I have been writing for the Miner for just over a year now and have enjoyed making this campus laugh. That is, after all, all that I wanted to do. I haven't been getting paid to do this, it's just that I like to do it. I figured that the Miner was a bit to dry and needed just a little something to liven it up from week to week. But unfortunately, it looks as if the Miner just is not ready for any kind of humor.

Every week that I wrote I walked a thin line in my attempts to make people laugh. I say this, because every time one makes a joke, one runs the risk of offending someone, somewhere. This is just a fact of life as unfortunate as that may be. Its just that I can't help feel that this paper is a bit too cautious for its own good.

Last week a good friend of mine wrote a satirical letter in responce to article about Canada. I read the letter and found it extremely humorous. I found it funny because I could see the that she was only making fun of those over-reactive individuals that seem to always find a way to get offended at something. My friend, I felt, played this role to a tee. The Miner on the other hand failed to see the implied humor.

They instead decided to print a disclaimer at the end apologizing to those individuals that I may have offended with my article. But what the Miner Editor failed to see was the fact that they effectively removed the intended humor of the letter and dictated to the reader that the letter should have been read seriously. This is sad.

However, I'm pleased to say that the majority of the people that I have talked to were able to see the humor of the letter and ignored the silly disclaimer. But on the other hand, I'm sure that there are many others that now hold ill will toward my friend for her attempt to make them laugh.

I think that it's a shame that so many people on this campus look so hard for confrontation and controversy. Sure, I grant you that there is plenty of room to get upset about most anything. But wouldn't it be better for us to just overlook much of this and push on with life? Why is it so much better to react and get offended? Why is controversy in such high demand?

I wish to thank those students and faculty that enjoyed my columns from week to week and always made sure to let me know that I made them laugh. This was the only payment that I ever asked for. I'm just sorry that circumstances have brought me to this point.

So I figure that now would be a good time to get out before I manage to offend someone and get into serious trouble. After all, trying to make people laugh when they would rather get offended is not worth the trouble that it can cause. Last week's events seemed to me to be a sign of things to come. I just hope the Miner will be ready to laugh sometime in the future.
Sincerely,
John Johnson