Have you ever heard a...
Illustration
Have you ever heard a black person or a Polish person or a Swedish person tell a joke on themselves? Why is it that an ethnic joke told by a person who is of that ethnic group is not necessarily offensive, whereas the same joke is offensive when told by someone who is not a member of the ethnic group in question?
One reason is that self-depreciating humor usually does not imply malice. There is such a thing as internalized self-hatred; but laughing at oneself is not usually the same as self-hatred. Another reason is that when you tell a joke on yourself, you have control of the situation, at least briefly. If you are being oppressed in some way and you tell a joke or see the humor in the situation, for at least the brief time of the joke or the insight, you are able to transcend the situation, to rise above the pain, to have a sense of control over the situation. When a Jewish comedian tells this joke, she or he is rising above a long history of unjust oppression: "I've heard this thing that we are supposed to be the chosen people, O Lord. To that I've got one thing to say. Choose someone else!"
By facing the fact in advance that there are going to be some losses, that not everyone is going to follow or understand, Jesus takes the sting out of the rejection and misunderstanding. He retains control and is thus able to retain the initiative.
One reason is that self-depreciating humor usually does not imply malice. There is such a thing as internalized self-hatred; but laughing at oneself is not usually the same as self-hatred. Another reason is that when you tell a joke on yourself, you have control of the situation, at least briefly. If you are being oppressed in some way and you tell a joke or see the humor in the situation, for at least the brief time of the joke or the insight, you are able to transcend the situation, to rise above the pain, to have a sense of control over the situation. When a Jewish comedian tells this joke, she or he is rising above a long history of unjust oppression: "I've heard this thing that we are supposed to be the chosen people, O Lord. To that I've got one thing to say. Choose someone else!"
By facing the fact in advance that there are going to be some losses, that not everyone is going to follow or understand, Jesus takes the sting out of the rejection and misunderstanding. He retains control and is thus able to retain the initiative.
