America has always been known as the land of the free where individual rights are of the highest value. Freedom of speech is one of these rights and loses accuracy more and more as each day passes. The word "sue" was hardly known in the early 1900's, harshly regarded in the mid 1900's, but today it is common news. Every day people take millions from others over a few untactful words- and American law supports it! Yet mockery is still very much existent in our society. How? When is it safe to jest others? It has become quite complex but is still definable.
Firstly, there are two main types of mockery, positive and negative mockery. Negative mockery is, by far, the much more complex type of mockery is targeted at anyone believed to be symbolically, physically, culturally, or dogmatically different than oneself. Those who can actually be mocked though, are determined by those controlling a large majority of the combined powers of punishing and protecting both the joker and the laughingstock in the given audience. These powers are, at different levels, existent in all members of the audience; identified, covert, real, or imagined, all add to the pool of power. Put simply, most Americans aren't half as liberal as they think themselves to be. .
Negative mockery is always aimed at those the joker views as different from himself. Take the common butt of jokes, George Bush Jr., for example. To a given joker, Bush's inconsistent speech symbolizes laziness, his small stature represents physical weakness, his cowboy outfits show his cultural distaste, and his politics show his inconsistent dogma. The joker believes himself to be in no way like Bush and so easily makes a victim of him. Sadly, this belief, not reality, is the determining factor when most Americans choose to jest at one another. Look at the men who, while resting their beers on their huge guts, call women fat asses. Or the women who, while maintaining that men should always pay for everything on a date, also believe they themselves are being done an injustice by society and should be treated as equals to men.
In Voltaire's Candide, the mockery and criticism of the monarchy and the church system during the Enlightenment Age are obvious in this book. ... This was not acceptable because of the differences of their ranks due to birth. ...
TV - the invention of the twentieth century is the cause of constant debates on what is acceptable and what is not. ... People presented in the program are not to be helped but used as objects of mockery and scoffing which is the most revolting aspect of all. ... My friend's Granny's and mine "lists- surely are not even similar, as what is vulgar in her understanding might be perceived as perfectly acceptable by me and vice versa . ...
South Park began in August of 1997, and since then they have pushed the boundaries of what is acceptable for television and audiences. ... Sometime after that, the show developed and became known for its satire, parody and mockery in order to shine light on popular culture. ... For example, praying and reading the Bible every day, and basing every action on is what is acceptable in God's eyes....
Moses Mendelssohn In 1729, a baby was born in the Jewish ghetto in Dessau, Germany. He was born into a Germany of casual intolerance and Jewish isolation. Jewish children learned only enough to study Talmud and speak Yiddish, and those Jews in mainstream Germany faced limitations and prejudice a...
This is highly amusing in that he is making a mockery of the madness he knows Malvolio does not possess. ... She has just lost her brother yet he makes a mockery of him, stating "I think his soul is in hell" (I, 5, 64). ... She seems unfazed by the insult so the comedy element, although obscene, remains acceptable. ... The mockery of the church is highly controversial and he dares to speak ill of the dead through Feste. ...
This certainly suggests that Mr Brocklehurst's religious principles are a mockery of Christianity, that he is an hypocrite who cannot act consistently. ... He continues to talk about his family, and this reflects more on his mockery of religious principles as he spoils his own daughters. ... Even the righteous St John Rivers is not acceptable to Jane. ...
Decisions can be made in many ways, and they often serve to shape the remainder of one's life. During 1968, Tim O"Brien made the most consequential decision of his life: whether or not to enter the war. "On Rainy River" documents Tim's difficulties in making his decision and his basis for ultimate...
A little white lie is fine as long as it helps us; deceit is acceptable if it keeps us out of trouble. ... While their communication is mostly in the form of puns and mockery, there is definite interaction. ...
Unfortunately, labels of mockery are the first terms children learn before they are mature enough to understand or feel sexual feelings. ... Homophobia is often considered as an acceptable prejudice because it tends to be linked to family values. ...