A Confusing Sense of Humor

I love a good sense of humor as much as the next person. Heck, I have a pretty good sense of humor, if I do say so myself. Humor prevents this oft-depressing world of ours from getting TOO depressing.

There are varying styles of humor, from the dry sense of humor, to the sarcastic, to the just plain goofy. Just watch a night of stand-up on Comedy Central and you'll see the different degrees of humor. A sense of humor can come on too strong sometimes, though. Some people try to be "on" all the time when they don't necessarily have to be.

Combine a sense of humor that comes on too strong, with a sense of humor that isn't necessarily funny, and you can have problems. I'm talking about the people who think they're being sarcastic or witty, but are actually coming off as plain rude. These are the folks who take something you do or something you say and joke about it.

This kind of humor has always confused me. Don't get me wrong, I'll sometimes take an opportunity to "zing" a friend. But I don't do it all the time, and I certainly only do it to people I know. That's the kicker right there. People you know. Why would you want to make fun of someone that is a stranger to you? They probably don't know that you're being funny. They probably just think you're being a jerk.

At the barbershop yesterday, I walked in and headed towards the seats on the side, expecting that there might be a wait. Instead, the woman working there greeted me and asked for my info. There was a man standing near the register, who decided to joke about how I went off to the side instead of directly to the register. I would have liked to tell him where to stick it, but that's not me, so I gave a courtesy smile and continued talking to the woman.

This was a prime example. I suspected that the man was just trying to be funny, but where does he getting off making fun of people he doesn't even know? What, I took an extra few seconds going off to the side instead of going directly to the register? Yeah, that's prime comedy material right there. Why don't you stick around, and make fun of the way I sign my name on the receipt? Comedy gold.

It's not that I'm being overly sensitive. That sort of thing really doesn't bother me on a personal level anymore. But it does bother me as a matter of principle.

If you feel the urge to express your sarcastic, "let's-make-fun-of-what-you're-doing-or-how-you're-doing-it-for-no-apparent-reason" style humor to people you don't know, resist that urge. Express it to your friends. They might actually laugh.