https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v45/n21/jonathan-coe/can-t-you-take-a-joke Created Fri, 20/10/2023 - 00:00 Updated Fri, 20/10/2023 - 00:00 On a personal level, the kinds of thing we laugh at reveal the truth about us as individuals. On a national level, the kinds of thing we laugh at reveal the truth about us as a country. This seems to apply to Britain more than most countries.