Community Chat

[Anonymous032819]

I, too don't like "practical jokes", and yes, I can and do laugh at myself.

Difference is, the "practical joke" is set up to make the other person look and feel foolish, stupid and gullible.

One year, the office for together to play a April Fools joke on our manager. I was not there when they did this, so, no, I did not participate in it. What they did was full her office with balloons. Okay, that's harmless, but I don't play practical jokes, and I hate it when it's done to me.

[mom2four0418]

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@Pook wrote:

Practical jokes are usually done to and by those that have a sense of humor and ability to laugh at themselves.  Personally, my friends mostly fit that category.  If you can't laugh at yourself - well life could be a bit boring!  As long as the pranks are not harmful and like those @GoneButNotForgotten  mentioned.  Being around those with no sense of humor can get really boring!

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Not liking practical jokes has nothing to do with either of those things.

[Imaoldhippie]

For me, I do not like practical jokes, nor do I like surprises, even if they are good surprises.

[occasionalrain]

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@Imaoldhippie wrote:

For me, I do not like practical jokes, nor do I like surprises, even if they are good surprises.

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Especially when they film them, wanting to capture the reaction.

[Sooner]

Joksters and pranksters probably are juvenile and beneath intellectually superior brains but when you lived out on a farm in Oklahoma in the early 1900's you were dirt poor, couldn't afford a movie even if one was within walking distance, you had to be silly and make a laugh where you could find it.  And my family does love to have a good time and a good laugh. 

I assume this is more a cultural thing coming from people without resources for entertainment.   I guess you would have had to have lived with it to understand/judge it for what it is. 

But it is some harsh judgment on other cultures coming freely from some people.  

[Deree]

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@Sooner wrote:

Joksters and pranksters probably are juvenile and beneath intellectually superior brains but when you lived out on a farm in Oklahoma in the early 1900's you were dirt poor, couldn't afford a movie even if one was within walking distance, you had to be silly and make a laugh where you could find it.  And my family does love to have a good time and a good laugh. 

I assume this is more a cultural thing coming from people without resources for entertainment.   I guess you would have had to have lived with it to understand/judge it for what it is. 

But it is some harsh judgment on other cultures coming freely from some people.  

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@Sooner  I had to re-read your post twice to make sure I was understanding it correctly.  Jokesters and pranksters come from all walks of life -- rural, big city, poor, rich -- not only on poor farms in OK in the early 1900's.  It has nothing to do with "other cultures".  That comment is very puzzling.  There are many ways people can afford to entertain themselves without it being at the expense of someone else and possible hurt.  And I don't see anyone judging anyone else's proclivity for pranks.  All I see are people not agreeing with it.

[gertrudecloset]

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@zitawins wrote:

I dislike practical jokes immensely! I find nothing funny in any of the OP's stories. It's a juvenile "gotcha" that often backfires. I also think there's a mean spirited quality to any practical jokes.

As my late husband used to say, "kidding on the square."   Not funny.

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Practical jokes border on being sociopathic.  It's the rise they get from seeing some one go through what they do once the joke has been played.  This is especially true for those who make a big part of their lives @zitawins .

[gertrudecloset]

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@tends2dogs wrote:

I also hate practical jokes.  I don't play them or receive them well.  I don't know if I would call them juvenile, but it is just a different type of sense of humor.  I don't have that type.

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@tends2dogsJuvenile bordering on anti social behavior and sociopathology.

[gertrudecloset]

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@Caaareful Shopper wrote:

I laugh at myself quite frequently.  There are quite a few fabled, hysterical stories in my family about unintentional pratfalls, getting locked out of homes wearing only pajamas, seams that split at formal occasions, etc.  We bring them up at gatherings all the time -- keeps everyone in great spirits!

However, practical jokes are very different.  No, in my opinion, those are meant to embarrass & set someone up, not "let's laugh at ourselves."  I don't have one close family or friend that engages in practical jokes, not that I know of anyway.  

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This!

[gertrudecloset]

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@Sooner wrote:

Joksters and pranksters probably are juvenile and beneath intellectually superior brains but when you lived out on a farm in Oklahoma in the early 1900's you were dirt poor, couldn't afford a movie even if one was within walking distance, you had to be silly and make a laugh where you could find it.  And my family does love to have a good time and a good laugh. 

I assume this is more a cultural thing coming from people without resources for entertainment.   I guess you would have had to have lived with it to understand/judge it for what it is. 

But it is some harsh judgment on other cultures coming freely from some people.  

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In 1900 @Sooner ?  How old are you for real though?