Train Off The Raillery

Trains (and trams) have sometimes been known to go off the rails in and near Adelaide.  People have been known to go off the rails too, so...

...to prevent both of these occurrences in future perhaps we need to think more about training people off the raillery.

I looked through my large and cumbersome first edition copy of The Macquarie Dictionary today, the reason being that I wanted to respond, via this blog, to the Federal Government's efforts to address the unhealthy concerns of many young people (and quite a lot of not-so-young people) about the way they look.

COMPLICATED ISSUES

The main problem with complicated issues, such as this one, is that the core challenge is easy to overlook.  Why are so many people so concerned about their appearance?  Has the problem mostly to do with misguided expressions of humour?  Perhaps you think that most attempts at humour in Australia are misguided.

I'm interested in humour and how it is sometimes a social problem.  Some types of humour are really a form of bullying.  Have you ever thought about the possible connections?

Bullying, whether at school, at work, in the home, or elsewhere, is not even noticed quite a lot of the time because it is thought of as "innocent" teasing.  The reason I looked in my dictionary was to read the definitions of both bullying and teasing.  It was then that I came across the word raillery (it is good to learn something new every day).

APPEARANCES

Perhaps most people are concerned about their appearance because they are afraid of how other people (especially peers, known bullies, competitors, and those they wish to impress) may react, especially if some previous experiences have been humiliating.

Raillery was defined in the dictionary as good-humoured ridicule or banter.  I wondered if ridicule and good humour were somewhat contradictory so I looked up good humour and read that it meant cheerful or amiable mood.  Good-humoured is meant to mean having or showing a pleasant or amiable mood.

Then I looked up ridicule.  The meaning in the dictionary stunned me for a few moments as I wondered how the distinguished panel of editors could have given raillery a definition that extended beyond the boundaries of logic.  Do you think it is possible to be good humoured and to ridicule someone at the same time?  Here is the Macquarie definition of ridicule:

words or actions intended to excite contemptuous laughter at a person or thing; derision.

The essential fact about humour is that it is a matter of taste, just like preferring to listen to a particular type of music, or choosing to wear clothing of a certain style and colour, or eating foods previously found to be palatable.  Just as I like Mozart, mangoes and memorable millinery, your tastes may be completely different. Raillery is only tasteful to those who are off the rails.

Instead of asking you to find the definition of off the rails for yourself, here is the Macquarie Dictionary's version:

in an abnormal condition; insane; out of control

It is probably a good ideas to look up contemptuous yourself as it is a useful word to understand.  Contemptuous laughter directed at a person (or their things/stuff) is not very pleasant.  It is a form of teasing I would call bullying.  It is why this blog aims only to highlight, hopefully humorously, my observations about social issues, social foibles and the general habits of Adelaide's inhabitants, especially occupational groups.

Public criticism of an individual is not to my taste (though you are welcome to request my confidential, fee-based assessment of your own talents, shortcomings and amusing foibles).

If you are worried about your appearance, have no fear.  There is absolutely no problem with the way you look, or the way anyone looks.  Who has the right to say there is?  Unpleasant communication and unhealthy perceptions are the real problems. 

Written by a happy and healthy average size 14-16 who wishes that managers of clothing shops would recognise that it would be a good idea, from the busy potential customer's point of view, to have many different garments of the same size on one rail.  

Some occasional constructive criticism about the suitability of a particular garment on a particular customer would be advisable before the item is purchased (especially when something is obviously too small). This may prevent others from resorting to raillery.