COVID jokes and laughter: The Psychedelic drug

BY DR. D. CHANDRARATNA

I am writing this as an addendum to Dr. Pethiyagoda’a enjoyable article, ‘Delight of Humour’ (14/7). In this dreadful time of a pandemic, one is not amazed by the profusion of jokes in the social media, and elsewhere, related to the pandemic, inviting us to dwell on the serious cathartic side of jokes in times of despair. Jokes and associated laughter, it has often been said, are a bit like electro convulsive therapy.

What laughter does to the brain is similar to what a sneeze does to the nasal passage, an apt expression pregnant with meaning today. Spontaneous laughter is a motor reflex produced by the coordinated contraction of numerous facial muscles accompanied by altered breathing, in the science of physiology. The clinical psychological aspect was examined initially by Sigmund Freud, who explored it like his dream analysis, seeking its relationship to the unconscious. But his deconstruction of jokes did not evoke much of a response. His psychoanalytic view evoked much laughter than the joke itself, according to cynics. The fact of the matter is that the moment you start analysing or deconstructing a joke the humour evaporates instantly, because fundamentally the joke itself is mocking. It is anathema to logic, hostile to analysis.

My intention, in this article, is only to highlight one aspect of jokes, particularly its relevance in this dreadful time of a pandemic. Here in Australia, a new Covid dread is doing its rounds for the second time. Because of the likely possibility that we will unlikely see its extinction, until a vaccine is discovered, which may or may not be. According to some medical researchers, the prospects are bleak, indeed. But jokes are plentiful.

On a scientific note, the evidence is already established that tranquilizing endorphins are found in tears of joy. We are used to the expression tears of joy, but grief also produces something similar. Is it then possible that years of evolution have provided the same in times of alarms, anxieties and other tribulations producing a narcotic to numb the terror? The research, I’m sure, was from studies of John Bowlby et al., about the reactions of babies to impending disaster. When an adult throws up a baby playfully, in a Nano-second the baby discovers by instinct that it is playful and the lungful of air that was drawn to yell out a response turns into explosive laughter and an instantaneous release of tension. The scream turns into a scream of laughter and noisy chuckle. The grimace of terror has turned into joy and the terror has passed. Constant repeats form a habit, not evoking the same emotive intensity of an impending panic anymore. Over millennia man has developed a sense of humour as a form of a defence mechanism against likely terror.

Surprisingly, a vast amount of jokes, and laughter, is associated with adversity. The holocaust, Jewish humour, black humour and so on are attempts to deal with the dread of despair. Many would remember that immediately after the Challenger tragedy, someone cooked up a joke that the acronym NASA stood for Need Another Seven Astronauts. And that little joke went round the world in minutes.

When it comes to jokes, Sri Lankans are as good as any others. While we are unable to run the country efficiently, most of the time, in the jokes department we have done well in addition to just one other field that I am happy to confess. That is in musicology-along with composition and performance. I need to mention for the record that, particularly in lyrics, Sri Lanka is unparalleled in the world. Any one can arguably stand one’s ground on this score. This is one field in which we have improved, whereas most of the rest have gone down, in spite of our grandiose talk.

Jokes have a cultural hew. Some of our colloquial efforts in the jokes department are pastiche. This is emphatically true of political jokes in Sri Lanka. Recycled jokes from other cultures may not have a ready appeal to the locals. Jokes can also be laced with scorn, derision, bigotry, mocking and contempt. We have our share of all varieties, including the politically incorrect, bawdy to downright crude. They can be racially profiling just as many jokes in Australia are. Some of these are prohibited under racial vilification laws. Yet they come up these days with the Black Lives Matter protests, in gay abandon. Humour more than religion could be the opium of people. To get through the absurdity of life in these Covid times we go through with the absurdity of the joke.

I have selected, for the interested reader, Just a few jokes to get through the dread of Covid,

Scene 1 the teacher is calling out the register in the Indian class

Student

Teacher murmurs

Wuhan Mukerjee – Present (-OMG! you are still here)

Distan Singh – Present, (Good Boy, always by yourself)

Corona Mask Adu – Present (No mask, why are you still in the school)

Ube Lockdown – Present (Why don’t you go to your area school)

Nirodha Vasanthi – Present (Don’t leave your place, till I tell you)

Covid Avasthi – Present (OMG! Another year with you)

Paraman Sukham – Present (Good Boy, Welcome)

Scene 2 Hospital Ward

Patient – Doctor When will COVID be over?

Doctor – Ask any Sri Lankan politician. Under the oath I can’t lie.

Scene 3 Court House

Judge – Why do you want a divorce at this COVID time?

Plaintiff – My Lord, My missus allocates work during lockdown, washing dirty clothes, scraping coconut, peeling garlic, slicing onions and more

Judge – Go Easy man. With garlic, first roast it, it then peels away; onions, first leave in the fridge for five minutes; dirty clothes, soak it for 30 minutes first, and scraping coconut, fix the coconut grinder to your standing height at the table– these are simple, easy things.

Plaintiff – My Lord I withdraw my case. (Talking to himself) If people in high places can do it, I can, too.

Heath Advice

Do not hug or kiss your friends at the office – DIG Ajith Rohana

Office Clerk – Can I get a transfer to the next building. This office has nobody in that category.

Advice from a nondescript to another:

Who are you to advice me of COVID, You are nothing – a scoundrel

Yes, correct, I am nothing. It’s a long story if you want to know. At the College, I attended, the teacher on the careers night predicted that I will become a good for nothing scoundrel

Why, what happened?

The teacher gave the following five letters P.N.I.E.S to make a word. The one who wrote SPINE became a surgeon, the one who wrote SNIPE became an Army Major, PINES is professor of agriculture, but my word made him angry and he said I would be a scoundrel on the street one day. So here I am.

Excerpted from 2020 Election Guide from DGHS to Election Commission.

Owing to the fear of infection, painting fingers to confirm voting will cease forthwith. Instead the little finger of the voter shall be hit with a hammer till the nail turns pinkish blue.

The number of strikes shall be in line with the names in the ballot paper to teach voters a lesson for encouraging the riff-raff to contest.