Gilbert Godfried made a joke about the September eleventh attacks just three weeks after the incident. It was too soon. He realized this a little too late after grumbling from the audience but made a spectacular save with what is often credited as the best telling ever of a famous (amongst comedians) joke called The Aristocrats. The joke is so famous that it has its own movie. (Digg this comic)
Why is it so well-known amongst professional comedians? Probably because it gets to the heart of what comedy is all about. Comedy is dark. Comedy relieves tension by making us laugh at things that would otherwise wreck us emotionally because they’re so sad or disturbing or painful. The Aristocrats joke changes with every telling, but there are two things that always stay the same. First, the punchline, and second, it is always dark, as dark as the teller can possibly stand to make it. It’s either disturbing, offensive, disgusting, or more. You get graded by how dark you can make it along with how well you tell it. There’s an art in the telling.
It’s not too soon for September eleventh jokes anymore. In fact, I think it’s high time we started telling some. Why do we have a mourning period after tragedies? We mourn deeply and intensely so that we can heal from tragic events and get on with our lives. We allow ourselves to feel sorrow and we share it with others to alleviate the pain. We recognize and validate our vulnerability as human beings so that we can then go back to being strong. We didn’t do it right with the September eleventh attacks. We didn’t stop. We haven’t stopped being hyper-sensitive and so many of us carry a wound that won’t heal.
There are people out there who take advantage of that vulnerable state. They want to commemorate it and renew that pain each year. They like us in a state of pain, fear, and anger because we’re easily manipulated. We become easy victims to anyone who offers a fix, to charlatans who will sell us snake-oil cures. We give up our freedoms and put our faith in people who haven’t earned it. We lash out in revenge, and when we can’t get the people responsible, we’ll lash out at anyone.
Now it’s time to let go of that tension and heal. Comedy is perfect for that. I encourage you to make a joke about September eleventh in the comments. It’s time to be strong again. Let’s get on with our lives.
B-b-b-but… I thought government-engineered robot ninjas did 9/11!
You’re dumb here too Libman.
Top 10 Good Things About The WTC Attack
10. There are now 18 fewer Arab taxi drivers terrorizing the streets.
9. Flight training schools proved that they are expensive but worth it.
8. People are learning how to spell “Afghanistan” correctly.
7. Plenty of parking available at airports now.
6. Jerry Springer Show was off the air for a whole week.
5. Sales for U.S. flags are way up.
4. Several new job openings now at NYPD and NYFD.
3. Much lower electric bills for Manhattan.
2. Home videos of the WTC attack more spectacular than Arnold Schwarzenegger’s last
5 movies.
And the number one …
1. Some great new unobstructed views of Manhattan now.
Brilliant! Good job Dale.
I found a couple:
Q: What was the last thing going through Mr. Jones’ head when he was working on the World Trade Center’s 90th floor?
A: The 91st floor.
Q: Why are New Yorkers the world’s fastest readers?
A: Because some of those fuckers can go through twenty stories in less than a minute.
Haha
this is the best AIYH so far way to go Dale! Love it!
Thank you Dale. 9/11 was a tragedy to be certain. Living in northern NJ, I knew a lot of people who were in the towers that day, a number of whom lost their lives, but I see no point to tearing open the wound again every September. I agree that it is time to start treating it as an event in our lives, instead of trying to make it the defining moment in our lives. Thanks again for the comic Dale, and thanks to the others for the jokes!
great adaptation Dale! you others are sick fucks too, brought a smile to my 9/13, thanks!
drawback to 9/11: i can no longer automatically find downtown at a glance after stumbling out of a Chelsea club at 4am..
It has hard to follow the joke because it took up two pages (it didn’t all fit on my screen so I had to scroll up and down as I read the joke). I wasn’t sure to move right or down with my eyes.
I followed standard format for comic text which is left to right and then top down. That applies to both the order of the panels and the order of the bubbles within the panels. It’s different for manga comics which are right to left and then top down.
Bravo!
Life and death are serious things, but sometimes we need to see the humor in them and point out the absurdity that underlies much of what we deal with and much of what people take seriously.
So here is my favorite 9/11 joke:
Knock Knock.
Who’s there?
9/11
9/11 who?
I thought you said you’d never forget!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jd7MleO114A&feature=related
The pilot looks like my uncle!