Example of subversive humor, from irony

OK, so now I'm going to give you a "case study" of how one can have subversive humor. I think lawyers and law enforcement people will especially appreciate this one.

Most Americans know that they have a "right to remain silent" when arrested or detained by police. Many who are younger do not know where this came from. This right came from a very important Supreme Court decision in 1966. It resulted from concern that police were using excess force or extreme tactics to "make someone talk." The case was "Miranda v. Arizona" and hence the rights came to be known as "Miranda rights." Police have to read to a suspect their "Miranda rights" to let them know that they have the right to remain silent and the right to obtain counsel (a lawyer).

OK, now here is where the irony comes in. Miranda, the guy convicted of rape etc., due to what his defense claimed was excess police coercion to obtain his confession, had his conviction overturned as a result of the Supreme Court decision. However, since there was sufficient evidence without the confession, they retried him and got a conviction. He served eleven years in jail. According to the Wikipedia account he made a small living after being in stir (slang for jail; I'm just giving you an old fashion term for it, like "the big house") by autographing Miranda rights cards. That's the first small example of irony, where the irony is "against" law enforcement (remember I explained that irony is when the outcome is not quite as funny or satisfying as first promised, in a joke format). So there is an irony that he obtained a living from ironically signing Miranda cards.

But then he is whammed with a second irony, so the irony now swings "against" him. He is killed in a bar fight January 31, 1976, and while police detain a suspect, they never are able to solve the crime because the suspect, yep, you guessed it, exercised his Miranda rights!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miranda_v._Arizona

Now, so we have the setting for some exquisite irony. Remember, no one is laughing at the victim of Miranda's assault, his family's suffering, the police attempt to solve crimes, or Miranda's murder. There is nothing funny in any of the facts at all. However, just to be on the topic of religion for a moment, it shows that something "good" can come out of the worst situations because Miranda rights are a fundamental foundation of goodness and freedom in this country, even when at times crimes go unsolved. I praised the Supremes highly when they rendered the Miranda rights decision (June 13, 1966).

So it is important for you to realize that ironic followed by subversive humor does not indicate sympathy or "siding" with "either party." The person making the humor did not make up the situations or take sides. The irony presents itself through the facts, which I outlined above. So, for example, as the person about to make the subversive humor, I am just observing the facts of what happened and noticing the irony as described in the Wikipedia entry.

Therefore, one can take the fact that irony worked "both ways," in that the guy got a laugh on police by making money signing Miranda cards, but also it then boomeranged against him because his possible killer stayed silent (Miranda rights) as a suspect, and now create the subversive humor.

There is a song by Chicago called "Only the Beginning." It has a line in it, sang plaintively, "Mostly I'm silent, mm, mm, mm, mm, silent...."

LOL! So if you and a friend wanted to joke in code talk between you in a subversive way, you would sing "Mostly I'm silent..... silent.... la la la la...." and you'd be invoking the irony of the Miranda right to remain silent! LOL LOL LOL. It's not being mean or partisan or unsympathetic because it is just a "short hand" way to reference the irony of having to invoke silence in a criminal setting. It's subversive because it's observing that maybe, or maybe not, a lot of people have reason to be "silent," both for good reasons or for bad reasons.

Also, there is a fun "bonus" irony that Chicago, the band name, makes one who remembers history recall that Chicago police at one time had a vigorous interrogation reputation, one that was not very nice.

So if I were sitting here with my ex, with whom I shared lots of subversive humor, while watching a news show or something that has an interrogation scene, one of us might suddenly sing, "Mostly I'm silent, whoa, whoa, whoa, silent, la la la la...." It would be invoking the irony of the whole situation, but not a unsympathetic statement toward the present day news that made us think of the subversive humor.

So there you have it! A real life example I am giving you of the beauty of subversive humor, especially such a gem as this one, having sprung from double progressive irony (the first one small and the second irony HUGE). LOL!