Pity

It's almost a shocking or taboo thing to say nowadays, but pity is always very funny. Not that this hilarity of pity doesn't stops it being an effective social tool, or degrades its crucial and humane role in our affairs. But it is a passionate thing in the same way laughter is a passionate thing. As to why this is so, I'm not sure, though I'd hazard a guess it has something to do with empathy, common humanity, and the shared sense of the ridiculousness of our mutual circumstances. But I could be wrong.