Just joking — NJEA’s prayer for Christie’s death | Commentary | NewJerseyNewsroom.com -- Your State. Your News.

BY PAM LOBLEY

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

COMMENTARY

So the NJEA sent out a memo, a small one really, to just 17,000 members, and at the end, they offered a prayer for the death of Governor Christie. Now they are apologizing and saying it was just a joke.

On behalf of humorists everywhere, I must object. I've been writing comedy in various forms for 20 years now, and I think I know a joke when I see one. That was not a joke. This is a joke:

Q: How do you make friends with a squirrel?

A: Climb a tree and act like a nut.

See how it works? There is a set up, and a punchline. It's all about structure. Let's try it again.

Q: Why is George Washington buried at Mount Vernon?

A: Because he is dead.

See that? It was a little unexpected, that punchline, but then it made perfect sense. It's called surprise.

Jokes don't have to be clean. I know lots of hilarious jokes with bad words. I bet you do, too. Jokes can offend people, or a group of people, and still be funny, like this:

Q: How can you tell the WASPs at a Chinese restaurant?

A: They're the ones NOT sharing the food.

But just because something is offensive, doesn't make it funny. A joke can be in bad taste, but bad taste doesn't mean there's a joke in there somewhere. This is a cop out that typically unfunny people make when they want to make a joke, but do not have the skill and dedication required to do so. If you are thinking you would like to try be funny, here are some tips:

First, think of rhythm and pace. You can't just have some rambling statement ... "Dear Lord, blah blah blah this year you have taken, yada yada" ... and on and on. You've got to be crisp. Set up, payoff.

Second, invoking the premature, agonizing deaths of people like Patrick Swayze and Farrah Fawcett is not that funny. Not really a good way to get the audience on your side. There is humor to be found in tragedy, but that kind of sophisticated comedy is best left to professionals.

Third, test your material before you put it in prime time. Even the most tried and true comedians go to small, quiet venues to try out their new jokes. Sending out an untried joke to 17,000 people is just too risky.

It's a tough time to be a teacher right now. The last thing they need is leaders that are a bunch of jokers.

See what I did there?

Pam Lobley is a columnist and co-author of the book "You Definitely Know You're a Mom When ..." To read her past columns or get contact information, visit her website: www.pamlobley.com.