I told you last week. You don't remember??
Okay, here’s my “Joke Poo” version of the gaslighting joke:
Joke Poo: The Existential Plumber
Have you heard the joke about the existential plumber?
He said, “Are you sure you have a leak? Maybe you’re just perceiving a leak. Maybe the concept of ‘leak’ is socially constructed, and your reality is different from mine. Now, about my invoice…”
Alright, let’s break down this gaslighting joke.
Joke Dissection:
- Setup: “Have you heard the joke about gaslighting?” – This sets the expectation of a funny story or punchline.
- Punchline: “I told you last week. You don’t remember??” – This is where the humor lies. It’s not a joke about gaslighting, it is gaslighting in action. The punchline directly embodies the concept it is presenting. It’s insidious and denial wrapped in a single phrase.
Key Elements:
- Gaslighting: The core concept. A form of manipulation where someone makes you question your sanity and memory.
- Memory: Plays on the victim’s potential doubt about their own recollections.
- Doubt/Uncertainty: The feeling the perpetrator wants to instill.
- Subtlety/Insidiousness: The joke’s effectiveness comes from its casual and almost believable delivery.
Humorous Enrichment & New Joke:
Let’s leverage the fact that gaslighting relies on memory manipulation. Here’s a “Did you know?” followed by a joke:
Did You Know? Human memory is surprisingly unreliable. Studies have shown that we can unintentionally “remember” events that never happened, especially if suggested to us repeatedly. This fallibility makes us all potentially vulnerable to subtle forms of manipulation, like gaslighting.
New Joke:
Why did the cognitive psychologist get fired from his gaslighting support group?
Because he kept “helping” them by “correcting” their memories…even though they swear he wasn’t even there!
Explanation of why this is funny:
- It connects the science of memory to the act of gaslighting. The “Did You Know” adds a layer of (true) information.
- It plays on the professional responsibility vs. manipulative nature. The cognitive psychologist’s job is to understand and help with memory, but in this context, his ‘corrections’ become insidious.
- The final phrase doubles down on the gaslighting. The victims are questioning even his presence, highlighting how deeply the manipulation runs.
This is meant to be a more complex take on the original concept, adding extra layers of comedic effect. It utilizes irony, relatable professional context, and doubles down on the initial premise by amplifying the gaslighting effect to the extreme.