> There is something
> unhealthy about any group that takes itself so damn
> seriously that it can not make fun of itself.
As I've said, I'm all in favor of left humor, but I am very reluctant to bash anyone for not making fun of her/himself.
I think this charge is often quite unfair. First, some folks are just too deeply emotionally affected to expect self-parody from. Feminists like Dworkin are certainly not known for self-directed humor, but they may just feel so oppressed that they don't particularly care to oblige their critics by laughing at themselves. And far be it from me, as a white straight male, to criticize them for their feelings. (Though I must confess that the idea of all penile "invasion" of the vagina being equated with rape does make me smile a bit sometimes.)
Second, we aren't all comedians. I have been known to crack a successful joke now and then, but it's only accidental. Real comedy is a talent which not everyone has, like talents for music and other arts. It's not among my few talents, so I feel about it the way I do about brain surgery: it's best left to the professionals.
Jon Johanning // jjohanning at igc.org ______________________________ If I have seen further than others, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.-- Isaac Newton If I have not seen as far as others, it is because giants were standing on my shoulders.-- Hal Abelson, MIT professor