2009
"HEY THAT'S NOT FUNNY!"
“Falcon the Balloon Boy” is funny to me, because the name “Falcon” is funny, and “Balloon Boy” is alliterative (and reminiscent of “Boy in the Bubble”… which I also find funny). #saveballoonboy is funny to me, because I imagine millions of people holding their hands out their windows just in case he drops by.
If I imagine a small child drifting aimlessly through the sky, crying because he feels alone, terrified, cold, and guilty, I feel sad. If I imagine a precocious little twerp giggling manically as he sails the fluffy clouds, tethered to a big, cartoony balloon animal (a giraffe, say, or a big pink cock and balls), I think about chuckling again.
Whether I picture something tragic or something comic, both visions share something in common: they are temporary fictions in my own mind. I don’t know these people. I would probably not be able to laugh if I knew the family personally, or it was my child. On the other hand, even if it I was personally involved, I might laugh about it next week (with the family, even!), after the trauma has faded and the boy has been safe at home for a while.
If I feel like I have something funny or interesting to say on Twitter, Tumblr or elsewhere, I’m going to go ahead and say it, and I hope the people whose posts I love to read will continue to do the same.
If I, or anyone else, writes something that upsets you, the Unfollow command is right there waiting.
