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 analyze 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!