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GET MORE LAUGHTER IN YOUR LIFE!
David Granirer - North America's Psychotherapist/Stand-Up Comic
Volume 3, Issue 7
Editor: David Granirer, david@psychocomic.com
Publisher: David Granirer
www.psychocomic.com

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IN THIS ISSUE
1. Welcome from the Publisher
2. Joke
3. Why Minorities Target Themselves
4. What’s Good Stories
5. An Opportunity To Help
6. Classified Ads
7. Contact Information


PRIVACY STATEMENT: WE WILL NOT DISTRIBUTE YOUR
EMAIL ADDRESS TO ANYONE. PERIOD.


1. WELCOME FROM THE PUBLISHER

****We’re Back!****

My comedy nights start again on Friday January 11 at Flori’s Coffee Centre, 3851 E. Hastings in North Burnaby, 2 blocks east of Boundary. To reserve (604) 294-8505.

On Friday January 18, CBC TV is coming to do a piece on that night’s headliner, and one of my star comedy students, 69 year old Mavis Pickett. It’s a great story of how taking a risk (In her case taking my stand-up comedy course) and confronting her fears changed her life. Mavis took the course twice and is now a professional comic. One day she’ll probably be a star, and the great thing is she has no investment in it! So come on out and laugh with her!


****Comedy Course****

If you’ve ever had a dream to do comedy, my 8-week Stand-Up Comedy Clinic Course at Langara College starts on the evenings of February 5 and 6. (I’m running 2 sections this term, a Tues. and Wed. class). To register call Langara at (604) 323-5322. To see testimonials from people who have taken the course go to http://www.psychocomic.com/ComedyCourse.htm

2. THIS MONTH'S JOKE

To help you lighten up, Iíve decided to start every issue with a joke. If anyone has some good clean jokes that are reasonably short, feel free to email them to me at david@psychocomic.com

Here’s some more real life comedy that writes itself. You may have already seen this, but it’s so topical I thought I’d include it anyway.

If you had bought $1000.00 worth of Nortel stock one year ago, it would now be worth $49.00.

With Enron, you would have $16.50 of the original $1,000.00.

With WorldCom, you would have less than $5.00 left.

If you had bought $1,000.00 worth of Budweiser (the beer, not the
stock) one year ago, drank all the beer, then turned in the cans for the 10
cent deposit, you would have $214.00.

Based on the above, my current investment advice is to drink heavily
and recycle.


3. WHY MINORITIES TARGET THEMSELVES

A common symptom for victims of trauma is the repetition compulsion. Victims gravitate towards situations similar to the event that traumatized them in an unconscious attempt to desensitize themselves. Essentially they try to re-experience the trauma in an attempt to master failure and negate its damaging effects. Indeed this is along the lines of desensitization therapy, where individuals are exposed to the feared stimuli in increasing doses that they can master.

According to a paper written by Samuel Juni and Bernard Katz of New York University that’s one of the reasons oppressed groups use humor targeting themselves. By doing so they re-experience the shame and aggression of this humor in doses they can handle and control. Having already used the worst racial slurs against themselves also desensitizes them to their use by outsiders. The thinking is “Nothing you say can hurt us because we’ve already said it all ourselves.”

But there’s even more to this form of humor. As a teenager I attended a Jewish youth group. One afternoon someone pulled out a guitar, and we all started singing an incredibly foul, anti-semitic version of “Sweet Home Alabama.” One after another, we took turns making up verses, each one more offensive and anti-jewish than the one before. This activity kept us in hysterics for the better part of an hour. At the time, I never understood what we were laughing at, nor I believe did anyone else. Looking back I realize we not only robbed anti-semitic racial slurs of some of their power to hurt, we also attacked the purveyors of anti-semitism, lessening the power they might have had over us. With our absurd lyrics and exaggerated racist mannerisms, we parodied the entire white supremacist movement, making them look stupid and pathetic. Never again would we see a newsclip of white-hooded klansmen or skinheaded Neo-Nazis without inwardly laughing at them. If these pitiful cretins boasting white sheets and bad haircuts were representatives of the master race, they were going to have a hard time convincing the rest of us. Talk about a tough sell! Thus we lowered their status, boosted our own, and in doing so bonded as a group.

Maybe attacking racists with this form of humor is not a very nice thing to do. In an ideal world we would be able to love and accept them, understanding that their prejudice is a manifestation of their pain and thus a cry for help. We would be able to put aside our anger and hurt, and adopt a non-judgemental attitude towards them. But we live in an imperfect world where racist beliefs and behaviors are tremendously damaging to millions of people. And for those millions, the humor I discuss in this article is one way to fight back.


****Free Articles for Your Newsletter****

If you would like to print one of my articles on humor in the workplace in your newsletter free of charge, email me at david@psychocomic.com and Iíll send you a complete summary of all the articles Iíve written.

For other free articles about laughter go to www.psychocomic.com/Articles.htm

For free back issues of this ezine go to www.psychocomic.com/Newsletter.htm

*****GET MORE LAUGHTER IN YOUR LIFE!*****
Check out David's tapes, posters, buttons at www.psychocomic.com/Products.htm
 

4. WHAT'S GOOD STORIES

It's so easy to see all the bad things around us, that sometimes we forget about all the great things that go on. And we need to hear about good things because that gives us hope and inspires us to go out and do more good things.

In this section, I want to hear from you. What's happened in your life that's good? What things have people done that inspire you to be kind to others? What funny things have happened?

Email your short stories to me at david@psychocomic.com, and if I publish yours, you get a free copy of my tape "I'm OK But YOU Need Professional Help!"  
 

Corie Brand from Alberta contributed this month’s story.

She says: I would like to take this opportunity to relate a short story about a work experience I had. A little off color but it was too funny to not share.

I was employed as a family support worker doing in home counselling and lifeskills training with families at risk. Part of my job was to transport clients to and from various appointments or foster homes.

One evening I received a call requiring me to take two young boys from the police station back to the secure treatment facility they had escaped from. I was a little nervous about as I knew nothing about these two youths, it was late at night and the drive would take about 2 1/2 hours, through an isolated part of Alberta. After I picked up the two boys- ages 13 and 14 they started to chat about their daring escape. The older boy said that they walked and hitch-hiked for hours, ending up paying one motorist ten dollars for a 20 km lift. Both boys agreed that they could have made it further if they had more cash. The conversation then turned to ways they could make money in a short period of time.
The boys discussed how in the United States you could get paid for donating blood. I told them that in Canada people do not get a monetary compensation for donating blood. The elder boy said that he had heard that you could get $40 for making a sperm donation and asked me if this was true. The younger boy got a look of horror on his face. He said to the older boy “You would be willing to do that?” The older boy replied that for $40 " a pop" he’d be more than willing. He asked his friend, "What's the big deal?" I thought the younger boy must have been worried about someone knowing, maybe his mom warned him he'd go blind or maybe he way surprisingly mature and was worried about having children exist that he didn't know about. The younger boy, still with this completly horrified look, replied to his friend- "Aren't you worried that you'd run out?"

5. AN OPPORTUNITY TO HELP

If anyone has a good cause they'd like to promote please email me at david@psychocomic.com
 

6. CLASSIFIED ADS

Speakers: Learn how to incorporate stand-up comedy into your presentations. Check out David's stand-up comedy skills coaching for presenters at: www.psychocomic.com/ComedyCourse.htm
 

7. CONTACT INFORMATION

David Granirer gives laughter in the workplace presentations helping hundreds of organizations throughout North America reduce stress, increase wellness, and cope with change. For more information on his presentations, stand-up comedy, products, and articles call (604) 205-9242 or go to www.psychocomic.com

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