December 26, 2004
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When Is It Socially Acceptable?
I‘ll admit, when Matt told me he was in law school, I almost didn’t want to date him.
When I was in medical school, lawyers were the butt of jokes all the time. I even levied a few at my colleagues, who were dual-degree MD-JDs. (Even MD-MBAs don’t get the flack that those poor masochists do.) And of course, all my MD-PhD colleagues viewed themselves as purists devoted soley to science. Everyone’s a martyr.
So, I am glad when I hear people tell me they’re going to medical school, graduate school, or law school. I know that there are still pockets of the country where people who strive to do something difficult are admired.
It’s a labor of love to keep trying. And I know you’re prepared for the flack that results from people who are too cynical (and impatient) to achieve a dream.
December 22, 2004
Lawyer JokesWhen is it considered socially acceptable to joke to a stranger that people like you should all be dead?
Answer: When you find out someone is a lawyer.I learned this little point about the expression of hatred when Christmas shopping today. The salesman saw that I had an American Bar Association credit card and proceeded to tell the ancient joke about what you call a large number of lawyers in a crashed bus at the bottom of a body of water, with the answer being “A good start.” He was Madison enough to make the body of water Lake Mendota.
Now, you could substitute any group for lawyers in that joke, and I’m sure the joke has had many versions over the years, used to express hostility to all sorts of groups. But the only version I’ve ever heard is aimed at lawyers, because apparently it’s just perfectly fine to say anything nasty you want about lawyers. But here I am, buying Christmas presents at the man’s store. How about a little “Merry Christmas”? Or even “Happy Holidays”? What the hell, I’d settle for “Seasons Greetings”?
Now, some of you out there may be thinking, “aww, she needs to lighten up.” Maybe. But consider that while you may run into a lawyer every now and then and make some sort of comment like this, the person you’re addressing runs into people like you every day. So the first ten, or twenty, or hundred times you hear some sort of disparaging joke perhaps you can find it funny and laugh at your own expense. But after a while, it’s not that you can’t laugh at yourself…it’s that it gets so OLD. But everyone thinks they’re so clever with their lawyer joke…
I’m getting ready to head home for the holidays now. Which means I’ll be seeing friends and acquaintances and meeting new people. Which means I’ll probably hear about 100 lawyer jokes over the next couple of weeks. Perhaps I’ll laugh politely if it’s a hot girl telling me the joke. Otherwise, don’t expect it–unless it’s one that I haven’t heard before and it’s funny, which I doubt. It’s not that I don’t have a sense of humor or that I can’t laugh at myself. I do, and I do. It’s that it’s played out, unoriginal, and lame. I’m not offended…I’m unamused.
If it’s cathartic for you as a way to vent your spleen at lawyers, fine. Enjoy yourself. Tell your lawyer jokes. But don’t think you’re funny or original. You’re not.
Posted by Bobby Allison-Gallimore at 04:39 PM
