I’ve been thinking about the spirit of the Badhacks community, and specifically the humor of it, for a long time. While it’s easy for me to understand, having been on the site since the beginning, I can also understand why other people might not get it; I can even understand why plenty of people find it offensive.
This morning, I saw a news article about a Belgian TV show that makes fun of all different kinds of people: Cripples, minorities, little people, etc., but does it right in front of the person in question. It sounded crass at first, but reading through the article, it became clear that it was more a case of humor for humor’s sake. Here’s a link to the article: https://www.expatica.com/fr/news/country-news/Entertainment-Belgium-television-Taboo_1803581.html
No topic should be off-limits to humor - even the most sensitive topics and issues. In fact, those are topics that really ought to receive even *more* humor and jokes! Humor is a uniquely human invention - a way of making light of things that are upsetting or just don’t make sense in the world. It’s the reason why even the most learned and esteemed fellows can’t help but crack a smile at a joke about sex or flatulence.
Humor is one of those things that’s so hard to explain; you either get it or you don’t. It’s like trying to explain music to the deaf, or color to the blind. Everyone has a different sense of humor, and what’s funny to you might not be funny to me. And that’s fine! But I think issues come up when folks take something like Badhacks seriously. I’ve always found it clear that the content of some hacks is so ridiculously over-the-top that it’s obviously a joke. But, as I said, not everyone has the same sense of humor.
My bottom line here is that, even if you don’t think something is funny, I hope you can at least see why other people think it’s funny. And before casting an eye of scorn, consider the context. Would real racists like to see their heroes in a scatological hack? Far from it! Real racists and extremists tend to have no sense of humor at all. When you go off the deep end, you lose the ability to laugh at yourself. Never be afraid to laugh at yourself. After all, you might be missing out on the joke of the century!









