# I Pit Myself For Thinking This Is Funny **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 24, 2008, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-myself-for-thinking-this-is-funny/464926 "2008-09-24T01:59:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2008, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-myself-for-thinking-this-is-funny/464926/41 "2008-09-24T13:59:23Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > Fat-cat CEO controls the fate of the hoi-polloi, but the hoi-polloi swings it back and brings fat-cat CEO to his fate. This would be somewhat more appropriate if we were talking about a CEO who bought up the company and fired all the workers in order to sell the assets and line his pockets. This is more of a situation where a CEO fired a bunch of thugs for being thugs, then had the poor judgment to actually discuss the situation with the thugs in person, and try to come up with a decent resolution. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2008, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-myself-for-thinking-this-is-funny/464926/42 "2008-09-24T14:03:29Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > I think it’s the irony of it that’s the issue. Not funny, ‘ha-ha’ … funny, ‘well isn’t that a hell of a thing’. > > Fat-cat CEO controls the fate of the hoi-polloi, but the hoi-polloi swings it back and brings fat-cat CEO to his fate. Ah, so _that’s_ what he meant about douchebags. A bunch of cretins beat a guy to death while he was trying to offer them their jobs back. I’m not seeing the poetic justice you seem to be implying. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2008, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-myself-for-thinking-this-is-funny/464926/43 "2008-09-24T14:08:30Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Ah, so _that’s_ what he meant about douchebags. A bunch of cretins beat a guy to death while he was trying to offer them their jobs back. I’m not seeing the poetic justice you seem to be implying. Hey I’m just pointing out the irony of a CEO being beaten by his employees. I didn’t expect the Spanish Inquisition. … two, three, four … ---
**Author:** ![Amp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Amp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amp)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2008, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-myself-for-thinking-this-is-funny/464926/44 "2008-09-24T14:09:41Z")
> [@aankh](#): > > I’ve wracked my brains, mentally gone over a whole slew of cheap puns, and I still don’t get it. What’s inappropriate or funny here? You have to know the old joke that starts, “Two jawans and four militants walk into a bar…” ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2008, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-myself-for-thinking-this-is-funny/464926/45 "2008-09-24T14:12:03Z")
The Scripture can offer us some moral guidance here. “Go thou and do likewise.” ---
**Author:** ![hawthorne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@hawthorne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hawthorne)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2008, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-myself-for-thinking-this-is-funny/464926/46 "2008-09-24T14:13:24Z")
I have to say **aankh** , that I think you’re being a tad harsh here (although this incident is pretty nasty and there are plenty of nasty things happening in India). I wandered around many museums in India straining to read the typewritten correspondence of India’s pre-independence leaders. It was moving stuff. There were many extraordinary disinterested public intellectuals involved in the birth of India. And they might be saddened by many things today. But to be so down on India now is to avoid the long view. Post the Scottish enlightenment of the 18th century, lots of bad things like this happened in Britain, and for a long time. Progress takes time. The founders of India did manage to create an enduring civil state. It has real elections. Peaceful transitions of government. Continuity of government. Zero coups even in deeply troubled times. It has a genuine judiciary. A free press. There are rising standards of living. India is doing very well, considering. ---
**Author:** ![Aankh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ebca7d/32.png) [@Aankh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aankh)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2008, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-myself-for-thinking-this-is-funny/464926/47 "2008-09-24T14:14:20Z")
> [@asterion](#): > > Sorry, forgot the important part: “Two jawans, four militants killed.” Tusken Raiders claim responsibility. Oh Star Wars! No wonder I didn’t get it. Not my choice of fandom. And, to be honest, I had to wiki Tusken Raiders. 🙂 > [@outlierrn](#): > > ``` > Me too! I'm so sorry > > ``` Don’t be man. I’m leading a gloriously contented, financially stable, happily married yuppie life in a comfortable country. It’s only people like me who ran away that have luxury of all that sentimental flatulence. India is a gorgeous place culturally and historically. I don’t think anywhere else on earth can match up to the unimaginable cultural diversity that has existed on that patch of subcontinent over the last 4000 years. Sixty years into independence as a (finally) unified nation, with all those hundreds of millions of different peoples knitted together, there are clearly teething problems. Time and (oh god, please oh please oh please!) good governance should take care of them. ---
**Author:** ![Binarydrone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3da27b/32.png) [@Binarydrone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Binarydrone)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2008, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-myself-for-thinking-this-is-funny/464926/48 "2008-09-24T14:14:56Z")
When you get into reading the details, you know the actual human being who had a family, loved his mother, who’s favorite color was blue and was working to cure cancer and stop all bad things in his spare time, naturally it is not funny. Conceptually, though, the idea of workers putting the smackdown on the filthy capitalist that fired them is pretty goddamn hilarious. I think that you people that are just SHOCKED (SHOCKED!) that anyone could find this funny are straight up being dishonest and should be ashamed of yourselves. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2008, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-myself-for-thinking-this-is-funny/464926/49 "2008-09-24T14:15:16Z")
I thought the “funny” part was the sullying India’s image…gee, ya think? It just seems a little giggleworthy in its understatementness. But it was the merest of ironic giggles, I swear. And **aankh** ’s post quickly moved it to a saddened sigh. ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2008, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-myself-for-thinking-this-is-funny/464926/50 "2008-09-24T14:16:56Z")
Hmm, I wonder how much it would cost to buy 500 plane tickets from Delhi to Lehman Bros. HQ. ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2008, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-myself-for-thinking-this-is-funny/464926/51 "2008-09-24T14:18:09Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Hey, look, everybody! A Rand fan who’s also an asshole! You sure don’t see _that_ every day. > > The man being beaten to death following the layoffs isn’t funny, it’s terrible. The statement from the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry is unintentionally pretty funny. I wear the scarlet A with pride. You filthy hippy. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2008, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-myself-for-thinking-this-is-funny/464926/52 "2008-09-24T14:23:58Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > I wear the scarlet A with pride. You filthy hippy. I thought it was the scarlet “A = A.” ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2008, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-myself-for-thinking-this-is-funny/464926/53 "2008-09-24T14:25:20Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > I wear the scarlet A with pride. Aww, isn’t that special? I’m glad you’re used to it by now. > [@](#): > > You filthy hippy. Plenty of non-hippies find Rand risible. And I think it’s amusing that you keep throwing the h word around when your views are actually more dated and locked in time as the hippie lifestyle is. ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2008, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-myself-for-thinking-this-is-funny/464926/54 "2008-09-24T14:26:09Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > Hey I’m just pointing out the irony of a CEO being beaten by his employees. > > I didn’t expect the Spanish Inquisition. > > … two, three, four … Nobody expe…oh never mind ---
**Author:** ![Aankh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ebca7d/32.png) [@Aankh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aankh)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2008, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-myself-for-thinking-this-is-funny/464926/55 "2008-09-24T14:29:38Z")
> [@hawthorne](#): > > I have to say **aankh** , that I think you’re being a tad harsh here (although this incident is pretty nasty and there are plenty of nasty things happening in India). > > _\_ > > India is doing very well, considering. Absolutely. Things _are_ going very well, considering. Has there been infrastructural progress? Hell, yes! Have first-world conveniences made inroads into the country? You bet! But you have to live the life of a middle-class Indian in India to know how it feels to be in the trenches. I won’t even bother talking about the lower economic classes, because…just nevermind. How it feels to fight for every inch you can get, how it feels to line up for hours every month for the few kilograms of government-subsidised sugar and oil at the neighbourood provision store, how it feels to watch a 70 year old roadside vegetable-seller bribe the neighbourhood goon so she’ll be left alone, how it feels to stop at a traffic signal and have a knee-high hungry child in rags come beg you for a few rupees. That’s the shit I ran away from. That’s the shit my parents have risen above thanks to their drive and ability. They get to enjoy the bright lights and malls and that whole lifestyle that India offers now, but none of the other bullshit is gone. It’s all there and other people are living it now. Not me, not mine. ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2008, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-myself-for-thinking-this-is-funny/464926/56 "2008-09-24T14:29:53Z")
> [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](#): > > I… don’t see what’s funny either. I mean, it’s not not funny in a ‘that’s not funny’-way, but merely in a ‘I don’t get it’-way; death can be pretty funny, such as when a clown slips on a banana peel, but I just don’t see the joke here… Anybody care to explain? Sure. See, a person is absolutely entitled to his or her job for life. Therefore, when an employer fires an employee, the employer has done something bad to the employee, which of course justifies the employees doing something bad to the employer. In other words, it’s like RAAAAAIIIIIIIINNNNN on you wedding day. ---
**Author:** ![Aankh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ebca7d/32.png) [@Aankh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aankh)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2008, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-myself-for-thinking-this-is-funny/464926/57 "2008-09-24T14:33:11Z")
And when I re-read your post, **Hawthorne** , I realised you made the ‘it takes time’ argument. Coincidentally, I was typing the \*exact \* same thing in reply to \*\*outlierrn \*\* while you were composing your post. I agree with you entirely. It takes time. ---
**Author:** ![Hamlet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hamlet/32/2818_2.png) [@Hamlet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamlet)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2008, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-myself-for-thinking-this-is-funny/464926/58 "2008-09-24T14:35:01Z")
> [@Binarydrone](#): > > Conceptually, though, the idea of workers putting the smackdown on the filthy capitalist that fired them is pretty goddamn hilarious. I think that you people that are just SHOCKED (SHOCKED!) that anyone could find this funny are straight up being dishonest and should be ashamed of yourselves. Bullshit. Ironic does not equal funny. Even if you accept the fact that it is ironic that a guy who fired someone gets killed by the same person is ironic, that doesn’t make it funny. It just makes it ironic. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2008, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-myself-for-thinking-this-is-funny/464926/59 "2008-09-24T14:41:10Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > In other words, it’s like RAAAAAIIIIIIIINNNNN on you wedding day. Isn’t it ironic, don’tcha think? ---
**Author:** ![Binarydrone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3da27b/32.png) [@Binarydrone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Binarydrone)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2008, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-myself-for-thinking-this-is-funny/464926/60 "2008-09-24T14:46:44Z")
> [@Hamlet](#): > > Bullshit. Ironic does not equal funny. Even if you accept the fact that it is ironic that a guy who fired someone gets killed by the same person is ironic, that doesn’t make it funny. It just makes it ironic. Shocked you are! Clutching your pearls ever. That anyone could be so insensitive. :rolleyes: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-myself-for-thinking-this-is-funny/464926.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-myself-for-thinking-this-is-funny/464926.md?page=4)