"IFC R2S2" - "Laughter" - Life sometimes hurt, and we cope
Laughter, a painful subject
Laughter, that is a hard and a touchy subject. So many times we laugh at things we should not laugh at. I understand that laughter is an emotional release, and that at times we can not control how our emotions take us over. Anyone that thinks our emotions do not control us, that think they have risen above the control of their emotions, is doing nothing but lying to themselves.
Laughter is a lot like the fight or flight fear response, it is built into us, it is a coping mechanism that allows us to maintain some semblance of control, a simple avoidance mechanism. One that allows us to avoid the reality of the situation, to avoid the painful thoughts and memories that not avoiding may lead to. Laughter is a self preservation mechanism that helps to prevent us from tumbling into the empty abyss of self loathing, self hate, self recrimination, and self pity.
Not all laughter is made to help us forget, but sometimes it helps us to remember. I know that no one in the US, over the age of 10 when the Challenger Shuttle blew up has not heard the joke about Christa McAuliffe's eye color. The only other name I remembered from the incident was Dick Scobee.
I had forgotten the year and the date and the specifics, not the memory however, of that night, of the horror of the situation.
On January 28, 1986, the NASA shuttle orbiter mission STS-51-L and the tenth flight of Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart 73 seconds into its flight, killing all seven crew members, which consisted of five NASA astronauts, one payload specialist and a civilian school teacher.
Laughter and jokes help us cope, I still to this day despise that eye color joke, as much I am sure of the people that grew tired of hearing the joke of why Natalie Wood did not bathe the night of her death. We joke, to cope, and we joke to laugh that we can go on living sane in an insane world.
Needless to say I did not find this to be an easy subject, I hope you all take a moment to remember the painful parts of history, and what people have given, so that others may not have to.
Agreed that laughter has all kinds of expressions. we laugh often when we are embarrassed or nervous. But laughter also has very healing qualities.
I remember when the accident occurred and I am happy to say that I don't know the jokes you are referring to and don't want to know them either.
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I had not thought of laughter as an emotion - or "emotional release" I should say. I see what you are saying there. Laughter is actually a lot like crying. What you said about it being a coping mechanism is a good point as well and makes a lot of sense. We often do use laughter to cope. Sometimes we even laugh in very inappropriate situations.
I have never heard the joke about Christa McAuliffe's eye color but it sounds like it might be quite distasteful.
True.. It can be anyways, and I myself am guilty of laughing at things in the past that I felt guilty about afterwards.. Largely because my friends or family have morbid senses of humor, though some part of me found what they said funny or I wouldn't have laughed.. It is weird how some really disturbing things can emit such a response.. The more I think about it later on in life I think it's less to do with people laughing at the unfortunate circumstances of others and it's more sort of.. A reaction to the absurdity of life and just how bizarre and difficult some things are.
I'm a lil conflicted on this statement because I do feel like some people have banished their emotions almost entirely, though.. Is it possible to ever TRULY banish your emotions entirely? Some people seem very robotic in regards to such, though the more I think about it.. I don't think it's possible to completely remove your emotions.. Unless perhaps you had some sort of lobotomy or brain damage that messed up that part of your brain, though recent research I've seen seems to show that if part of your brain is damaged other parts will compensate and take over the job of what was damaged, yet.. I'm not sure if that applies to everything sense it seems like some brain damage does permanently remove certain functions. So.. I do tend to agree with you, I think it's probably not possible to fully remove your emotions, and if you can't totally remove them then they play a critical part of your decisions and motivations in life, even if one thinks they have conquered such. They are almost certainly just tricking themselves.
Yeah.. I've seen a lot of people use laughter this way, one of my closest friends tends to try to joke about things he finds very uncomfortable and it's conflicted with me in the past.. Like serious sensitive subjects he would joke about, though when I learned that he just didn't know how to respond in any other way it made me much more understanding of his responses in such manner.
That's a good point! I'm glad you brought that up.
I'm not familiar with the eye color joke or any jokes regarding that incident. Though these days I see a lot of people joking about things like 9/11 and major horrible events and people taking pride in "never too soon to joke about something" and they will joke about it right after it happens.. Like people dying from diseases or hunters being killed while they are hunting and so many things like that and I find it quite unpleasant to say the least.. There's even one comedian on comedy central who got famous for this extremely dark and insensitive kind of humor, so there's a large segment of the population out there who sort of gravitate towards that kinda stuff and I don't really understand it.. Laughter definitely can become something misused and abused like almost anything can and I think your entry helps show us the darker side of laughter and how it can be a negative thing. Not what I necessarily expected in a subject about laughter, but.. Very powerful and important to be reminded of nonetheless. I do think we should try to be respectful and honorable in our laughter, and that one persons laughter could be another persons suffering or misfortune. Especially when it comes to bullying and things like that..
Thanks for helping to put things into perspective and for the very thought provoking entry.
Laughter is an incredible way to cope and I don't think any of us should ever be blamed for using it as an emotional release in any situation. Both the Challenger and Columbia disasters are incredibly profound memories for me. I remember the sadness and numbness I felt during both of those tragedies. I also remember the jokes and yes, I laughed. Not out of disrespect but as a way of rememberance.
The one I remember the most?
What does NASA stand for? Need Another Seven Astronauts.
God bless those brave men and women who lost their lives in our mission to explore space.
I hope people don't blame people for laughing or joking, it would be like blaming someone for crying at a wrong time. A lot of the distasteful jokes are ones we laugh at, and then we never forget the internal feelings we had, yes I despise some jokes, but you hear and you remember. It is a part of who we are, to find a way to cope and to remember, it is like all other memory triggers, sometimes they are not pleasant.
Sometimes the people who make the most jokes have endured the most heartbreak. Laughter is definitely a good survival tool.
I remember the terrible tragedy of the seven people killed when the Challenger blew up. The school teacher, Christa McAuliffe, was the one name I recall because she had been chosen over a 1000 others and must have been so excited to have the opportunity to be on the Challenger. Then to lose her life and leave 2 young children and her husband to mourn. U&R
I think laughing at pain is an important step. Even at funerals or wakes if the opportunity is right. Grieving looks like a lot of different things for everyone but it definitely has too much crying (which can be healing too...).
Glad you mention this point and included the astronauts picture. I don't remember that event but had a teacher that was really sentimental about that shuttle explosion when I was a kid. I voted for you in IFC Round 2. Thanks for posting.