Funny People -- Not

What do you think of people who try to be funny all the time? There's this guy I know who tries to make a joke out of everything. It is really annoying, especially when everyone else is trying to be serious. I think it is rude, childish, and selfish. It also makes me think this person is very, very insecure. Unfortunately, there's nothing I can do about it. After all, it's a free country, isn't it?

I almost start to feel sorry for this person, then he comes out with another of his stupid, sarcastic jokes, and I lose all sympathy for him. I just wish he'd go away, but I don't think he ever will.

Sorry for the rant. I realize it doesn't have much to do with this forum, but I thought I'd post anyway. If you can offer any advice -- without making a joke out of it, that is -- I'd appreciate it.

Don't be mean, woolly.

Its some peoples defense mechanism. The only way to get out of an attack (verbal or whatever) when they were a kid may have been to make a joke - make the attacker think that the kid thought they were making a funny joke, and make the attacker laugh and forget what they were mad about. Now we cant stop.

My BIL is like this.

I think people crack jokes when they genuinely think something is funny. At least I do. I get on my hubby's nerves because I crack jokes and laugh at them even though he doesn't think they are funny. I'm not selfish and I'm not immature. I usually crack the most obnoxious/stupid jokes when I'm hypomanic, no other times.

I don't crack jokes in serious situations, however. It sounds like the person you're referring to doesn't know when it's appropriate. So I don't think joke-cracking is bad, it's just knowing when it's appropriate and stopping when it's not appreciated.

Is there a way you could talk to this person about it gently, e.g. saying "I appreciate that you find humor in so many situations, but I don't think it's appropriate to crack a joke in such-and-such situation." I would use a specific situation. Don't generalize by saying he does it ALL the time, because then he will feel attacked like you don't appreciate him or like him. Just a thought.

You can always add him to your ignore list if he bothers you a lot:
http://forums.psychcentral.com/profi...?do=ignorelist

I tested it out: It shows when the user makes a post, but it doesn't show the message itself. The only downside is, if someone quotes the ignored user, then you'll see the quote.

Not perfect, but it's an option.

Also, you can do like MusicLover said and just talk to him. Usually I try to talk to someone in private first to see if we can resolve the issue.

Blue, I don't think the ignore list works for real life people.


As for the OP... I am like that. It's a coping mechanism. But for me it's also sorta part of my culture. Some nazi officer called us "laughing beasts". It's how some people are. You don't have to be friends with them, you don't have to laugh at the jokes... some personalities just don't mesh. There is plenty of characteristics I dislike, that doesn't mean people with these are horrible or derranged, it's just personal preference.

Like... I hate "white whine" but it seems what lots of people do. I don't like when people are all chicken soupy and spew random affirmations like "smile and the world smiles with you" and such. But I cannot prevent anybody from being such type of person... or judge them on that.

I agree it can be a coping mechanism and a cultural thing. Many jews, for example, make jokes about the most serious of things. Many people in Asia, North Africa, Latin America and Eastern Europe (as venusss said) do it. Many Catholics and Muslims.

Maybe it's a somewhat typical Protestant thing not to do it, though it's also something seen in the UK (but arguably different). In Germany they even do it, though much of the rest of the world doesn't understand it or see it as humour, really not funny. Maybe for the Germans it's a bit compensatory, not a natural thing.

Maybe the US and some parts of Europe, maybe the Far East, are somewhat of an exception.

I think it's rather healthy. Taking things too seriously can be very dangerous. Better to overdo it, probably.

Edit:
Personally, I don't like much of the American humour, being a bit like that of the Germans, but funnier: very much only at the expense of others, cheap, without much self-reflection. Not always.

Another edit:
There are great exceptions: George Carlin, for example.

So, like everything, blame it on the Jews.

venusss - I'm one hundred percent positive that blue knows the ignore list on psychcentral doesn't work for people in real life.

You sound like me in some ways. I hate it when people saying or doing something which is inappropriate. But as for me, when I feel irritated, I personally don’t think that it’s other’s problem, no, the problem is within me. We can’t change people, we can’t change the world. Yes, like MusicLover said, we can talk to that person gently, but that is all we can do. We cannot force our opinion to others, as it might be different with their opinion. What we find annoying might be fun for some people. And there is nothing wrong with that as long as it’s not against the law. So what I would do in your situation is learning some self control, don’t let others behavior ruins your day. I am now trying to learn Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and it helps me so far, though I find it’s not an easy thing to do.

I've learned over the years that you can't change someone's behavior. Easier said than done but don't let that person have that power over you. You'll just be upset for no reason because the person may not really know the issue. And yes, you can speak with that person to resolve the issue. But personally, I only do that if the relationship is worth saving, otherwise, ignore him or her and keep it movin.

I hate when people think they're sooooooo funny. My mom (who I love!) does this all the time and it drives me crazy.

It's wierd because I use humor to cope a lot and I'm very sarcastic. People always compare me to Chelsea Handler in the way that I comment on things but when I'm truly not happy and I verbalized it, people take it humorously and that sometimes hurts.

I graduated from the improv and writing program at Second City here in Chicago and every one loved my standup. People loved to laugh at my gloom and misfortunes. I guess I should make money off them somehow.

I don't think that I'm funny. I think that I'm b%*#hy and whiney and it comes off funny. To make matters worse I write my blog on stuff and I don't try to make it "funny" but I am told it's hilarious. Same with my social media platforms.

I feel like people who try too hard to be funny are trying to steal the spotlight. I also feel that they are (like me) maybe masking or using humor to cope and they want the attention of the people to notice their pain.

Maybe that guy is one of them?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I feel that people who attempt to be funny are either trying to lessen tension, cheer others up, or are simply uncomfortable and unsure of how to express their emotions toward a situation. I also feel humor to be quite freeing-it is a vehicle by which the most difficult of subjects can be discussed. If, however, you feel this persons wisecracking is annoying, why not simply tell him you think so?

I'm very sarcastic and crack a lot of jokes. I like to think a positive trait i have is knowing when it's appropriate though. I'm trying to think why i do it. I guess because i like to make people laugh, it makes me feel good. I also crack jokes when i'm really angry to try and calm myself down because things escalate quickly with me. A big thing for me is just not taking life very seriously. I laugh at a lot of serious and dramatic things, especially in movies. I find it strange that i do, i guess to me, us humans are just weird monkey things that think we're way more important than we are. I get a kick out of all that, it seems so cheesy, so i laugh. anyway at the same time some people definitely get annoying, i think it's simply because they're not funny, if they were, you wouldn't be making this post.

Sometimes it depends on how it is delivered. Text messages and emails can be interpreted so many different ways in which the person who sent it did not intend to convey. In person, body language and the tone in your voice can make the difference, especially with humor and sarcasm.

Sometimes this person's jokes are almost cruel. They seem to be getting worse. More personal. Perhaps I'll communicate with him or her about the situation directly, but I am almost certain it will do no good.

This thread is a joke.

Wolly Bugger? More like.. Wolly MA-MOUTH!!!

Perhaps I deserve it, but that seems a little harsh. If you were just trying to be funny, then I don't think your joke was a very good one. Plus you prove the point I was trying to make in this thread.

If you weren't trying to be funny and were serious about insulting me, then I think you have violated the real and implied guidelines of this forum.

Either way, your post was hurtful.

Please explain how his joke was insulting, I understand it was meant to be read "Woolly Mammoth", though admittedly I have no idea what "Ma-Mouth" means. "My mouth"? "Mum Mouth"? Is it some sort of slang term which so happens to sound like mammoth?
I'm not being cheeky-I really am quite confused. From my standpoint, you seem quite a sensitive type. That is neither here nor there, however, and I'm sure you are well aware of that.

NO MORE NEGATIVITY!!
If someone's feelings are hurt, please don't go back and forth about why. We all deserve to express our feelings, but please not like this.
I'm sorry.

I love jokes as much as the next person i was always the class clown, but i see the same couple people posting useless, unfunny comments on people's threads that are looking for serious replies or help. Why is that acceptable? Wooly specifically asked a question in this thread and requested to not be mocked with a dumb comment and that's exactly what was done. Come on people, i think some here aren't BP they're just careless blanks that hide behind a diagnosis. A lot of people here are seriously struggling and i can see how it'd be annoying when someone tries to turn it into "joke" (only problem is jokes are funny). This might make people that need to talk to someone less likely to try and get help either on here or out in the world.

I make jokes a lot. It's a defense mechanism. Their humor maybe isn't your cup of tea, or maybe you're just more "serious" than them. There are of course times best kept serious, but even then, sometimes a joke can break the ice. I have a lot of laughs with my girlfriend and we joke about some really unusual stuff; it's how we cope and it works for us. My humor isn't for everyone. I try to be particularly careful around strangers or of course in formal situations.

I lost about $750 on a botched repair to my home and this guy at my support group kept making jokes and trying to get me to laugh about it and see the lighter side of it. I was hurt and annoyed and fail to see what is funny about losing $750. I like this guy but he was really out of line and i never thought as highly about him after he did that. There's a time and place for humor and when someone is tormented with anxiety and sick over losing a bunch of money it's not appropriate.

This is what I do, I don't know if it helps. If it's really stupid, I keep asking them what the joke means. The more they explain, the more obvious it makes the inappropriateness of whatever they said. Like Socrates . If it's aimed at someone, I just don't laugh, I don't like picking on people. But the first one (to keep asking them what different things in a stupid joke mean) works best, because it soon becomes glaringly obvious that it's not actually funny. It's worked well for me.