Return of the repressed

Fred: Hey, have you heard the celibacy joke?
Robert: Celibacy is the ban on clergy having intimate relationships, right?
Helen: Good grief-and that’s supposed to guarantee their total devotion to the “higher power”?
Fred: Anyway, here’s the joke: Two Catholic priests are reflecting on their situation. One wonders if they’ll live to see the end of celibacy. The other shakes his head and says, “Not us, definitely… but maybe our sons.”
Sophie: That’s sharp! It shows you can’t simply repress basic needs; they’ll find a way to make the “forbidden” happen indirectly. Especially, the suppression of sexual desire shows up in all sorts of manners.
Kate: Please, let’s not talk about priests and sex. We’ll end up on some dark topics quickly.
Conrad: Okay, let’s stick to jokes. In fact, that’s where Freud found the “boomerang effect” confirmed: repressed feelings resurface when jokes-disguised as harmless jest-bypass social norms to address sexual taboos and unacceptable aggression.
Kate: Does that appease those feelings, though?
Conrad: Well, there is this idea of “sublimation”-that is, turning those urges into socially acceptable forms-but I have my doubts. When I hear people say sports are a great outlet for aggression, I always think about how football fans haven’t exactly become more peaceful because of it.
Helen: For the fun of it, let’s analyse symptoms of repressed impulses in the couple as well. Fred, got a joke for that?
Fred: Hmm… our Romeo here became unintentionally hilarious when his Juliet wanted a symbol for their ever-growing love. He bought a houseplant, but it remained rather mingy. Since then, he’s been fertilizing it like a madman!