Do you seek to embarrass someone whos done something embarrasing?

[Mise]

My favourite TV comedies centre around people embarassing themselves, or generally doing cringe-worthy things (Curb Your Enthusiasm, The Office, etc). IRL I like to laugh at other people's embarassment, but not in a mean way, in a "haha, that's soooo like what Larry David would have done!" way.

 

[Mango Elephant]

When I'm reading a book and a character does something embarrasing or stupid I have to put the book down for a couple days until I can digest what happened and I don't feel terrible when I read the following events that stem from the embarrassment of the character.

 

[Leonel]

I think it's just mean spirited. I've seen instances where someone might have accidentally spilled the contents of their cafeteria trays on the ground and a group of boys will look and applaud and hoot at the person.

 

[Xanikk999]

Hey dont bump my old threads i got some really embarrasing things deep down at the bottom of the pile here from years ago.

 

[Joecoolyo]

Hey dont bump my old threads i got some really embarrasing things deep down at the bottom of the pile here from years ago.

Oh wow, I didn't realize how old this thread was!

 

[Disgustipated]

The OP doesn't give an example. I would never do it to a stranger anyways. If it's a coworker, I'd point out their embarassment (in good fun of course, not maliciously). Laughing at work makes the day go by faster. And laughing is good for the soul. Obviously if it was something that bothered them, I wouldn't do it.

One girl at work thought the air hose in one of the rooms at work was actually a water hose. We made fun of her for like 5 minutes because of that. But she played along and made fun of herself as well. If you can't make fun of yourself, you are taking things too seriously.

 

[Brighteye]

This.

I mean, I feel this way about characters in movies/on television when they're doing something really embarrassing too. I hate it

When I'm reading a book and a character does something embarrasing or stupid I have to put the book down for a couple days until I can digest what happened and I don't feel terrible when I read the following events that stem from the embarrassment of the character.

Yep. I have trouble plowing through books like that. Part of writing a good novel is getting your readers to empathise with your characters. And then if you make them do something grossly stupid and embarrassing you make your readers feel bad and you slice that empathy away. That's not good writing. That's twisting things for the plot.

I was once made to watch an episode of The Office. I walked out after 15 minutes. I cannot understand why it's funny. It's sordid and unpleasant to laugh at that sort of stuff; I feel dirty by association. I must have had a sense of humour bypass when it comes to embarrassment, because humour in my mind comes from wordplay and jokes, not people being unbearable. I don't like watching any sitcoms.
Perhaps someone here can explain why these things are so funny?

 

[BCLG100]

Hey dont bump my old threads i got some really embarrasing things deep down at the bottom of the pile here from years ago.

Weren't you the one with the girl problems?

 

[Whiskey_Lord]

Normally I don't, but last night on facebook, some one just made it all too tempting.

Some guy posted some obnoxious joke about airing out his balls (on a woman's page, no less) and I couldn't resist by parodying his statement. Apparently, he was just smart enough to realize when he was being made fun of and fired back with some lame comment about my hair. Well I figured that two can play the game of judging one by a facebook photo, so I made some insinuation about him being gay because he's a sailor. Yeah, it's an obvious stereotype, but he took the bait hook, line, and sinker and proceeded to spout off some stats about the marines being more gay than the navy. Watching this guy implode on that poor girl's webpage was pretty funny, though I admit it was vanity on my part. Some fools just make it too easy though.

 

[Abaddon]

Normally I don't, but last night on facebook, some one just made it all too tempting.

Some guy posted some obnoxious joke about airing out his balls (on a woman's page, no less) and I couldn't resist by parodying his statement. Apparently, he was just smart enough to realize when he was being made fun of and fired back with some lame comment about my hair. Well I figured that two can play the game of judging one by a facebook photo, so I made some insinuation about him being gay because he's a sailor. Yeah, it's an obvious stereotype, but he took the bait hook, line, and sinker and proceeded to spout off some stats about the marines being more gay than the navy. Watching this guy implode on that poor girl's webpage was pretty funny, though I admit it was vanity on my part. Some fools just make it too easy though.

 

[Communisto]

Communisto likes Whiskey_Lord's sick burn on that dumbass

 

[Souron]

When I'm reading a book and a character does something embarrasing or stupid I have to put the book down for a couple days until I can digest what happened and I don't feel terrible when I read the following events that stem from the embarrassment of the character.

This.

I mean, I feel this way about characters in movies/on television when they're doing something really embarrassing too. I hate it

I actually feel incredibly awkward when I watch someone embarrassing themselves. I can't stand it. For instance that horrible speech the Arizona Governor gave a few days ago with her 10 second pauses. *shivers*. I would want to kill myself.

All the above.

I sometimes skip over or tune out awkward moments in shows when somebody is making a fool of themselves. Sometimes when it's not convenient to skip, I would stop watching.

It's not just embarrassing, it's also when someone does something dumb.

 

[Mango Elephant]

All the above.

I sometimes skip over or tune out awkward moments in shows when somebody is making a fool of themselves. Sometimes when it's not convenient to skip, I would stop watching.

It's not just embarrassing, it's also when someone does something dumb.

Yeah, like when Scarlett O'Hara from GWTW decided stole her sister's beau, that was so dumb I could read for almost a week.