Wednesday, April 1, 2009

On April Fools

I'm not sure I really understand the concept of this "holiday." Or its desirability. Let's play pranks on each other and pretend things are true that aren't, just to get a kick out of someone's horror or surprise.

What I'm saying is, why is falseness hilarious? Why do we devote an entire day to playing tricks on each other and disguising the truth?

I mean, here's a real joke: "America has moved from a logical society to an emotional basket case, and it began in 1920 with the passage of the 19th amendment." And even better, one of the comments: "The 4 Ism's, liberalism, feminism, socialism and communism will be the torpedos [sic] that will sink our great ship of state." Too bad they're both serious. Too bad they really blame women's suffrage for the downfall of America.

Here's another, and another, and another: that women's sexuality is dangerous. That it needs to be controlled from a young age, and by girls' fathers. That women belong to their men, be it their fathers or their husbands. That having sex means engaging in a lower standard for one's life, or that it's not "wholesome" or "healthy."

The joke isn't funny - the joke that leads people to completely disassociate from reality like this. So I don't get voluntary disassociation from reality. I don't get why anyone would choose to be a fool, when there are far, far, far too many in our world already.

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