Consider This: Moments in My Writing Life After Which Everything Was Different

by Chuck Palahniuk

If you were my student I’d tell you a joke. I’d ask, “What do you call a black man who flies a plane?” As the answer, I’d shout, “A pilot, you fucking racist!” What we think of as humor comes from the rapid relief of tension. First you think I’m going to say something hateful. And then I don’t. In fact I reverse the accusation and throw it back at you. A classic power reversal.