In gathering and hunting societies, teasing can be a way to prevent a perosn from using say a good skill to obtain more of the food or gain some power. In a hunt, the band might comment that the best hunter's role in the kill was minimal or that his animal is pathetically skinny. Women might tease a man about his sexual performance or the size of his penis again as a way to maintain the egalitarian relationships of their societies. To an outisder this probably sounds vicious, but it is a good way to maintain harmony and equality. There is a grreat story about this by an anthropologist who on his departure organized a great feast for which he provided a large animal. The group mocked him for days in advance, telling him that his animal was the most pathetic animal they had ever seen, without any fat and how could he have the nerve to provide such an animal for them, etc. I cannot rmemeber the book or the anthropologist, unfortunately, but it is wonderful story.
Michael Yates Louis Proyect wrote:
> >
> Humor is central to US political discourse -- right and less right.
> Not so
> >here, where the last preseident Sanchez de Lozada, caused QUITE a
> stri by
> >being publicly funny and president at the same time. Notabley, his
> humor
> >was VERY gringo -- he was raised in the US; U Chicago grad. Makes me
>
> >wonder: was humor always central to political discourse in the US?
> Or is
> >this a new (say, post WWII) thing?
> >
> >Tom
> >
> >Tom Kruse / Casilla 5812 / Cochabamba, Bolivia
>
> This is a good question. I suspect that the overwhelming presence of
> popular culture in the United States has a lot to do with this. As
> disgusting as Reagan was, he did have his witty moments. This talent
> clearly was sharpened over years and years in the entertainment
> industry.
> One of the reasons he did so well against both Mondale and Dukakis, I
> speculate, is that these opponents were so drab and humorless.
>
> The other thing to keep in mind is that people like Mark Twain,
> Charlie
> Chaplin and Will Rogers had absolutely immense followings. I still
> contend
> that Moore belongs to this tradition more than any other. Speaking of
> mixed
> messages, does anybody think that Twain wrote 100% "progressive"
> novels?
> The jury is still out on Huckleberry Finn.
>
> The role of humor in society is a very complex one. At some point, I
> plan
> to get to Eleanor Leacock's collection of articles on
> hunting-gathering
> bands. She observes that teasing is almost universal to these social
> formations. What's going on there?
>
> Louis Proyect
>
> (http://www.panix.com/~lnp3/marxism.html)