The other day, I read my post "Concerning Kafka and Wilde" at an Open Mike in town, one I go to every month. I went overtime but it still seemed to go down quite well. I thought I would relate an anecdote about it. Afterwards the event organizer came outside where I was having a cigarette and asked me, "So, are you arguing that Wilde was a non-practicing homosexual?" My mate, who was there with me and has a sharp wit, said instantly, "There's no such thing as a non-practicing homosexual. If they stop practicing they lose the knack." I should say that the organizer was a female and my mate was a male, because these things matter.
Jokes like this are a kind of Litmus Test. Straight people, at least smart straight people, find them funny; gay people, most of them, find them borderline offensive I think (and probably not without reason). Yet humor is the most powerful way of fighting prejudice and breaking down barriers between people. Humor is one of the best weapons one can wield in the war against stupidity and ignorance and hate. That's why it is unsurprising that almost comedians are left-wing.
I remember years ago, when writing about Mark Twain, I felt compelled to devise a whole theory of humor. I may write about it in a future post.
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