My great Aunt Lou fell for the same old April Fool’s jokes
year after year. She’d look behind her in alarm if you told her there was a
mouse in the house, she’d check in a mirror to see if she did indeed have
crumbs on her face, she’d be dumbfounded to learn that school was cancelled for
a whole week. We loved that she was so gullible. Or was she? Now I look back
and think she was a dear sweet lady who enjoyed letting us think we had fooled
a grown-up.
Curiously, I’ve
found another good use for her playing dumb strategy. It’s great around people
who are sarcastic! Those folks “win” when the person targeted by their barbed humor
gets the joke and is thus embarrassed in front of others. However, the jokester
is foiled if the one being teased acts oblivious to their hurtful intent and
maintains a pleasant demeanor. “Oh didn’t get the joke. Could you explain it
to me?” Thanks, Aunt Lou, for a way to make sarcasm fizzle.
If you are very
reactive to sarcasm or teasing, you may want to learn how to hold onto yourself
and thus maintain your own inner peace. Call 515-274-4006 The Des Moines
Pastoral Counseling Center