How does one even begin to tackle the subject of a world-wide disease that has already claimed thousands of lives?
Perhaps the trick is to write about anything else under the sun EXCEPT #COVID19. There are a vast multitude of topics, like relationships, food, drink, children, weather, chickens crossing the road, etc.
On second thought, because of the shut-downs and quarantine closures, a few subjects might not be very humorous anymore, due to their absence or unavailability, such as sports, theatrical movies, and live performances. Or politics, which many people are no doubt sick of hearing about by now. Or restaurants and taverns, which are struggling for their very survival.
And then there’s the matter of doctors and nurses. In more normal times, they might have served as occasional objects of teasing — but now, when they’re all serving on the front lines of this war against the coronavirus, fighting to keep us all safe and healthy, it is hardly fair, sensitive, or politically correct to lob any jokes their way.
Can one joke about serious things?
In my own experience, dating back to the 1700s, I can assure you that I did choose to write some of my best parodies and satires on political topics that were quite serious and controversial. Ultimately, some of these may have led, directly or indirectly, to the American Revolution, or War for Independence, as you moderns refer to it these days.
So, given that outcome, I suppose that taking some jabs at the governing establishment of that day may have been foolish in the short term, but extremely wise in the long run. I have to confess, however, that I may have felt some fear and heart palpitations along the way for how my words were being interpreted at times, but as I once commented, it’s better to write for yourself and have no public, than to write for the public and have no self. You have to be true to yourself, in the big picture of life.
It is also common knowledge that among journalists and reporters, there is such a thing known as “morgue humor,” which involves joking about things like death, calamities, misfortunes, wars, and other serious issues. As they will readily tell you, sometimes this is the only way they manage to stay sane while reporting on what sometimes seems like an endless succession of tragedies.
Losing one’s senses
I have also heard that some of the symptoms of this dread coronavirus include unexpectedly losing one’s sense of taste and smell. If that is truly the case, then isn’t it possible to lose one’s sense of humor as well?
Mind you, this may not be a permanent affliction; when the pandemic abates and hopefully we return to more normal times (regaining some of the luxuries and creature comforts we’d been accustomed to, pre-COVID19), our impaired collective funnybone may also reemerge from the depths of this long night of darkness.
It may not be the same as before, of course, having gone through hell and beyond. But perhaps that is all for the better. A kinder, gentler, more sensitive type of humor may be just what the doctor ordered for our time of recovery and recuperation.
Your humble servant,
B. Franklin