2014-01-17
Explanation
The Joke
A female proctologist laments that "people don't respect proctologists." She describes the indignities of the job: patients only come when "something doesn't feel right down there" or when they've "lost an object." She notes that if you can get it out, they just say "you can keep it." When patients encounter the proctologist at social events like a bridal shower, it's awkward — the patient says "it's been a long week" and asks them to "say nothing about it." However, the proctologist notes that they "get revenge in the end" — at the bridal shower, someone compliments a designer bag, and the proctologist reveals "I know, right?" implying the bag was one of the objects they retrieved from a patient.
The Humor
The comic works on multiple levels. The surface humor comes from the inherent awkwardness of the proctology profession and the social discomfort of encountering your proctologist outside the office. The real punchline is the phrase "we get revenge in the end" — which is both a statement about professional satisfaction and a pun on "end" (as in rear end, the body part proctologists specialize in). The final gag — that the designer bag was apparently retrieved from a patient — adds a delightfully gross twist that ties the whole comic together. The proctologist's cheerful pride in the bag she "obtained" through her work is the darkly comic crescendo.