Funny Word in a World Gone Mad
No one wants to say the “D” word. It’s so,
well, flaky. Those of you who have, or know someone with … shhhhh, not so loud
… let me brush that little trail of white flakes off your shoulder … dandruff … heed this Wordplay Wednesday.
Let’s make scratch-and-flake dandruff funny!
Imagine this conversation-opener, “Do you know
of anything that will help eliminate my furfur?” Hahahaha … come on, that’s
just funny. Way more interesting than asking about dandruff!
You can’t beat it – there is no real cure –
but the onerous scalp condition does often respond to various treatments.
How though, do you ask anyone for advice without embarrassment?
Make a joke. If you can’t make fun of
yourself, who can you make fun of? Especially these days, with the even more
dreaded “politically correct” virus plaguing our society.
The only ones who get away with jokes about
anyone other than themselves, are comedians! And even they are finding it increasingly difficult to please racially and culturally diverse
audiences.
The rest of us can’t even try
to have fun anymore without having to apologize profusely on Twitter – which
generally comes off as feeble, insincere backtracking.
Jon Lisi of PopMatters said last year, “… the First Amendment does not demand
that other citizens in society must automatically support a comic’s act.
Rather, the First Amendment makes room for dissent, disagreement, and disapproval, however
misguided and misinformed such reactions may be.” [The link is my doing.]
And as comedian, Lisa Lampanelli, pointed out in 2013, “By being politically correct, you’re
closing your mind to a different point of view. Which sounds a lot like
prejudice. Which is definitely not politically correct. See what I just
did there?”
We’ve lost the ability to know when someone is
joking, or when they’re seriously dissing you. Seriously?! Context, demeanor,
tone and personality of the speaker should be CLUES.
If you’re in the middle of a riot or political
demonstration, joking about the other side’s “momma” will likely result in a
black eye. But in casual conversation, in a non-threatening environment, why
are people threatened? Walk away.
Take a day to make fun of yourself – or your
family and closest friends – whether you have furfur or not. (Though
possibly at the risk of a family feud – give ‘em a tube of Head & Shoulders – they’ll
get over it.)
Word of the Week: FURFUR. Can you chuckle while fitting it into your own head-scratching
line of prose this week?
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