Using Humor to Promote Activism

      These two short pieces were truly poignant, presenting noteworthy insights on humor's ability to make difficult topics easier to talk about. Oftentimes, issues such as assault can bring about traumatic memories and negative emotions. For this reason, it is difficult to find the words to even begin to discuss the issue. While it may not come to mind initially, humor proves to be successful in starting these heavy conversations, and continuing to shed light upon these issues. 

    Throughout the readings, I was struck by numerous ideas, one being the phrase, "comedy should be 'punching up,' not 'punching down'" (Spitfire). In other words, using humor to cultivate positivity and support, as opposed to using it at the expense of others, is an effective way to build a group of united activists. We will be more motivated to speak out about injustices in society when we feel comfortable enough to discuss the issue. 

    I found Gurba's piece on using humor to speak about her assault to be powerful in exemplifying this idea of "punching up" and building community. She says, "because such experiences are so exceptionally horrific, the tools we use to discuss the everyday, the language we use to talk about human events, fail us. We raid the vocabulary of religion in order to confer solemnity. We 'witness' a victim's pain as they 'testify'" (Gurba). Here, Gurba alludes to the idea that, oftentimes, because instances of assault are so painful to discuss, we avoid conversations about the issue altogether. We are afraid to speak up, afraid to say the wrong thing, afraid of being too positive or too negative, and afraid of unintentionally discrediting or offending someone's experience. Consequently, we hardly discuss this issue in society enough. 

    This fear is why humor is so important in tackling these heavy conversations. According to Gurba, "humor, however, disrupts stasis. Humor is a form of action. It requires spontaneity, and that's what's missing from the pious scripts about sexual assault that bother me. They don't allow for survivors to really be alive." This notion connects back to the idea of "punching up," because it exemplifies the idea that humor can lessen our fears, allow conversations to take place more easily, and cultivate a community-oriented environment. Using humor to speak about issues like assault reminds us that, even if we haven't experienced it ourselves, we have a shared humanity with assault survivors. It is our job to stand up for them and support them, joining in the conversation and refusing to live in a state of silence or fear.