Today for Thoughtful Thursday I gotta tell you, I love a good prank, but when does a prank go too far?

I absolutely love watching Punk’d and The Jamie Kennedy Experiment and I absolutely love listening to Nephew Tommy on the Steve Harvey Morning Show. But my heart goes out to the people being punk’d and pranked. When I am at work and one of my coworkers is teasing/playing a trick on/pranking another coworker, I find myself spilling the beans on them because I can’t stand the look on the other person’s face! They look so innocent and I know deep inside they are, in essence, being made to look stupid! Sometimes I am the victim, but it’s all good. It’s just a little joke and no harm is meant right?

This morning I was listening to the Steve Harvey Morning Show as Nephew Tommy pranked a woman. He told her that her business, a cake shop, delivered a cake to his 13 year old daughter’s school donned with a part of the male anatomy. Now, it was funny but when it was over I felt sorry for the woman. She maintained her composure for quite a while during the conversation. She talked very professionally and didn’t say one cuss word until….he threatened to come to her shop, with the police, and shut down her 13 year business. All bets were off! She began the “every other word” cussing marathon and her professionalism went out the door! It was funny but…… And you know the first thing she said when he revealed himself to her and revealed her girlfriend had set up the prank (and this is why I felt sorry for her), “Oh no. Please tell me I am not on the radio, my preacher is going to be listening”. She is apparently a Christian and was instantly ashamed of herself and her behavior.

One day Nephew Tommy pranked a man that was audibly older. After getting him all worked up and pranked to the limit, Tommy revealed what was going on. The man said he had to sit down and couldn’t go to work right then because he had to get himself together. Awwww…. I felt sorry for him. It had a physical effect on him!

And Punk’d, one of my favorite shows, takes people to the brink! I have seen people’s cars (or so they thought) be demolished, people’s houses being emptied out, expensive pieces of artwork destroyed, integrities challenged, etc. I have seen people crying, panicking, looking bewildered, calling their mammas, loosing their minds, acting crazy, etc., all because Aston Kutcher decided they were the victim of the day! But what would happen if one of these people started hyperventilating or had a heart attack or worse?!

And even the ABC hit show, Primetime: What Would You Do? is a prank show of sorts. It may not be intended to make people laugh, actually quite the opposite, but still, they are setting up false scenarios and exploiting people’s reaction on national TV. Is that alright? Although unlike the humorous Punk’d or Nephew Tommy, some of the setups have brought people to the brink of publicly acting out in a way they wouldn’t normal act. I understand that in this case, with this show, many of these scenarios are intended to make society stop and think and be the one that speaks out for equality, (many of the cases are about racism and equability) but still.

So here are my two questions and one warning for Thoughful Thursday.

Question I: when does a prank go too far? Is it alright to take advantage of a person’s unawareness, drive them to behavior that is non-typical and do it publicly, many times nationally?

Question II: (this is basically a rhetorical question) shouldn’t we all be on guard with our behavior at all times, never knowing who is watching or listening? (My dear Lord is on post at all times on both counts!)

Warning: if you don’t know who you are talking to and what he is saying sounds crazy, ask him if he is Nephew Tommy from the Steve Harvey morning show!

Please talk to me on this one!

Holla Back!