If You Can't Take a Joke.

Over the weekend Jim Gaffigan, the comedian, made some statements about massage therapists that have many in the profession freaking out. Jim is a comedian, he makes jokes for a living, and he's pretty darn funny most of the time. I think he said things that many potential clients can relate to.If you haven't seen what he said you can find it here. If you don't want to read the whole thing, I'm going to touch on the points that people are freaking out about.The article starts off by quoting him as saying:

My friend asked me, 'Why don't you just get a massage?' I had to explain to him, "'Cause I'm not one of the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills." Don't get me wrong -- I've gotten a massage, but they are expensive and rather decadent.

Massage is expensive and can be decadent for a lot of people. I know that because I have to budget to get massage for myself. I've also written a little bit to explain exactly what you get for the cost of your massage at Balance and Peace. This of course directly relates to how people prioritize their money and spending habits as well, and that's ok. Some people find traveling and driving new cars decadent.He went on to say:

We get massages from strangers because we can't count on the people who love us to touch us.

This is true and another reason why massage is needed! You also can't count on your loved ones to know what to do to help your symptoms. I may get my loved ones to cook for me, but I can't expect a 5 course gourmet meal when they do it!Another point he made was:

So we pay absolute strangers. "Hey, I know nothing about you -- why don't I take off my clothes and climb on this padded dining room table. Then you do whatever you want."

Massage, broken down to a basic level, is weird. As a professional massage therapist I recognize this and we try to make the situation as comfortable as possible. I wrote about the trust you have to place in your therapist in order to get a massage here. It's always interesting when a stranger asks me "What do you do?", for some people when you say "massage therapist" you see it in their face "she rubs naked strangers for money...". The longer I do it though, the more people I meet that know how awesome massage is, that's actually been pretty cool.This is where a lot of people really got upset:

What do we know about massage therapists? They like to rub strangers for money while they listen to the "Avatar" soundtrack. That's a red flag. Those are the traits of a serial killer.

Remember, he's a comedian. It didn't help that he continued by saying:

They never laugh. You know why? 'Cause they're busy imagining making a suit out of my skin. 'cause they're murderers! They already put the lotion in the basket.

"Hello Clarice" (You know you hear Hannibal Lecter's creepy voice there.)

Nope, Licensed Massage Therapists aren't murders (usually). In Florida, we actually have a background check performed on us just to make sure. It's more likely we're "hippies", or at least that's what I've been told.

I kind of feel bad that Jim has never had a massage therapist that was funny. "Laughter is the best medicine" after all. Also, it's brilliant that he said this, because all of the therapists that are complaining just reinforce his statement.

What he touched on though is that there are a lot of obstacles for people to get a massage.

There is the issue of undressing for a stranger.

There is the issue that massage can be expensive or feel decadent.

Those are all obstacles that can be worked through though. I'm not going to sweat a comedian poking a little fun at massage therapy. He was making jokes, and if I can't laugh at what he says about a massage therapist, I shouldn't be laughing when he says things about other people or professions.But, that's just me.

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You can see for yourself if we have a sense of humor or not.