I agree, Quincy, that one either gets it or one doesn't, and there is no point in insisting to someone that something is funny if they don't think it is. But one point that has been made over and over but which is still worth repeating, and that is that the joke is not on Byron. Nor on his foot.

Absolutely, and if I failed to reiterate that point, it's because others did so quite ably. Quite a while back.

There's some humor I'll never understand. For example, some folks find it hilarious to dredge up divisive threads like this one, and get people all worked up about them over and over. It's ever so droll to troll...especially with your ONE post ever to Eratosphere.

Actually, I was told about this thread by someone else, who had posted on Eratosphere. I had been told about this thread regarding Mr. Green's poem -- and given some idea of the comments, and so I posted my own.

The thread did not strike me as "divisive," or not nearly divisive enough -- if anything, most commenters seem to find Mr. Green's poem as utterly inoffensive as certain individuals where I was raised (the Midwest and the South) continue to find "humor" at the expense of blacks utterly inoffensive.

And I had no idea there was a pecking order, based upon how many posts one has made to Eratosphere. Good to know!

It's never an excellent idea to charge aggressively into a strange and new place armed with nothing but the vehemence of one's a priori opinions.

Nemo

Mark, I am sorry for mischaracterizing you as a troll, if your intent was actually to foster compassion and generosity around here.

However, just as my "I suspect a troll" post didn't exactly endear me to you, the vituperative tone of your first post was not exactly conducive to fostering compassion and generosity around here.

Personally, I don't find the poem funny. But I don't think that those who do are as bad as the narrator--i.e., shallow and petty and mean-spirited.

Laughter is one of many normal human responses to absurdities like injustice and suffering. Anger is another. People find lots of things funny that I find infuriating. That doesn't mean they're insensitive, cruel people--they just respond to some absurdities in a different way than I do.

I see an important difference between the person startled into laughter by the absurdity of outrageous insensitivity and injustice, and the person who laughs because he or she enjoys others' suffering. I hope you do, too.

Beautifully put, Julie.