27 July 2021

Joking


When I wrote that stuff on your Geography book
I was only joking.
I was only joking when I tripped you up.
I never meant to hurt you.
I was only joking when I left that comment on Facebook
It was just a bit of fun.
I was only joking when I put itching powder between your sheets
I got it from the joke shop along with the fart powder.
I was only joking when I listed your house on Right Move.
I thought you would laugh at the description and the price.
I was only joking when I said your sister had fallen on the ice.
Seems like you can't have a laugh any more.
We were only joking when we handcuffed you naked to that lamppost the night before your wedding.
It was just the normal high jinx connected with stag nights
I was only joking when I painted the big red cross on your front door
Lighten up - it will easily come off with some turps and a cloth.
I was only joking when I put small pencil crosses in the boxes for Trump and Johnson
They seemed such fun guys - like cuddly circus clowns.
We were only joking when we hi-jacked those planes that morning
Why must people take everything so seriously these days?
After  all, I was only joking.

27 comments:

  1. The theme here is joking as a justification for bullying, meanness, spite and stupidity. I have heard people say similar stuff, and think that the unforgivable should be magically be forgotten or forgiven. Thank you for sharing these hard hitting words.

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    Replies
    1. That's it. "I was only joking" is frequently an unacceptable excuse.

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  2. Anonymous6:05 am

    I don't think anyone has ever said to me that they were only joking. Perhaps I seem humourless and not take a joke at all.

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    Replies
    1. Okay...I will be the first one Andrew! When I said you should create your own mural... I was only joking!

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  3. Was there anything specific happening that triggered this off?

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    Replies
    1. Only that I had a bit of friendly banter with another blogger and I said "I was only joking" then late he said, "I was only joking". That was how it germinated.

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  4. That phrase covers a multitude of spite. I have heard it too many times in the past and it doesn't make the hurt go away.

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    Replies
    1. I am so glad that you clearly "got" this JayCee.

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  5. Yet if those "jokes" had been played on any of the perpetrators, they would not have found it in the least bit funny. Those who bully, like to cause distress, or spite, in the name of "fun" can never accept the same "humour" when meted out to themselves.
    These things are mostly done with a view to making the victim look stupid, the "jokers" feel superior, and humour has nothing to do with it.

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    Replies
    1. Like JayCee above - you seem to "get" this issue so clearly Carol. A gratifying response. Thanks.

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  6. Chris Whitty in a headlock.

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    Replies
    1. Aye - those morons were "only joking".

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  7. As a older teenager I joked about what I thought was a silly brand name on a jacket a friend was wearing. The friend was a few years older and seemd ver sophisticated and I thought my silly words would be insignificant to him so I was horrified to learn that he never wore the jacket again. Since then I have been more careful of what I say, I still regret that incident and wouldn't want to do something like that again.
    Just a little thought is all it takes

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    Replies
    1. We all make careless blunders but it is good to strive to be kind to others instead of trying to win points in some kind of power game.

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  8. It's always the other person's fault. Cardinal rule. In my country, we call those who can't take a joke 'snowflakes'.

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    Replies
    1. There are wholesome jokes and there's sheer unpleasantness that masquerades as humour.

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  9. I've always been suspicious of most jokes!

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    Replies
    1. Even jokes about being "free" after a COVID quarantine?

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  10. I think the down side of any electronic communication is you never know what emotion the writer is using or feeling at the time.

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    Replies
    1. Mis-interpretation can indeed be a pitfall for all of us and I am not joking!

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  11. It's a shame electronics don't come with a built-in "sarcasm font". It might save a lot of hurt feelings. There are some conversations that should only be had face to face.

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    Replies
    1. The saracasm font would only work with typed communications but still a good idea.

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  12. Enjoyable verse, dear poet! Deep in another century (1960s) a friend's mother posted a sign in their entryway --from Robert Frost:"Lord, forgive me for my little jokes and I'll forgive you for thy great big one on me." Never forgot that...well, maybe sometimes.

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    Replies
    1. They must have had a wide gate. I will stick with "BEWARE OF THE GOD".

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  13. 'Well I don't find it funny'. Is a good reply, but like Kelly would love a way of showing the way we are talking, says she who has always had a 'sarky' tongue! Its a family tradition ;)

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    Replies
    1. Saint Thelma the Sarky...? Was she born on Sark in The Channel Islands?

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Mr Pudding welcomes all genuine comments - even those with which he disagrees. However, puerile or abusive comments from anonymous contributors will continue to be given the short shrift they deserve. Any spam comments that get through Google/Blogger defences will also be quickly deleted.

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