"It's funny because it's true"

DonZabu · 2012-02-02 21:00:36

Whenever I see this phrase, all I can think of is "You have been presented with an uncomfortable truth that you don't want to address, so you file it away as 'funny because it's true', where you can swiftly forget about it."

Does anyone else see this?

All Nines · 2012-02-02 21:03:36

Uh . . . no? How have you seen it used? I only use it to poke fun at friends.

CountryPumpkin · 2012-02-02 21:08:47

I think he's more talking about stuff like "Facts can't be racist!"

Forzare · 2012-02-02 21:09:13

Uh . . . no? How have you seen it used? I only use it to poke fun at friends.

All Nines · 2012-02-02 21:09:44

^^ That's what I thought, too. But that's not what pops into my head when I see the phrase, so I guess I just don't see it used that way often enough, which is good. I suppose a better question, on my part, would have been "do you actually see people use the phrase in such a manner that often?"

DonZabu · 2012-02-02 21:10:42

@Everest: Mostly in response to jokes about social injustices or unhealthy but common behaviors (though sometimes I have to question where "joke" ends and "public service announcement delivered as a joke" begins).

All Nines · 2012-02-02 21:12:50

So, trivialization of unfortunate facts, as opposed to claiming truth in stereotypes, which is what I thought, and in any case that's certainly not the first thing I think of when I see the phrase.

DonZabu · 2012-02-02 21:34:34

Actually, I've been thinking about this for a bit, and I've come to a conclusion about myself:

All Nines · 2012-02-02 21:36:14

You seem to read too far into things quite often, so I'm inclined to say it's the former. :P

Firebert · 2012-02-02 21:48:21

As would I.

DonZabu · 2012-02-02 21:51:23

Well fuck.

Nova · 2012-02-02 23:32:40

Don't worry, DonZabu, you are not alone in that.

glennmagusharvey · 2012-02-02 23:53:46

I thought this was used when you wanted to present someone else an uncomfortable truth, in a mocking way. Especially if they have objected to that truth before.

That said, I don't like it when said "truth" is merely a statistical inference, or worse yet, a conclusion based on subjective analysis.

Gelzo · 2012-02-03 00:05:35

I see humor as something that you can just use as a coping mechanism. If you can't laugh when you think about the darkness in the world, I figure it's harder to deal with.

captainbrass · 2012-02-03 02:05:01

^ However, this can become an excuse for not doing anything about said darkness. I can see Zabu's point, to that extent.

Gelzo · 2012-02-03 03:50:14

I guess that's where one might bring up the laughing with/at distinction, though I guess it's pretty hard to say you're laughing "with" someone when they aren't.

So... hmm... Humor is a pretty tricky thing for me to pin down and justify satisfactorily. I'd feel better dealing with specific cases.

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"It's funny because it's true"

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