Man Dragged for Inappropriate Joke About Adopted Nephew: 'Harsh'

The internet has dragged a man for making an inappropriate joke that got him kicked out of a family party.

In a post on Reddit, user u/ThrowRAhusband2 shared the story that has received over 34,000 upvotes and more than 5,000 comments.

She explained how she told her parents that they "ruined" their New Year celebrations by kicking her husband out "over a joke."

"I've been married to my husband Mike for four years now," wrote the Redditor. "He's a jokester and loves to crack jokes all the time. Especially with my brother Ethan and his wife. Ethan used to be ok with it until he started complaining about Mike taking it too far with his jokes."

Ethan and his wife have one adopted son, Joey—a topic that the poster admitted is often the subject of several "lighthearted jokes" by her husband.

During the New Year's party with the family, Mike made a joke that was far-from- appreciated by the family. "Mike decided to tell a knock-knock joke to Ethan. He said, 'knock knock,' Ethan laughed and said, 'who's there?' Mike replied, 'Joeys biological parents' then he burst out laughing," recalled the Redditor.

"Silence took over and Ethan's facial expressions changed. His wife called Mike an idiot. An argument ensued and dinner was paused. My parents then suddenly told Mike to leave which I thought was too harsh."

Comedy writer and best-selling author of Healing Your Heart, by Changing Your Mind - A Spiritual and Humorous Approach to Achieving Happiness, Jeffrey L. Gurian told Newsweek: "A joke is supposed to be funny. This so-called 'joke' wasn't funny. If the joke is truly funny, people will laugh.

"A child should never be the butt of a joke," said Gurian, "especially in front of adults and their family. This man was obviously a sick, obnoxious character who I wouldn't be surprised if he was drunk on New Year's Eve because, very often, drunk people are obnoxious and think they have a good sense of humor."

But after Mike was kicked out of the family party, the Redditor admitted she was furious: "I called mom later and she told me Mike was out of line with his hurtful jokes about this touchy topic and told me I was wrong for defending him and saying he was just joking.

"She said he ruined New Years for the family, but I told her it was her and dad who ruined the New Year's celebration for escalating the situation and kicking him out."

Since the argument, the couple hadn't spoken to their family and had even tried to contact Ethan but had no response.

On Reddit, thousands of users overwhelmingly slammed Mike for his inappropriate jokes about the child. In one comment with more than 109,000 upvotes alone, one Redditor wrote: "Your husband likes to hurt people. It's nothing to do with jokes."

"No one likes your husband. He's not funny. His jokes aren't cute. No one thinks he's clever or amusing," read another reply. "He does mean harm otherwise why would he keep pick, pick, picking at this very sensitive subject? Your husband is a bully. You're enabling your husband to bully your relatives."

Gurian agreed with this and explained: "It's a form of bullying, and my answer to them when I am around that is, 'Well, I have a pretty good sense of humor. What was the joke? I'm very familiar with jokes, but I didn't hear one.' And they never have anything to say, except accusing people of being too sensitive."

Whether a joke or not, Gurian cautioned the impact that such so-called jokes could have on individuals. "Just because you say, 'knock knock' first does not make the following words a joke," he said.

"Words can be very hurtful. They don't say how old the child is, but being made fun of in front of your friends and family can be life-changing, and that is not being overly dramatic.

"That stupid saying they teach us as children, 'sticks and stones can break your bones, but words can never harm you' is totally false," he added. "All the bruises you got as a child healed up a long time ago, but every single one of us can remember something that someone said to us that hurt our feelings, even if it was many years ago.

"I think it was perfectly reasonable for him to be asked to leave the dinner, especially if the child was upset. There's no way to apologize for that," said Gurian. "People need to protect their children and show them that they stand up for them. That's what makes children feel safe. Children are our most vulnerable and need to be protected by their parents."

Newsweek reached out to u/ThrowRAhusband2 for comment. We could not verify the details of the case.

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