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Humor: The Torment Behind the Art

Edward L. Flaim

What is humor? A rather ridiculous question, you think, as you're about to skip to the next article. Humor is anything that makes us laugh. A comedic play, a humorous article or book, the routine of a stand-up comic, events that occur in everyday life, ad infinitum.

However, we have changed the rules. Laughter is indeed the response to humor. But the playwright, the comedian, the humor inherent in all forms of art, is now politically defined. Political correctness dictates the course that humor must take, at least publicly, to be legitimate. Long gone are the Polack, Jewish, Catholic, Black, again endless jokes, that caused us to laugh. Such jokes are not "politically correct" unless performed by a member of the ethnic group the subject of such jokes. Thank God for lawyers. We’re free to target them as this group transcends all ethnic groups and contains all ethnic groups. Lawyers are fair game.

Spontaneous humor differs. It is uncontrollable. Recently my neurologist referred me to another physician within his office for an EMG. If you are not familiar with an EMG and your physician refers you to one qualified to perform this test, run, don’t walk, to the nearest door. Change your identity and never return to that office again. Sadly, I’m good at giving advice but not taking it. So, like the clones we all become when dealing with physicians, I stood in line to schedule my EMG.

Ironically, the man ahead of me was also waiting to schedule an EMG. I thought of the last EMG I had in 1982 and advised him to bring a pacifier to chomp on while being slowly and painfully executed. He and the scheduling nurse laughed and the banter began. By the time it ended, all three of us were laughing hysterically. The scheduling nurse, continuing to laugh, said, "Mr. Flaim, we have to get you out of here! Everyone’s leaving the waiting room!"

Spontaneous humor is generally acceptable. But a slight change in circumstances raises doubt as to even its political correctness.

I feel safe in relating this story because I am an attorney and the target of all politically correct jokes. My partner and I met with a man who wished to file suit against the Minneapolis police department. Civil rights suits were our specialty and we looked forward to once again suing the government.

The client arrived and we began the preliminary interview. He claimed that the police were constantly harassing him, following him wherever he went. I asked him what caused him to believe that the police were following him. His response? Wherever he went he heard sirens. Additionally, he had committed no criminal acts and there was nothing wrong with him except a diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia. Sorry to say but I lost it. I left the office, leaving my partner to cope with this situation, ran to the lobby and laughed hysterically for at least half an hour. I could see our receptionist presumably wondering whether she should dial 911.

In retrospect, was this situation humorous? We were obviously dealing with a very sick man. I could only laugh. The laughter, though, was spontaneous and uncontrollable. Was this a humorous incident? I cannot answer that. I ask only that you ponder it and arrive at your own conclusion.

However, the movement towards political correctness has led us to trivialize and denigrate some of the best humor that ever emerged in this nation. Amos and Andy will never again be seen on television because of its racist portrayal of blacks. We’ve lost the comedic genius of Amos, Andy and "The Kingfish" because it is not politically correct. It is so politically incorrect that I only know the names of the characters, not the people who portrayed them

Step ‘n Fetchit was another black comedic genius, as was Bojangles, also one of the finest dancers who ever graced this planet. The only reason we recognize these names is they appeared with that cute little white girl, Shirley Temple. No one would dare ban Shirley from television.

We became politically correct with the appearance of "All In The Family," which ridiculed bigotry and placed us on the right moral compass. Or so we liberals thought. Extensive research established that the overwhelming majority of its viewers were not laughing "at" Archie but "with" him. We were a nation of Archie Bunkers. Americans overwhelmingly agreed that Archie’s televised op-ed, which advocated that all airline passengers be given guns to prevent hijackings, was not such a bad idea.

Humor? We find true humor only in small clubs and books that only the brave will publish. And on Internet sites such as Writers’ Village University.