Inappropriate Laughter
There are people who litter their conversations with titters much like people use “you know” to fill up their turns at talking, you know. I guess they really aren't very aware of their laughing and a laugh sometimes comes out at a very bad time. I overheard a conversation that ended with something like this:
Person 1: My cousin died.
Titterer: I'm sorry to hear that. *titter*
Person 1: (silence, followed by) I don't understand what was funny.
Titterer: Sorry. (Then some sort of explanation.)
(I don't remember what the bad news was but it wasn't funny.) I don't let this one bother me (and I don't run into it a much these days) since I figure it's just a bad habit that can't be broken.
Inflated Laughter
Then there are people who laugh louder and longer than necessary. For a while my office was near somebody who would laugh at everything that wasn't sad. If something deserved a smile it got a laugh. Something deserving a chuckle got a belly laugh. Something that was funny got long, loud gales of laughter. A problem with this is that the people involved in conversations with the guffawer would laugh along (and those laughs would be funny and would provoke more, louder laughs). The constant state of levity wore on me.
Laughing at One's Own Humor (or nonhumor)
People who laugh at everything they say bewilder me. I feel if you say something funny, the people who are listening to you should have the opportunity to let you know they found it funny before you burst out into laughter to let them know they heard something funny. And most people, even comedians, aren't saying something funny all the time. Sometimes it takes two or three sentences to tell a joke.
I bring all this up because I sit in a wing of our building where there is someone who combines Inflated Laughter with Laughing at One's Own Humor. It's getting very old. It's so loud it can't be ignored.
I wonder if there something wrong with me that I find all this laughing not funny.
4 comments:
The onbly person whose laughter I particularly notice is your cousin Susie Murphy. She punctuates every conversation with chuckles. It's just part of her way of talking, and I try to ignore it. But she would be a lot more effective if she could brak the habit.I hope you aren't too bothered by all the inappropriate laughter. Hahahaha!
P.S. The only real problem I have with inappropriate laughter is the canned laughter that accompanies TV sitcoms. Somebody pushes the laugh button after every utterance by a cast member, whether it's funny or not. And they use the same sound track for each laugh, every ten seconds of the show. Drives me up the wall.
So you wonder if something is wrong with you? Definitely! Get with the program and chuckle, Chuck.
I have a problem with that nervous laughter, too. Some people just don't seem to understand when it's appropriate. I think it's because those type are insecure...
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