Life is a Joke: Punching Up vs. Punching Down
Sunday Worship
Yes, there is such a thing as a good-natured joke that doesn't have a target. One imagines. But if we're to be honest, the funniest jokes, the ones that induce the most painful belly laughs, generally are designed to be at someone's expense. Hence the term "Punching Up."
We UUs want to believe our humor speaks truth to genuine power. If we're hitting someone (or someones) with a verbal assault, that someone(s) is in a position of power and had it coming. Right? We'd never punch DOWN. Would we?
Lay speaker: UUMAN member Dirk Bender