Tomorrow is April Fool’s Day weekend. Enjoy the fun, but, please, consider the person you’re pranking. We’ve all been the butt of cruel April Fools jokes that have humiliated us, or watched jokes pulled on others that were obviously an expression of the jokester’s prejudices, using the day as an excuse. These tricks not only feel bad but seem to give some legitimacy to cruelty and bigotries. There are so many pranks that are harmless and so ingrained in our culture that few people are terribly embarrassed by them, like the whoopie cushion, switching the Push and Pull signs on a door, and putting hundreds of post-its all around someone’s office. But something that is dangerous, will clearly mortify someone, makes a person look stupid, or is based on ethnics, gender, religion, or sexual orientation is not okay. And that means no posting of the victim online, which makes it even worse. So, go ahead and enjoy. But be mindful of the person you’re pranking and how it will affect him or her. Remember that your joke reflects who you are as a person.
