Yes, yes, please everybody sit down, class is just about ready to begin. First, I would like to welcome all of you who enrolled in my Introduction to Humor course entitled "How To Take A Joke." This fulfills the TLTS (Taking Life Too Seriously) requirement of the D-Plan. Any questions? No? Fantastic.
Before I begin today's lesson, would anyone like to tell me what they think a joke is? Anybody? Yes, you in the back. True, the price of pizza in Foodcourt is a joke, but you're using it in the wrong context. Anybody else?? Oh, I forgot I was teaching Dartmouth students for a moment. All righty then, as defined by the Oxford American Dictionary, a joke is "something said or done to cause laughter." Jokes inject humor into the monotony of life. It causes a little chuckle that allows you to forget about your problems for awhile. A good hearty laugh that comes from the gut can lighten the burden that is rested on our chests on a daily basis.
Now that I got the philosophical aspect out of the way, I would like to present to you my case study:
Has anyone here read The Dartmouth lately? Anybody? You in the back put your hand down! Anybody else?? Sorry, it slipped my mind again that you are all Dartmouthians. Anyway, over the course of this Winter's term, many columnists have expressed their opinions in ways that suggest that they suffer from Humor Deficiency Syndrome (or HDS for short). The symptoms for this malady are whininess, excessive complaining, and reading into the minutia of anything in print in order to find something offensive in it. Recently, the Hanover area has received an influx of protests ranging from "offensive" comic strips in the newspaper to "offensive" koala bear jokes on the system I believe you students call BlitzMail. It has been these episodes that have lead me to hypothesize on the current raging issue brought forth by a columnist on The D; the issue that has been burning in the minds and taunting the souls of the Big Green Student Body; the issue that is tearing the campus apart; the issue that might even bring about a second American Civil War; of course I am talking about Julie Sloane's article, "Carolina On the Brain" [Feb. 10, 1997, The Dartmouth]. (But I must digress in order to inform all you "humorly challenged" people that the former statement is characterized by sarcasm, a term that we will discuss during Thursday's x-hour).
Sloane, originally from the Northern portion of the United States (we shall call her a Northern-American) had taken offense to an article written the previous week by Sander Schlichter that explained the "discrimination" he has experienced in Hanover as a native son of the Southern US of A. Schlichter lamented that throughout his tenure at Dartmouth he has been unable to indulge in his favorite delicacies that remind him of his Dixieland home. This rugged good 'ol boy has frozen his southern-most extremities in the cold of New England. He has been a fish out of water and it is this concept that has been the cause of humor in many situations in life as well as in all of Pauly Shore's comedic movie endeavors (sorry, bad example). By using this element, Schlichter succeeded in writing a humorous article about the differences between people in our society. Actually, he could have written the term "hush puppy" 400 times and I would have laughed! (God I love that combination of words)!
However, Sloane's opinion differs from mine. She states that the column was "an offensive attack on Northerners in general, a move which does a disservice to anyone who truly hopes to educate the Northern public about the Southern culture" and basically says that with his article, Schlichter effectively undermined over one thousand years of North-South relations (this was a hyperbole, which will be explained next week). All I can say to Sloane (and this applies to MANY other people on campus) is try to see the good karma instead of the bad vibes. Practice laughing out loud and smiling in a mirror and perhaps the chip will then be alleviated from your shoulder. These are supposed to be the most joyful time of your lives, so stop looking for stuff to complain about. If anybody sees her in Home Plate, please tell her that there are still some spots open in my class.
One more bit of advice: if any one of you or your friends feel the urge to write an article about something that was meant as light-hearted but you take as offensive, try taking a cold shower instead.
Any questions? No? Class dismissed.
