Jokers Are Also Serious People!

The other night, someone told me, twice in the same conversation - 'Now I know you are a serious person'. It struck a raw nerve in me as I've heard variations of this lame and presumptiouspresumptuous remark over the years.

Jokers or people who like to joke are also serious people. As a self-professed joker, I would like to add that jokers are complicated people.

Why do people become jokers? By nature, I was born a serious and pessimistic person. I started thinking about the meaning of life way before I entered school. I don't know about others but as I reflect upon my personal journey, I can think of the following reasons and influences that caused me to adopt humour as a facet of my character:

• Initially jokes were a source of much needed cheer. I devoured joke books and comedies voraciously in school.
• There was also much teasing back then. I was rather quiet and passive in school. But after one too many teasing, suddenly the 'bullied' became the 'bully'. Jokes became a source of power. (mua ha ha, evil laugh)
• Of course, there was this annoying part. Everyone was telling me I looked very serious and fierce. It was so tiresome. So I unleashed the 'Joker' personality. Then everyone started telling me, 'Why are you such a joker?'. Oh gosh, you just can't win everything..
  

Guess that almost about sums it up. Reading into other sources, I discovered that most comedians have had a tragic or unpleasant history. However, they chose to deal with it positively using humour. Robin Williams, if i recall correctly, was one of them.

Joking all the time is no fun. It can get tiring. It can backfire. And like what I said in the beginning, some less-enlightened people assume that because you joke a lot, you don't have a serious side or you don't think about profound things.

Well, don't be so misled. Just as a diamond has many facets, so does a person. Call it a mask, call it hypocrisy, call it anything. It is part and parcel of a human being's complex psychological makeup.

I think it takes a joker to understand or relate to a joker. Or just someone with an open mind and has learned to see outside the box.