How Can You Laugh at a Time like This?

Our sense of humor and ability to laugh helps to nurture and protect our body, mind, and spirit during times of rapid change or hardship. Whether it’s humor in reference to health or in reference to culture and race, it is clearly evident as a mode of transcending oppression.

Patients with a sharp sense of humor or playful spirit seem to have a strength and resilience which helps them endure the difficult and frightening moments of illness. One example of this is Janet Henry who was a patient with breast cancer. She allowed her sense of humor to remind her of the many blessings in her life. This provided hope and courage for her to face the many challenges of illness and treatment for such a hardship. Janet was recovering from a mastectomy and chemotherapy when she wrote her poem, “Nightly Ritual.” She writes, “I prop my wig up on the dresser, and tuck my prosthesis beneath, and thank God, I still go to bed, with my man, and my very own teeth.” This claim of the use of humor as a mode of transcending oppression is made with respect to African American and Jewish communities as well.

Elliot Oring is a professor who joined the faculty at CSULA in the Department of Anthropology in 1971 and has recently retired after over 30 years of teaching a wide variety of courses at CSULA, has published extensively on the subjects of folklore, humor, and symbolism.

In his article, “People of the Joke: On the Conceptualization of a Jewish Humor,” he states his hypothesis, “If the background of Jewish suffering did condition the expectation of a distinctive Jewish humor, there was only a limited range of possibilities for articulating this history of suffering with humor. The possibilities were that the humor was transcendent, that the humor was defensive, or that the humor was pathological. In fact, each of these possibilities was explored in the conceptualization of Jewish humor; each possibility suggests a solution to the problem of why the Jew should laugh.”

In Oring’s article, the discussion on the possibilities for articulating a history of suffering with humor being transcendent, defensive, or pathological, helps to explain not only “why the Jew should laugh” but why the African-American should laugh or in that case, any other group that has experienced tremendous oppression.

Transcend (verb) means 1. To pass beyond the limits of: emotions that transcend understanding. 2. To be greater than, as in intensity or power; surpass: love that transcends infatuation. 3. To exist above and independent of (material experience or the universe): “One never can see the thing in itself, because the mind does not transcend phenomena” (Hilaire Belloc) Humor as “transcendent,” is explained in Oring’s article as a way of coping with the pain and not letting it affect you. Instead of letting the pain control the person, the person is controlling it by using humor.

Defensive (adjective) means 1. Intended to appropriate for defending; protective. 2. a) Intended to withstand or deter aggression or attack: a defensive weapons system; defensive behavior. b) Of or relating to the effort to prevent an opponent from gaining points in a game or athletic contest. c) Performed so as to avoid risk, danger, or legal liability: defensive driving; defensive medicine, 3. Of or relating to defense. 4. Psychology, Constantly protecting oneself from criticism, exposure of one’s shortcomings, or other real or perceived threats to the ego. Humor as “defensive,” is explained by Oring, as a kind of retaliation or using humor to get back at those who caused the pain.

Pathological (adjective) means 1. Of or relating to pathology. 2. Relating to or caused by disease. 3. Of, relating to, or manifesting behavior that is habitual, maladaptive, and compulsive: a pathological liar. Humor as “pathological” is explained by Oring, as self-criticism or when it’s about yourself.

Elliot Oring discusses many interesting points on humor. People presume that a talk about humor is supposed to be funny. They expect to be entertained instead of learning. But in fact, humor is a serious business, not trivial but important. The definition of humor is a very difficult one. The definition when looked up is one who provokes amusement.

Oring also brought up interesting points on “Jewish Humor” from his article “People of the Joke: On the Conceptualization of Jewish Humor.” He noted that Jewish humor arose in the 19th century or at least that’s when it got its label. It occurred only when Jews were let out of the Ghettos. In Norway, there is evidence that people secretly kept joke diaries of anti-Nazi jokes. However under Stalin, if caught, jokes could mean a death sentence. Jewish humor is constructive and limits Islam being mentioned. In 1492 Jews were kicked out of Spain which is the same time popularly known to us as when Columbus discovered