Woman Rapes Male Driver ($34)

I'm in the Romes camp here. Telling a joke about a subject, or finding humor in it doesn't mean you are reveling in someone's suffering.

I think a lot of people don't understand humor well, because they lack the ability to be detached and think about everything in very literal terms.

Though, the majority of those are very selective about it, so maybe they are just pushing agendas. Like, if you make a joking reference to the mob, almost nobody is offended, even though they've horribly killed thousands of people and brutalized and stolen from millions. They're also just kind of funny.

On that note, it is true that if you made similar jokes about a female victim, you'd get way more blowback.

Quote: Rigondeaux

I'm in the Romes camp here. Telling a joke about a subject, or finding humor ....

On that note, it is true that if you made similar jokes about a female victim, you'd get way more blowback.

I see what you did there.

Try and find a joke that, at its core, doesn't have someone being demeaned, embarrassed, mocked, insulted, etc. Let me save you folks some time; you won't. We laugh at life, ourselves, others, in order not to live in despair. It's critical to our wiring.

People who can't laugh at.how silly we all are end up suicidal or homicidal. It's not the only reason those things happen, but it's right up there. Yeah, there's such a thing as "too soon" and a few that are "never", but most humor contains some insight and some release.

Quote: beachbumbabs

but most humor contains some insight and some release.

Let me try it: I see what you did there.

Grab em by the d***s (and take their money) #equality

If you guys put up her $60000 bond plus $32, I'll bail her out.

Upon waking up this morning, I started to doubt this story. Fake news, or a case of a cab driver in trouble for spending what was not his money on sex, or something.

Appreciate those that can see the light of comedy in all situations, and I think babs had a great point about look at what we typically make fun of. It's always at someone else's expense. Most comedians that are afraid to offend anyone typically make fun of themselves on stage, because at that point you can't be offended for him if he's the one telling the jokes. I think proper comical jokes can be made out of just about any situation.

Back to the story - if you were in this situation, what would your thoughts be after and what would you do? Report it and quit taxi? Don't report and quit? Did Axel win the action he had on the bet? Surely you wouldn't just let the situation... blow over.

So there was nothing else in Findlay, OH they could have found to do...

Quote: Konbu

So there was nothing else in Findlay, OH they could have found to do...

It's Ohio. Easy answer!!

Quote: Romes

Appreciate those that can see the light of comedy in all situations, and I think babs had a great point about look at what we typically make fun of. It's always at someone else's expense. Most comedians that are afraid to offend anyone typically make fun of themselves on stage, because at that point you can't be offended for him if he's the one telling the jokes. I think proper comical jokes can be made out of just about any situation.

I disagree a little here. This is a fascinating subject to me, though.

I think laughter/comedy is largely a form of relief, mostly on two fronts of what Babs identified: the absurdity of our existence.

1) All of the logically inconsistent narratives, social norms and behaviors we spend most of our time trying to hold together. When people point out these inconsistencies, it gives us a break from trying to maintain them and we laugh with pleasure. (This is why dogmatic people [religious zealots, feminists, Fox newsies] are almost never funny. There's no funny way to say Noah's Ark is a true story. There are a million funny ways to point out that it is a crazy story.)

2) Letting go of our ego, or self-esteem, to admit that we are neurotic, bungling apes. A famous and extreme example is how the court jester was allowed to mock the king. The king was the highest expression of ego, or individual importance, but even he needed compartmentalized ridicule.

Most great comedians cater to type 2. They act like idiots and, in laughing at them, we laugh at ourselves. Otherwise, what's the joke?

Some are type 1 but even George Carlin spoke a lot of how stupid "we" are.

There's an adolescent impulse to fight the reality of 2) by heaping ridicule upon others, hoping this will elevate yourself. This is usually just embarrassing.

When good comedy ridicules another party directly it is usually about taking the air out of their tires. It's someone who has no idea of their own absurdity. Like, say, the people the Marx bros would torment. So it is more of an expression of 1) or 2) with the target playing the role of the king.

There are exceptions to everything though.