In Defense of Humor
Leslie Moak Murray
Award-Winning Humorist and Queen of France, Creator of Murray's Law
My friends and colleagues, I write to you today in defense of humor.
As I'm sure we've all noticed, lately there are more and more things that cause Offense. More and more topics that have been declared Off Limits, that might make someone feel "Unsafe."?Standup comics have largely stopped going to college campuses. There are things you can't say anymore, let alone joke about. And just when I thought we'd seen it all, now they're declaring war on birthday cards.
Recently, Greeting Card Guru Andy Meehan brought my attention to a Boston Globe article on this very topic:?
Every birthday card in that photo in the Boston Globe article represents an artist trying to earn a living. If they were to?succeed in getting publishers to drop age jokes from their lines, the economic impact would be felt. But even worse than THAT, will I, for example, be forced to make mass-market-corny cards with kittens and flowery, unfunny sentiments on them??!?Gah! Please no.
As humor writers for cards, we first look for the angle. For anniversaries, it's love of course. I joke about that too (she said unnecessarily). For birthdays, surprise surprise, it's the topic of getting older. I mean that is what a birthday IS. We trust the customer to know that certain age jokes are meant to be given to people who are turning 30. Or 40. Those ages when people think they're old but really they're not, so it's funny. We trust the customer to know not to give a card that jokes about having one foot in the grave (I don't have any of those, but bear with me here) to a person who nearly actually HAS one foot in the grave.
This age joke of mine, for instance, is funny for that friend who just turned 35 and thinks she's over the hill. We all, including her, know that isn't true, so the card is funny (if I do say so myself):
We assume our customers will either know their friend well enough to know they'll take it as intended or just give it to a friend who isn't actually old, just as we trust the customer who buys this get well card of mine for the patient who just has a broken arm or some other thing where they'll recover, and not for a person with a terminal illness:
I mean I get it. I'm no spring chicken myself.?I'm annoyed when my "targeted ads" on Instagram are for electric wheelchairs (I can still WALK for pete's sake) or cemetery plots. I got peeved when a little millennial wrote an article right here on LinkedIn all about "Why I'll Never Hire a Boomer" or something, citing as one reason that they're so un-tech savvy and they have to be shown how to use their IPhones (I was using computers when you were in kindergarten you little snot).?But can we not leave birthday cards out of it you guys?
So carry on with your crusade. Be activists. But leave greeting cards alone. Let's at least still be able to laugh at SOMETHING.?When did we all get so grim and earnest that we can't laugh anymore??And let's all, instead of looking for reasons to be mad, be glad we made it this far. I know I am.?If you get a birthday card with an age joke that offends you, be mad at the friend who gave it to you. Don't be mad at an artist.
Now has anybody seen my cane?
President / CEO at Customer Impact, LLC
2 年Amen!
SEO & Content Writer at Aceable
2 年Completely agree with you here. Truly mean greeting cards don’t sell. Good humor does. If you’re offended by a card’s message, consider the possibility that it wasn’t intended for you and that there are others who will appreciate it for what it is — a gentle elbow jab between two people that elicits a chuckle and strengthens a bond. What’s not to like about that?
1000% agree with all of this. What good is anything in life if you can't make fun of it? How about people just moving on if something doesn't work for them instead of trying to squash it? And btw - just like you our funny birthday cards are the best sellers, so there.
Coordinated Science Laboratory, University of Illinois / Inventor, fashion wallet greetings & physical crypto wallets / "Mannequins" comic strip cartoonist / Farmer
2 年Ha ha that's why I need to get the wallet greeting thing going 'cause when I go for an interview they look at me like they're waiting for my teeth to fall out!
VP Business Development, Just Got 2 Have It!
2 年Love it, Leslie! Exactly! I used to joke with my mom about putting her in an old folks home. That was when she was 60-something. She thought it was funny then. She just turned 80. We don't joke about it anymore...LOL. Though she is far from needing that as a solution. Am I bad for saying this? Love you!