Note: Before reading the following arguments, please understand that they are not what I believe. On Wednesdays, I deliberately argue for wrong ideas, challenging my listeners to call and defend the obvious right answer, which is usually far harder than one would expect. This is a summary of what Wacky Andrew will be arguing, not a representation of what real Andrew believes.~They teach people to be suspicious.
~They violate trust and cause people to distrust others and become worried.
~They often involve people being hurt emotionally, financially, or physically.
~They can go terribly wrong, in unexpected ways.
~They are premised on causing someone pain.
~"Lighten up" is not an excuse.
~It’s a very fine line between funny and cruel.
~They inspire retaliation and escalation.
~The person who is known for playing practical jokes has highly diminished credibility.
~It puts your character in the dubious category
~It brings disrepute upon your testimony.
~Parents wouldn’t do this to their children.
~They cultivate the error of mistaking real danger or tragedy for a prank and responding inappropriately.
~The nicest of people are shocked and aghast that you would do this to other people, especially people they like. This reaction should tell us something.
~They encourage the victim to lie about his true reaction because it may seem unmanly or proud if he doesn’t seem to "go along with" the joke.
~Even if some of them might be okay sometimes, most people have a hard time properly judging a wise joke and a legitimate target, so it’s safer just to have a rule to not do them.
~When you perpetrate a lot of them, you are constantly fearful of people doing so back to you.
Links:
April Fool's Day (Wikipedia)
A Case Study (EthicsScoreboard.com)
Ethics of Practical Joking (Credenda.org)
Value of workplace practical jokes (Harvard Business)
KTAR's speed camera April Fool's joke (KTAR.com)
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