter, I heard the British version was better, I never really got into the American version.

Sooo-this-is-me said...

Deedles, come to the dark side, muahahaha... oh oops you're already here! ;)

Sooo-this-is-me said...

Debra, good point and also timing.

Sooo-this-is-me said...

OL, I'm trying to feel empathy and grow as a person, your "dying on stage" comment just made the scolding become really loud. ;P

Sooo-this-is-me said...

Michael, that show is actually still on as reruns, believe it or not. Watching it at a friend's place, I felt really bad for many of the people. I remember when I was younger, I thought the show was hilarious.

Sooo-this-is-me said...

Anne Marie, well of course you would talk about me, what else more interesting could there be to talk about? Hahaha, just kidding! Thanks for thinking of me, most people find me really boring in the "real" world to be honest.

Sixpence Notthewiser said...

I always wonder if I'm just being a rotten human being when I see the ridiculous side of some really uncomfortable or dire situations. But yeah, sometimes you can't help but go there.
It's the comedy in the tragedy, no?

XOXO

Sooo-this-is-me said...

Sixpence, yes you're rotten to the core!!! Hahaha, just teasing. Sometimes I think we have to find humour in situations, it helps us get through the day.