Leticia Neria PhD thesis - Research@StAndrews:FullText ...

controlling our fear. We could argue that women might not find the portrayal of
machismo funny, at least in the previous cases in which the woman is the one that
suffers the abuse directly. But McGhee tells us that ‘females are typically less
concerned than males with the issue of dominance and infallibility’, and laughter, after
centuries of submissiveness, helps them cope with adversity, and facilitating a
resolution to their difficulties. 149 McGhee adds that this is not only the case for women,
but for other groups which have suffered historical oppression. I will develop this idea
further in the next chapter, when I discuss the politically incorrect.
Another social concern is the dishonesty of the authorities. As already discussed,
it appears that citizens prefer to confront the delinquents themselves rather than those
who are supposed to protect them. Through the years, this has become a common
representation. 150 The police do not like to admit that they are untrustworthy, and people
would feel insecure about describing a policeman directly as a criminal. So, the comic
books are a good way to reveal our real thoughts. In La Familia Burrón, when a group
of scavengers find a bag of money, Susano Cantarranas suggests notifying the police.
Another character says: ‘De plano seremos tres guajolotes si llevamos el dinero a la
comisaría. Nosotros lo encontramos y otros se lo clavan ¿no?’ 151 Later, after telling the
police about the find, a policeman confirms our idea of their dishonesty when he tells
the scavengers: ‘¿Para qué avisa? [about the find] ¿Dónde lo tiene? Vamos a mita y
mita ¿quihubo?’ 152 The idea of unscrupulous police causes fear and discomfort, but
again, the situation is exaggerated since we would not expect a policeman to speak so
blatantly or with that slang. The comics reinforce our suspicions of real life police
behaviour. Perhaps we feel superior because we do not behave in that despicable
149 McGhee, Humor. Its Origin… pp. 204-206.
150 Barajas, Sólo me río… p. 55.
151 La Familia Burrón, 17161, p. 6.
152 Ibid., p. 16.
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