[X&Y] Why April Fool's Day Is No Joke Anymore

Published: Mon, 04/01/24

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WON'T GET FOOLED AGAIN

In today's newsletter below, I start off
by noting how every day is basically
April Fool's Day nowadays.

In the Mountain Top Summit Facebook
group, I go into more detail about how
to stay out of the "Just Be Fooled" Zone:

The Who Figured This Out Over 50 Years Ago

If you haven't yet joined the group, I look
forward to meeting you there.

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WHY APRIL FOOL'S DAY IS NO JOKE ANYMORE

Social media, Twitter in particular, has effectively rendered
April Fool's Day obsolete.

In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if this newsletter is the first
mention of it you've heard all day.

Nowadays, we've been reduced to a culture that exploits
what I've called "Headline Overwhelm". Every day is centered
around influencing others to believe whatever drives clicks,
social status, political expediency and/or financial gain.

We've all long since been conditioned to believe whatever
we're told, regardless of whatever happens to be true or
not. There's just no time to read every article, let alone
weigh all of the opposing "facts" in detail.

Naivete is no longer a joke. It's big business. Therefore, it's
taken seriously.

Those who weave The Narrative thrive.

Therefore (or nevertheless?), the title of this newsletter isn't,
"Urgent Notice: X & Y Communications is switching its focus
from extolling the virtues of masculinity to cupcake decorating."

Notice I didn't go with, "Emily Has Left Me And Joined A
Convent" either.

But despite how social media has massaged the purpose and
value of "foolishness" over the past dozen years or so, I've
consistently avoided deceiving you--or anyone else--on April
1st ever since we started back in 2005.

The thing is, April Fool's Day jokes have never been funny.

To put it bluntly, nobody actually likes getting "played".

Remember, there's a BIG sociological delta between being
consistently fooled on a daily basis and being TOLD you
have been fooled immediately after it happens.

These days, the object is to fool while maintaining the illusion
for far, far longer than mere seconds or minutes.

Granted, simpler times may really have been better times.
People should be easy going and have a sense of humor
about stuff like this. I'm fully on board with that.

The bottom line is that feeling like an idiot is no fun. It never
has been.

So even looking at April Fool's Day according to it's historical
modus operandi, what is there to be gained from "messing with
people" and making them feel stupid?

It most certainly wouldn't give a woman the impression that you
were all about her best interests.

How is she supposed to understand you to be a "big four" man
who's all about her safety and security when she can't trust
what's coming out of your mouth?

Am I overreacting here? Probably.

But ultimately, the fact that today is April 1st is a good excuse
to bring up the topic of "humor by deception" in general,
which I've been getting around to doing for some time now.

We as men tend to do this to each other all the time. Some
guys even get their kicks by taking it to an extreme.

Consider the following example:

Friend 1: "Dude...your girlfriend just told me she's breaking up
with you today for another guy."

Friend 2: "That's ridiculous. I just talked to her an hour ago
and everything was perfectly cool."

Friend 1: (with a straight face) "I don't know, man...I think you'd
better talk to her again."

Friend 2: "I know you're just trying to mess with me. Give me a
break."

Friend 1: "Hmm... Well, you can believe me or not. But don't say
I didn't tell you what's coming."

Friend 2: "You're lying."

Friend 1: (still with a straight face) "No, I'm dead serious, dude.
I think you might want to call her again."

Friend 2: (after a long pause reaches for his cell phone with a
concerned look on his face)

Friend 1: (bursts out laughing) "Ha ha! I swear, you're so
gullible! Ahahaha..."

As you can see, "Friend 1" thinks the whole thing is hilarious.
Meanwhile, "Friend 2" is left thinking "Friend 1" isn't much of a
"friend" at all.

So what's the problem, here?

Deep down, "Friend 1" is feeling the need to assert power over
someone else. By pulling one over on "Friend 2" he gets to feel
that temporary rush.

But "Friend 1" not only feels downright violated, he likely sees
right through "Friend 1's" intentions, and quite possibly his
insecure mindset as well.

Yeah, sure...if "Friend 2" wanted to he could even the score when
"Friend 1" least expects it, and that's a pattern followed by social
circles of men all over the world. But if he's truly an "alpha" leader
type, he won't.

He won't need to. As the coolest guy in the group, he'll be
recognized as the one who seeks to make everyone else look
BETTER in the presence of others rather than WORSE.

Meanwhile, if the definition of "douche" is someone who thinks
he's cooler than everyone else perceives him to be, then "Friend
1" could easily be up for South Park's "Biggest Douche In The
Universe" award.

Now, if we as guys get perturbed when someone messes with us
like this, imagine how women look at it.

Interestingly, women almost never "mess with each other" in the
way I just described. So generally speaking, they don't tend to
relate well to the humor element behind it.

Add it all up, and making a woman feel like an idiot whose trust
has just been violated isn't a very good way to create attraction.

If other dudes don't really appreciate being toyed with, that goes
double for women.

Seriously, messing with people for the purpose of personal
amusement is no joke. I've personally sworn off doing it for at
least fifteen years now, and all it's done is increase the number
and quality of my friendships.

If you're still thinking of all this as just an innocuous way to play
around, my suggestion is to put it aside for a few weeks or months
and see how that one simple change affects your social life for the
better.

Watch as people start to enjoy your company more and give you a
greater amount of respect.

Better yet, watch how your girlfriend never really ends up leaving
you for another guy.

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