Joking sequences deliberately extinguish any serious topic raised in working-class groups

Evidence

13 Other studies of the informal working-class public sphere (Halle 1984; LeMasters 1975) show a premium placed on jokes, one-liners and unequivocal speech (though the authors of these field studies do not themselves draw out this aspect of members’ speech). 14 This contrasts to the ”spiral of silence” of the sort Noelle-Neuman (1984) discusses, in which people who believe themselves to be in the minority are silent about their opinions for fear of antagonizing the majority. 15 There was a clear formula for treating the rare moments when a topic that could be taken as ”serious” arose. It went: a person said something that could be taken as serious. The next thing said had to be a joke: rarely a joke on the topic, but most often, a joke on the speaker herself or himself. The next thing said had to be an even bigger joke that topped off the previous joke. So the pattern was: serious comment, joke on the speaker, bigger joke. If anyone was ever serious in the group context, the two jokes in a row would vanquish that illusion. — Nina Eliasoph, Avoiding politics, 1932

Categorization

• SEED: The ‘serious comment, joke on speaker, bigger joke’ formula is a precise, almost algorithmic social mechanism — an essay on humor as social silencing device could open with it.
• XREF: Connects to the chapter’s core theme of how apathy is collectively produced through everyday talk — this is the micro-mechanics of the evaporation of politics. — connects to: Humor’s timing depends on silence marking the rupture of expected order — George Michelsen Foy, Zero Decibels: The Quest for Absolute…, 260; Enforced joking punishes serious position-taking, especially among women. — Nina Eliasoph, Avoiding politics: how Americans…, 826; Racist jokes can persist even inside sincere interracial friendships through charitable attribution — Amit Singh, “Carnal conviviality” and the end of…, 82 (+1 more)
• corroborated: 4 independent passages support this claim — Nina Eliasoph, Avoiding politics: how Americans…, 1932

Broader Connections

• Enforced joking punishes serious position-taking, especially among women. #expands (0.82) — Nina Eliasoph, Avoiding politics, 826
• Racist jokes can persist even inside sincere interracial friendships through charitable attribution #exemplifies (0.75) — Amit Singh, “Carnal conviviality” and the end of…, 82
• Humor’s timing depends on silence marking the rupture of expected order #corroborates (0.72) — George Michelsen Foy, Zero Decibels, 260