Quote:
Originally Posted by fazstp
I am notoriously bad at judging what the right circumstances are. I don't know how many times I have made a joke that nobody has understood and have been completely embarrassed by the time I have explained to people what I meant and why I thought it was funny.
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In that case you might want to keep this Mark Twain quote close to you.
"Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt"
That's not a matter of self censorship or oversensitive courtesy. It's a reflection of personal discipline and an ability to read others. Time and place for everything, if you're not absolutely sure it's time, then it isn't.
The biggest fundamental issue with delivering jokes and witty one liners is the underlying justification for the comment in the first place. A real comedian understands how to add a comment that will colour or shape the current subject in a funny way, a jokester will just make a comment to get people to notice him. One is hilarious, one is annoying.
As for that whole atheist / egalitarian shenanigan. I've met far more atheists
faithfully thumping their science books than I've met bible zealots. Little is more annoying than hearing a 'free thinking genius' patronizing a crowd because they don't automatically adhere to their textbook world views. Ever try presenting a different belief to one of those? The black and white universe view is amazing.