I know a bunch of people dislike April Fool’s Jokes because they are “mean spirited” and, uhmm, seem to, well… fool people. Instead there seems to be a push towards the April Fool’s Joke becoming simply “Something that wouldn’t normally happen, and is wacky but we both know it isn’t real!” and that’s just sad.

How much real humor is not, in some way, mean towards someone? As Mel Brooks once famously said – “Me cutting my finger is a tragedy, comedy is when you fall down a manhole and die.” And there is a bunch of truth to it.

I’m not saying we should all go out and be simply mean to each other, no. That isn’t a prank. It isn’t an April Fools Joke. Making someone believe that something false is real, that would do it though. A decent looking fake mouse on a floor, maybe. I’m not asking for much, just get with the idea here, a little bit.

But to disown all pranks, all real pranks, is to disown something that I am fairly sure everyone has laughed at in their lives. Because they can be funny as hell, and part of that funny is someone else’s discomfort, minor or not.

Yes, of course, there are lines to be drawn. One expects that we can try to treat people like adults and hold them responsible for their actions instead of dumbing things down and leveling the playing field to ensure people don’t learn the line but instead stay so clear of it they drool on themselves and sit with helmets in safe padded boxes so they can’t get hurt ever. You, generally, don’t fool someone into thinking that their mother is dead. Well sometimes, maybe but it’s a case by case basis. A good prank is tailored to the person being pranked. Show some pride!

Seriously, do you think all competitive games should be taken out of schools because it makes some kids feel bad because they will lose a game? If you answered yes to that then you can feel free to continue your crazy ways and declare all pranks bad. Because it boils down to the same thing: being unwilling to let people learn that sometimes things don’t go their way because you’ve decided they can’t deal with it.

I’ve been pranked by some great pranks in my time. I’ve been made to play the fool and the chump and bought into some terrific, ingenious falsehoods. I appreciate it. There’s no harm done, when it is done well.

Besides, honestly? If you claim that you never found a prank funny ever? You probably have no sense of humor. Everyone thinks they have a sense of humor, mind you. But they don’t. The world is sad that way, but there you go.

So prank on: smartly, wisely, and creatively. Stretch yourself. Let yourself be the pranked as well as the prankee. Live a little.