You're over there in the corner either thinking about the dead dog or whatever, you're bringing up your personal life and you need the space, and then somebody throws you a joke. Especially if it's an emotional scene, you don't want the joke.
“I actually was class clown, but I don't know how that happened because I've never been considered an outwardly funny person-as the people in this room will attest.”
“Brethren, it is easier to declaim against a thousand sins of others, than to mortify one sin in ourselves.”