In Baghdad, Iraqis Take Their Humor Extra Dark

I. I. In Baghdad, Iraqis Take Their Humor Extra Dark New York Times, April 2, 2008
II. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/02/world/middleeast/02fool.html?ref=world
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IV. II. Once a lighthearted holiday, April Fools Day, (or otherwise known as Kithbet Neesan or April Lie in Iraq) has become something that is not to kid about. Years ago, the humorous jokes were only lighthearted pranks, but recently have become far too real into be considered funny. Jokes about assassination, kidnapping, arrest and political issues were not thought too much of, but now in Iraq’s current state where these terrible things have become part of everyday life tragically, they’re no longer qualified to be considered as Kithbet Neesan jokes. In 1998, even Saddam Hussein’s son Uday joined in on the holiday when he published a story in the newspaper stating that President Clinton has lifted the sanctions against Iraq, but was confirmed to be false later in the paper. Now such tricks could not even be comprehended as humorous, as they mirror very real situations in Iraqi life.
III. A. The AP theme this article relates to is Development and transform of social structures. In Iraq, the social structures including gender roles, racial and ethnic constructions and social and economic classes are always changing. What is considered right and wrong changes very frequently as well.
B. The historical background of this issue goes back to when Iraq started celebrating Kithbet Neesan and when practical jokes were taken lightly. Now, when these “jokes” have become very real daily happenings, citizens of Iraq respond to them with great emotion and anger.
C. The author of this article is Erica Goode. She seems to be a New York Times female columnist with not much personal relation to the article.
D. This article provides little bias throughout the text. The author is not leaning towards any particular side. They are simply just reporting on an issue that is causing much controversy in Iraq.
E. I feel as though that there isn’t a missing voice missing in this article. Many citizens of Iraq were interviewed for this article and it clearly shows how they are dealing with the situation.
F. When I read this article I kept thinking how sad it was that a country is in so much distress that it can’t even celebrate a lighthearted holiday without pain and suffering. The fact that things that were once considered far-fetched jokes are now daily life occurrings stuns me. Although, the jokes that were once considered funny seemed kind of harsh to me. For example, a man called the family of his friend telling them that his friend was kidnapped and that they have to pay for his ransom. Eventually it was revealed that it was only a joke, but the prank seemed cruel to begin with.