Normally, I have a pretty good sense of humor. There are a lot of things I find funny…much of it completely inappropriate for a woman of my age, but I can find the humor in a lot of situations. My sense of humor stops at death, especially right now. This is a hard time of year for me. Nine years ago, I said goodbye to my father. We left a lot of issues unresolved between us and I feel pain about that to this day. And I can’t tell him I’m sorry. I can’t ask him why he did or said certain things. He has never met my children. He doesn’t know that I am happier than I’ve ever been in my life, that I feel fulfilled and complete, finally. That I’ve found the peace I spent most of my high school and college years trying desperately to find.
Death prevented all of that. I believe that one day I will go to Heaven. And I want to believe that I will be reunited with him there, but I don’t know. I don’t know how it all works, so I don’t know if those last few months of us arguing and saying terrible things to one another are among the last interactions we’ll have. As far as I know right now, that’s it for us. And it hurts. It hurts my heart in ways most people can’t imagine.
And so I hope you’ll forgive me if I don’t think joking about the death of President Obama hilarious. Or for that matter, George W. Bush, Sarah Palin, Kate Gosselin, Britney Spears or any one of a million public figures that I’m not particularly fond of. Would I like never to hear about them again? Sure! But as much as I dislike them, they all have people who love them and need them. I get that others think jokes like this are funny, and I’m sorry if it offends you that I am uncomfortable with it. Death is too real, too tragic for me to be amused by it.
And just so you know I actually do have a sense of humor about our President, here are some jokes that made me snort the other day when I was trying to find a specific joke for a friend. Enjoy!
”President Obama just held his first monthly bipartisan meeting and said that working together on jobs would be a good place to start. You know where else would have been a good place to start? A year ago.” —Jimmy Fallon
“That’s pretty amazing, Obama winning the Nobel Peace Prize. Ironically, his biggest accomplishment as president so far: winning the Nobel Peace Prize.” –Jay Leno
”Obama said he will attend the ceremony in Oslo if he’s not too busy with the two wars he’s conducting.” —Bill Maher
“Barack Obama now says he is open to offshore oil drilling. So, apparently, when he promised change, he was talking about his mind.” –Jay Leno
“President Barack Obama told his Cabinet yesterday to insure that every taxpayer dollar is spent wisely. But there was one embarrassing moment when he had to explain to the Cabinet what a taxpayer was.” –Jay Leno
”President Obama has announced a task force to review the tax codes. He’s concerned there are too many loopholes and too many people manipulating the system to avoid paying taxes. And that’s just in his administration.” —Jay Leno
Joe Jon
April 22, 2010 at 5:40 pm
Good post, Melissa. I actually clicked on a group on Facebook yesterday that was a joke prayer that alluded to Obama’s death. I should have read it a little better, as I totally missed the point. I “unliked” it today. I don’t like Obama’s politics, but even joking about his death goes way too far. The voting booth is the best way to deal with any politician someone doesn’t like.
themama
April 22, 2010 at 6:59 pm
Several of my friends liked (fanned?) it and it made me intensely uncomfortable. I didn’t defriend anyone over it because I hoped they weren’t reading it the way I did.
Whatever else the man is, he is a husband, a father, and a fellow human being. Don’t like his politics? Fine, but don’t wish him dead. (Besides, Biden and Pelosi are next in line. That’s much scarier to me!)
Kelly
April 23, 2010 at 5:09 pm
I think 10 of my FB friends have liked that group. It’s crazy to me that anyone — especially a parent — would wish death on someone without a really good reason (bc I’d totally wish death on, say, a pedophile or abuser). Death? Really?
But what really got my goat was how every single one of them is very vocal about being CHRISTIAN. Seriously? So it’s Christian to wish death on someone simply because you don’t like him?
Sad sad sad.
New (to me!) TV Shows « I am the Mama
September 6, 2010 at 2:28 pm
[...] I put on my list is Six Feet Under. Friends have recommended it to me, but we all know I’m intensely uncomfortable with the subject of death so I wasn’t quite sure. I’ve seen the end of the show because it’s set to one [...]