Funny or Unfunny

Sometimes, it is clear that those whose being considered as weak will be picked on and laughed at. A cruel attempt to create a laugh directly with no innuendos. And oooh it is so fun for the laughing group. But a question remains, is it fun for the laughed-at group?

It is sometimes hard to determine if a joke is intended for what it was or already crossed the line as bullying. For an instance:

1. Jeff Dunham did a great job with his Achmed gimmick without offending any certain religion or country (Remember, Achmed was made in China despite how he looks and act), which Fluffy then confirmed when he toured Saudi Arabia and received information from his driver that Jeff Dunham is indeed the number one most famous and loved comedian in there thanks to his Achmed gimmick.

2. A comedy video about 5 worst cosplayer was frowned upon by some users on the Escapist forum due to the play words towards overweight people.

So really, it was hard to draw the line on this matter. It still basically a controversial topic to talk about.

A group that was unhinged, over-the-top, staggering in their lack of compassion merged with the needs of attention on a crowded medium will quickly escalate the ferocity of their vitriol (Cruel “criticism”). So yeah, sometimes, jokes from them can get out of control and in the worst case scenario, could hurt individuals beyond recognition.

But what if, and there’s a big fat if here, a joke that was considered funny for the laughing group due what I said above, is not well received by the individuals being laughed-at? I say it here again, the individuals being laughed-at.

So let’s take two example here by using JKT48 as our medium of individuals being laughed-at.

Indirect

Let’s say..among the members, Mawar (not a real name) is considered not too much of a beaut based on some people standard. This condition was then taken to full advantage by an opportunist to create a joke based on Mawar’s physical appearance in a closed community.

Of course, the joke was considered funny by the laughing group. Taking it as “Just for the Lulz” and those who think that it was offending as “Butthurt Fans” by them.

But, what if Mawar is actually the one being offended by the joke she didn’t know before the video recording was, say, leaked?

Mawar is a 14 years old girl with little to no experience to face a joke that, for her, was abusive. She felt bullied by people she barely knows in her life. As an idol, it is not right for her to express her frustration on her official Twitter and there’s simply her closest family members and friends she could talk to without the ability to express her frustration to public nor to confront the one who made the joke on her. She can only talk about it privately no matter how a brittle 14 years old she is. That’s it, no chance for an encounter at all which is the most important part in my own honest opinion.

My Personal Take on this case:

The damage has been done and it can’t be undone even by apologizing. Mawar could easily lost her self confidence after the saga. The feeling of inferiority compared to her friends could easily sway Mawar’s decision to stay at the group. There will always the chance where she will have this slight of thought of leaving the group at all cost due to her feeling of inferiority if it isn’t treated by a specialist.

A feeling of inferiority that I know all too well as someone who have a bullying victim as a very close friend when I’m in junior high.

Direct

Let me give you a blatant example here (Poster, the victimized idol, and the indirectly involved idol name blurred to protect their identity).

Well, it obvious here that he’s trolling just for the “lulz” and somehow, some people agree with his “good” sense of humor. What he and those who laughed failed to understand is, his trolling victim might perhaps taken it way too hard.

The feeling of neglect, the feeling of being at fault for someone straying on the wrong path just because of her, could somehow affect her psychology in either short or long term if left untreated.

My Personal Take on this case:

A joke/troll that was perhaps over the line.

His twitter account (I will not exposed his Twitter account) blatantly implied that all the criticism towards him is just a form of jealousy since the victim replied to his comment as a counter effort.

It is actually a form of defense mechanism to defend him from the main topic itself, his victim. A way too common use of logical fallacy as a defense mechanism. I’ve seen it way too much in work life to even considered myself irritated anymore.

Well then of course, the laughing party could easily branded me as someone who just “butt-hurted”, “doesn’t have a good sense of humor”, “White Knighting” or perhaps “Jealous Fans” which is actually plausible if we put ourselves in their boots and think like them:

A group of individuals that was unhinged, over-the-top, staggering in their lack of compassion and humanity with no remorse and in needs of attention on a crowded medium.

That being said, what yours? what is your take to both of the case and over the line jokes?