Social control and laughter

Photo by S&B Vonlanthen on Unsplash

I was walking home the other day when I was caught off guard by a bout of gregarious laughter. My first thought was: How dare she laugh so loudly and be inconsiderate of her surroundings?

My second thought: How did I get to be such a grumpy old lady so quickly?

But the more I reflected, the more I realized how much my reaction indicates about the nature of society and individuality. The woman I encountered was laughing loudly because she found something so funny that it caused her to lose her sense of self-control. Quite a wonderful thing, actually. But, if she was in a library, or around a person with a persistent migraine, it would be especially unappreciated.

From an early age, kids are taught by their parents to be quiet, to not make too many noises. Not to cry too loudly. Not to shout. And so on.

Their natural instincts are suppressed, as is their authenticity since they have to learn self-control in order to be considerate of others. If we don’t sa…