Call me cranky

It’s April Fool’s Day. I’ve never been a fan.

My friend, A, called this morning to pull a prank. Hahaha.

I wondered aloud if there are certain personality types that enjoy that sort of thing, you know, trying to fool someone into thinking something is true that isn’t and then laughing at them for their gullibility.

It’s even more fun, apparently, if there is a group of onlookers to see it, say, friends or co-workers. Hahaha.

I have a sense of humor, but I just never saw public humiliation and being the butt of a joke as funny, no matter how “benign” it’s intended to be.

Wikipedia explains that “A practical joke, or prank, is a mischievous trick played on someone, generally causing the victim to experience embarrassment, perplexity, confusion, or discomfort.”

Call me cranky, or no fun, but what’s hilarious about that?

Not to mention that such things can too easily cross the line into harassment and bullying.

I got to thinking. What if, instead of pranking on April 1, we all did something to benefit others that we might not ordinarily do — hence the “fool” part?

Like, I don’t know, give a buck or two to that nonprofit we’ve been wanting to support but “don’t have the money” for, or volunteer at a senior center and try to make someone laugh or at least crack a smile, or make reading fun by tutoring at a local literacy program.

There’s just too much mean-spiritedness in the world today. Do we really need a holiday to encourage it?

Let’s save laughing for those times when we can do it together, and not at the expense of someone else.