Thread: The importance of humour.

I know I’m probably going to step on a toe or two here and that is the last thing I want to do. Please be patient with me and try to understand where I’m coming from.

During my darkest days I completely lost all sense of humour – what’s there to laugh about when the whole world seems to be crumbling around you? Don’t get me wrong I didn’t become a hate-the-world trying to bring others down to my level at least as far as I was concerned, maybe others had a different opinion.

I would be visiting friends or family and they would be watching a comedy show. They would be laughing and joking and I just didn’t get it! Yes I would laugh along to try to fit in but I just didn’t feel it on the inside. I was a pretender and it showed. I would occasionally laugh out of context because I wasn’t getting the joke and this would elicit strange looks and occasional questions. It made me feel even more of an outsider than if I had simply not bothered trying.

I would go home and wonder how they could be so happy when my life was a living hell. I wasn’t annoyed at them for their seeming lack of understanding of the fact that the world – and my world in particular – was going down the tubes, it was just a total enigma to me.

After a while this began to bother me. (Obviously or I wouldn’t be writing about it here.)

I began to watch comedy shows, stand-up comedians, read the funnies in the papers, anything that I thought I should see as funny but didn’t. It was all very surreal.

Slowly it dawned on me that I wasn’t allowing myself to be happy. I was unable to put my problems aside even for a minute or two. It was all very depressing.

At some stage I decided that this was not going to be the rest of my life, I was only in my twenties for goodness sake. I began by setting aside an hour or so every now and then where I refused to let my mind wander and dwell on my problems. This was going to be ‘me’ time. Time where my worries and concerns would be banished. And I started by allowing myself to be happy just for this small amount of time.

This is a very important concept that I don’t want to pass over lightly. I actually had to tell myself over and over again that I was allowed to be happy, just for this small amount of time, no matter the shit going on around me. After all everyone else was living in the same world as me, facing their own problems, and if they can do it, why not me?

Using reason to overcome emotion is a concept we’re all familiar with here, but what of using reason to INSTIL emotion? Are our emotions something to be fought at every turn? I for one say no, uh-uh, no way.

And this is where I may step on some toes.

Occasionally here threads take on a humorous turn. While I completely understand the mods cracking down on threads being taken over by silly shit, a little fun, in my eyes can only be a good thing and I believe they understand this.

I also understand that some, especially those still going through shit, may see humour in the middle of what is a serious topic as an annoyance or even offensive. That is part of the reason for this post, to show that no disrespect is intended.

There has also been the suggestion that humour be relegated mainly to the Random (Non-MGTOW) forum and I can agree with that for the likes of jokes and humorous stories, but IMO humour is at its best when least expected. Stand-ups know the truth of this, the good ones almost always lead you down a path of thought only to shit all over it with the punch-line.

Oftentimes threads can be quite intense and the odd bit of humour thrown in can ‘lighten the load’ so to speak allowing readers to step back for a second and refocus.

Also it allows lurkers to see that we’re not just a bunch of ne’er do wells and world haters; that we also have a fun, positive side.

Last and certainly not least, I have a friend that was in the military. He is forever emphasising to me that the dark humour of enlisted men is as much a coping mechanism as anything else and I believe the same applies here. Whilst I have gone beyond the rage stage, many here haven’t. Having just one moment in the day when you let down your guard and something makes you laugh, or at least brings a smile to your face can be extremely therapeutic.

I hope I haven’t pissed anyone off here and as always other’s views, both for and against, are more than welcome.

Anyway, these three guys walk into a bar…

I think your post is spot on. Some will say only stupid people use humor to make a point. Yeah, I've heard that one. So, Isaac Azumimov's "Treasury of Humor" was written by an idiot? I doubt it, but I also think idiots wouldn't understand it.

Jerry Reed's "She got the goldmine, I got the shaft" is a good example. It's not funny unless you're smart enough to realize that women love and hate that song. It both extolls the advantages of being a woman in a divorce court, and is a warning to men. I laugh at world in general. Not because I'm stupid or bitter, but because I can't help myself. It's like watching The Three Stooges.

The world is a stupid place. If one can't laugh at it, God help you.
A rock star once said "I don't sweat the little shit, every thing, is little shit".
If I don't get a joke, oh well. If I do, I appreciate the chuckle.

I don't know. I think each person is wired differently for humor, and for different types of humor (slapstick, physical, dark, what have you). When I was a wee kid, and the Three Stooges happened to be on television on a Saturday morning, some idiocy would occur, and here were the adults' reactions: My mom would say, "Poor Curly..." (sympathy). My dad would just shake his head and go back to reading the paper (total disconnect). My maternal grandmother would explode in laughter and almost fall off her chair.

I like highbrow humor. Cf. Dietrich in the old Barney Miller sitcoms. For instance:

Originally Posted by kru-kut

I don't know. I think each person is wired differently for humor, and for different types of humor (slapstick, physical, dark, what have you). When I was a wee kid, and the Three Stooges happened to be on television on a Saturday morning, some idiocy would occur, and here were the adults' reactions: My mom would say, "Poor Curly..." (sympathy). My dad would just shake his head and go back to reading the paper (total disconnect). My maternal grandmother would explode in laughter and almost fall off her chair.

I like highbrow humor. Cf. Dietrich in the old Barney Miller sitcoms. For instance:

Agreed humour is very subjective. Benny Hill is supposedly very popular in the States, Mr. Bean is supposedly very popular in Germany, and as far as I'm concerned the less said about The Office, British or U.S. the better.

But when it comes to guys having a chat and throwing in the odd quirky statement, I try to take to take the comment as intended, as a bit of fun, not something to be dissected.

Humor is the ability to tell people about reality in a way that doesn't assault them, even if it insults them! However, not withstanding every one, lots of comedians have walked around with black eyes, I know, I'm one of them...

Originally Posted by mgtower

Humor is the ability to tell people about reality in a way that doesn't assault them, even if it insults them! However, not withstanding every one, lots of comedians have walked around with black eyes, I know, I'm one of them...

The best comedians IMO are the ones that push the boundaries, that dare to say what others are afraid to say because it isn't politically correct or might be offensive in some other way. If you got the odd black-eye you were probably saying something that needed to be said, and I feel for ya bro.

But there is also the concept of a time and a place. Some are not willing to hear the more provocative shit!

Edit: Pushing the boundaries is all fair and well, but in doing so it is also important not to overstep said boundaries. Even I have my limits. What are those boundaries? Well, we don't really know until we step over the line!

One of the best benefits of MGTOW is that as you get your shit together, the tragedy of life becomes a comedy.

Originally Posted by I'm Gone

One of the best benefits of MGTOW is that as you get your shit together, the tragedy of life becomes a comedy.

A comedy of errors? LOL

Originally Posted by kru-kut

I don't know. I think each person is wired differently for humor, and for different types of humor (slapstick, physical, dark, what have you).

This so much. The differences in both types of humor and amount, can be huge. I myself spent a large chunk of my teenage and early twenties in online gaming environment and at that time, especially in early years, the SJW outrage mob presence was much less than what it is today, and those games had loose rules (some had none, absolutely none). That means there was all kinds of extreme humor (or not so humorous) you can think of, all over the place. And because of that, I dont think I can be offended anymore by mere words.

That being said, there still needs to be a limit (like there is on this site), cuz in gaming, talking is a secondary objective, primary is the actual game. So if someone is trolling, you can mute that player or just ignore the chat and focus on game. On forums etc, talking to each other is the "main dish", it cannot be ignored.

Humor I guess is the point you figure you can get over this mess and move on. Took me a while.

Well, is not the current state of affairs really, at the end of the day, a big fucking joke?
Sure, we men are most often at the brunt end of it, but still... sometimes you just have to have a good laugh.

Look at the women splatting against the wall by the millions, putting doggie noses and ears on themselves on Facebook, desperate to hang on to that "cuteness".
It's really sad, actually, when you think about it from a human perspective. But, at the same time, it's one of the funniest jokes going.

And why not indulge one's self in some delightful schadenfreude from time to time.

Granted, the "Spinsters and Dogs" thread pushed the limits of common decency and "bathroom humor". But why not? And what is the takeaway when you give it it's due preponderance? The takeaway is that when female sexuality goes sideways, it's laughed about. It's, at worst, a joke. Nowadays, male sexuality is under attack from all sides. Just looking at a woman now is being conflated with sexual harassment, and even rape. It would goddamned hilarious if it were not true.

They say we're two sides of the same coin, us MGTOW and radical feminism.
They could not be more wrong.

Feminists don't have a funny bone in their entire bodies.

Originally Posted by Insidious_Sid

Feminists don't have a funny bone in their entire bodies.

Agreed. Remember this one when Trump was sworn in after beating Clinton?

Matthew 7:15

You Will Know Them by Their Fruits

15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. 16 You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles?