by Matt Bird

Created on: May 26, 2009

At its best, humor is something everybody can enjoy. It's a unifying force that brings people together in enjoyment of something funny, whether it's a person, an event or just a silly accident. Humor lightens our lives and makes our days a little less dark.

At its worst, however, humor often isn't funny at all, or at least it isn't to everybody. And that's the kind of humor that probably shouldn't be embarked upon. Here are a few cases where jokes and laughter are not only inappropriate, they may be insulting.

- Making fun of somebody. If that person is in on the joke, then, fine. A little self-deprecation can go a long way, and has practically made the careers of a few comedians. Openly mocking somebody for a perceived failing, however, isn't funny. It's especially bad when you do it to their face, and even worse if other people are around to join in with your ill-spirited laughter.

- Mocking a belief system. Again, this is open to interpretation, but generally speaking beliefs are sacred things that shouldn't be infringed upon. You can point out humorous elements in that system, perhaps, but mocking it with the intent to denigrate that faith as a whole isn't terribly amusing. This can apply to politics to a lesser extent, though given the lengths some people go to mock one another over political beliefs I can't help but laugh at how sad they are.

- Laughing at an injury. Yes, we're prone to laughing when somebody falls on their butt after slipping on ice. We can't help it, and it's not that bad if the person has no greater an injury than a bruise on their rear. Somebody getting into a car crash and flying through the front window, however? Not funny. This includes injuries to animals, as well - lots of people out there think a cat or dog with only three legs, for example, is terribly amusing. I can't say I agree with them.

- Mocking a physical problem. We usually can't help when we're debilitated, so the very least everybody else can do is show us the same respect they would if we were working at 100 percent capacity. Pointing a finger at somebody because they're in a wheel chair or using a cane is not cool.

- Mocking race. Not only is this insulting, it's potentially dangerous. Plenty of comedians skirt the edge on this one; I try to avoid it whenever possible. Most people take near-racist jokes with good humor, but not everybody.

The key to dodging the bullet of insulting humor is to avoid isolating individuals. Nobody likes to be centered out of a crowd and mocked. And if you think otherwise, just wait until you're the object of derision. Your tone will change quickly.

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