12 upvotes, 1 direct replies (showing 1)
View submission: When is a joke not a joke?
When it's source of humour is based on humiliation, ridicule, embarrassment, pain or suffering of anther person.
When the victim of the joke doesn't laugh with you.
"I was just joking" Sometimes my efforts to be funny go astray. When they do, I apologise both in public, and privately.
But I see others use this as an excuse to put people down, to be cruel and mean without being called out for it.
Comment by Coygon at 13/01/2025 at 08:39 UTC
3 upvotes, 1 direct replies
When an offensive joke isn't laughed at but genuinely offends someone, the joker has 2 possible ways to respond.
1. Say they were only joking and apologize, then promise to try not to make similar jokes around that person/people in the future.
2. Say they were only joking and the other person is too sensitive or has no sense of humor.
If they do the first, they were joking, but they had a lapse in judgment over what makes a suitable joke. If they do the second one, on the other hand, they are placing the blame on the other person or people rather than taking responsibility. They were almost certainly not actually joking and were in fact being an asshole.