--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Who decides which defects are funny and…" description: "\"“Who decides which defects are funny and which ones are tragic? Nobody laughs at blind people or makes iron lung jokes.”\" — David Mitchell" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/342/david-mitchell-264_blind-people_who-decides-which-defects-are-funny-and_1546602.jpg" --- # Who decides which defects are funny and which ones are… ![“Who decides which defects are funny and which ones are tragic? Nobody laughs at blind people or makes iron lung jokes.” quote by David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/342/david-mitchell-264_blind-people_who-decides-which-defects-are-funny-and_1546602.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/342/david-mitchell-264_blind-people_who-decides-which-defects-are-funny-and_1546602.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/342/david-mitchell-264_blind-people_who-decides-which-defects-are-funny-and_1546602.jpg) > ““Who decides which defects are funny and which ones are tragic? Nobody laughs at blind people or makes iron lung jokes.”” [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Humor should not target marginalized groups; comedic value lies elsewhere. **In simple terms:** Avoid jokes that exploit disability. Key Takeaway Choose inclusive, thoughtful humor. Themes ethics comedy inclusion Mood critical empathetic Type philosophical observational When to use this quote - stand‑up routines - writing - media commentary Key Concepts social responsibility taboo topics Questions to Reflect On - What topics are off‑limits for jokes? - How can comedy challenge norms respectfully? A Different Perspective Humor can be edgy without being harmful. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Blind people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blind-people/) [Comedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comedy/) [Funny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/funny/) [Humor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humor/) [Iron Lung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/iron-lung/) ## Related quotes > [Isn't that sad! I'm so fragile. It's tragic laughs. Can you believe it? That's so sad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edie-sedgwick/isn-t-that-sad-i-m-so-fragile-it-s-tragic-laughs-can-you-believe-it/) [Edie Sedgwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edie-sedgwick/) > [“Consider the power of love. I remember a mother I met once as I made a professional house call. This woman was confined in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-m-nelson/consider-the-power-of-love-i-remember-a-mother-i-met-once-as-i-made-a/) [Russell M. Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-m-nelson/) > [Some survived due to advancements in engineering. Personally I'd take a vaccine over living in an iron lung. http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2012/01/what-america-looked-like-polio-children-paralyzed-in-iron-lungs/251098/](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-tayler/some-survived-due-to-advancements-in-engineering-personally-i-d-take/) [Howard Tayler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-tayler/) > [These friendly skies aint for you, they for me and mine, this the year of the grimy nigga, Ragtime, peep these niggas on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wu-tang/these-friendly-skies-aint-for-you-they-for-me-and-mine-this-the-year/) [Wu Tang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wu-tang/) > [on Broadway money rules. Like a host of vultures, the ticket brokers, the speculators, the craft unions, the agents, the backers, the real estate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marya-mannes/on-broadway-money-rules-like-a-host-of-vultures-the-ticket-brokers/) [Marya Mannes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marya-mannes/) > [When I was a teenager, I was in an iron-lung.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/creed-bratton/when-i-was-a-teenager-i-was-in-an-iron-lung/) [Creed Bratton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/creed-bratton/) > [All of us in the Senate live in an iron lung-the iron lung of politics, and it is no easy task to emerge from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/all-of-us-in-the-senate-live-in-an-iron-lung-the-iron-lung-of/) [John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/) > [I have a vague memory of seeing an image of a child in an iron lung and the phrase "sad little breathing machine" coming…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthea-harvey/i-have-a-vague-memory-of-seeing-an-image-of-a-child-in-an-iron-lung/) [Matthea Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthea-harvey/) > [I was actually in an iron lung for about a year, and then I was paralysed from the neck down for another year after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sanborn/i-was-actually-in-an-iron-lung-for-about-a-year-and-then-i-was/) [David Sanborn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sanborn/) > [It's you people dying from nothing that are screwed. I got all sorts of neat gadgets waiting for me...oxygen tent, iron lung.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/it-s-you-people-dying-from-nothing-that-are-screwed-i-got-all-sorts/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [If you think dope is for kicks and for thrills, you're out of your mind. There are more kicks to be had in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billie-holiday/if-you-think-dope-is-for-kicks-and-for-thrills-you-re-out-of-your/) [Billie Holiday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billie-holiday/) > [I had a mild case of polio - not enough to put me in an iron lung, but enough to keep me bedridden for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-redford/i-had-a-mild-case-of-polio-not-enough-to-put-me-in-an-iron-lung-but/) [Robert Redford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-redford/) > [“You're a freak. But I really can't accept these-' Were you raised in a barn? Don't be ruuuuuude, my boy. They're a gift.' Blay…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-ward/you-re-a-freak-but-i-really-can-t-accept-these-were-you-raised-in-a/) [J.R. Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-ward/) > [“Faye keeps forgetting what she'll be giving up if she decides to stay here. Access to modern medicine, for starters. In 2015 people can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tiffany-reisz/faye-keeps-forgetting-what-she-ll-be-giving-up-if-she-decides-to-stay/) [Tiffany Reisz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tiffany-reisz/) > [“Paralytic It happens. Will it go on? ---- My mind a rock, No fingers to grip, no tongue, My god the iron lung That…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/paralytic-it-happens-will-it-go-on-my-mind-a-rock-no-fingers-to-grip/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) ## More by David Mitchell > [“In the next room a freckly girl Julia's age sat in a wheelchair. One of her legs wasn't there. She'd probably love to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/in-the-next-room-a-freckly-girl-julia-s-age-sat-in-a-wheelchair-one/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [“I envied my uncritical, unthinking sisters.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/i-envied-my-uncritical-unthinking-sisters/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [“... Ethical cyberexplorers are responsible, yeah? We are friendly ghosts in the machine, not poltergeists or hooligans. We are a growing breed. Over sixty-five…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/ethical-cyberexplorers-are-responsible-yeah-we-are-friendly-ghosts-in/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [“I succumbed. Late-fifteenth-century verb, Old French succomber or Latin succumbere, but a basic necessity of the human condition, especially mine.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/i-succumbed-late-fifteenth-century-verb-old-french-succomber-or-latin/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [Your environment affects you wherever you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/your-environment-affects-you-wherever-you-are/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [“The second tunnel’s a Ministry of Defence tunnel...dug for a nuclear bomb shelter. The entrance is in the garden center at Woolworth’s in Great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/the-second-tunnel-s-a-ministry-of-defence-tunnel-dug-for-a-nuclear/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [“Loyalty looks simple... but it ain't.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/loyalty-looks-simple-but-it-ain-t/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [“Only the trombonist played on. That's trombonists for you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/only-the-trombonist-played-on-that-s-trombonists-for-you/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [War's an auction where whoever can pay the most in damage and still be standing wins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/war-s-an-auction-where-whoever-can-pay-the-most-in-damage-and-still/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [The human world is made of stories, not people. The people the stories use to tell themselves are not to be blamed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/the-human-world-is-made-of-stories-not-people-the-people-the-stories/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [So little is actually worthy of belief or disbelief. Better to strive to coexist than seek to disapprove . . .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/so-little-is-actually-worthy-of-belief-or-disbelief-better-to-strive/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [I elbowed my way into the grubby café, bought a pie that tasted of shoe polish and a pot of tea with cork crumbs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/i-elbowed-my-way-into-the-grubby-caf-bought-a-pie-that-tasted-of-shoe/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [“A classical LP was playing... ... Jealous and sweet, this music was, sobbing and gorgeous, muddy and crystal. But if the right words existed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/a-classical-lp-was-playing-jealous-and-sweet-this-music-was-sobbing/) [david mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [How lazily "xperts" dismiss what they fail to understand!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/how-lazily-xperts-dismiss-what-they-fail-to-understand/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [“Writing poetry's,' I looked around the solarium, but Madame Crommelynck's got a tractor beam, 'sort of . . . gay.' '"Gay"? A merry activity?'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/writing-poetry-s-i-looked-around-the-solarium-but-madame-crommelynck/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) [Explore all 748 David Mitchell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) ## More Blind people quotes > [Blackout is the way we feel how the blind people feel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/blackout-is-the-way-we-feel-how-the-blind-people-feel/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I think we are blind. Blind people who can see, but do not see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/i-think-we-are-blind-blind-people-who-can-see-but-do-not-see/) [Jose Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [On Jesus: "Everyone around me was flat-out in love with him, and who wouldn't be? He was good with animals, he loved his mother,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haven-kimmel/on-jesus-everyone-around-me-was-flat-out-in-love-with-him-and-who/) [Haven Kimmel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haven-kimmel/) > [I work a lot with blind people in my spare time outside of Unilever, and I count my blessings every day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-polman/i-work-a-lot-with-blind-people-in-my-spare-time-outside-of-unilever/) [Paul Polman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-polman/) > [Strange how blind people are! They are horrified by the torture chambers of the Middle Ages, but their arsenals fill them with pride!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertha-von-suttner/strange-how-blind-people-are-they-are-horrified-by-the-torture/) [Bertha von Suttner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertha-von-suttner/) > [Love isn't blind. People KNOW when they're getting treated wrong, but they put up with it because they don't want to leave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonya-parker/love-isn-t-blind-people-know-when-they-re-getting-treated-wrong-but/) [SONYA PARKER](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonya-parker/) > [“Maybe this is kind of cliche, but animals, well, dogs, are what I do for a living. One reason I like spending time with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merrill-markoe/maybe-this-is-kind-of-cliche-but-animals-well-dogs-are-what-i-do-for/) [Merrill Markoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merrill-markoe/) > [We always think, 'Well, for a person who's blind, it must be an amazing, joyful miracle if by some chance their sight is restored…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosemary-mahoney/we-always-think-well-for-a-person-who-s-blind-it-must-be-an-amazing/) [Rosemary Mahoney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosemary-mahoney/) > [Why did we become blind, I don't know, perhaps one day we'll find out, Do you want me to tell you what I think,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/why-did-we-become-blind-i-don-t-know-perhaps-one-day-we-ll-find-out/) [Jose Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [Blind people come to the park just to hear him pitch.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reggie-jackson/blind-people-come-to-the-park-just-to-hear-him-pitch/) [Reggie Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reggie-jackson/) > [As well as being a comedian, I am - whether I like it or not - representative of another group of people, people who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-mccausland/as-well-as-being-a-comedian-i-am-whether-i-like-it-or-not/) [Chris McCausland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-mccausland/) > [If the whole world was blind how many people could you really impress?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-the-whole-world-was-blind-how-many-people-could-you-really-impress/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I don't think we did go blind, I think we are blind, Blind but seeing, Blind people who can see, but do not see.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/i-don-t-think-we-did-go-blind-i-think-we-are-blind-blind-but-seeing/) [José Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [I thought I'd be spending my life making brooms, mops, chairs and things. That's fine for some blind people, but I wanted something more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-feliciano/i-thought-i-d-be-spending-my-life-making-brooms-mops-chairs-and/) [Jose Feliciano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-feliciano/) > [If money can't buy happiness let me buy hundred of iPhones, and give them to blind people atleast they can say they have eyephone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vinni/if-money-can-t-buy-happiness-let-me-buy-hundred-of-iphones-and-give/) [Vinni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vinni/) [Browse all 86 Blind people quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blind-people/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Who decides which defects are funny and which ones are tragic? 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