sodomy-2
Explanation
The Joke
The comic begins with a woman noting a linguistic oddity: the biblical cities of Sodom and Gomorrah gave us the word "sodomy," but there is no corresponding word "gomorry." A man then offers a definition for what "gomorry" should mean: holding a group meeting when a simple email would have sufficed. The final panel shows a silhouetted figure praying fervently, "Smite them Lord, smite them!" -- implying that this workplace sin of unnecessary meetings is so egregious it warrants divine punishment on par with the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.
The Humor
The joke works by creating a false parallel between biblical sins and modern workplace annoyances. "Sodomy" derives from Sodom, a city destroyed by God for its wickedness, so the comic imagines that Gomorrah's corresponding sin must be something equally loathsome -- and lands on the universally despised unnecessary meeting. The humor is in the absurd escalation: calling an unnecessary meeting is treated as a sin so terrible that someone begs God to rain fire upon the offenders. It taps into the widespread shared frustration of office workers everywhere who have sat through meetings that could have been emails.
References
Sodom and Gomorrah are cities described in the Book of Genesis (chapters 18-19) that were destroyed by God with fire and brimstone for their sinfulness. The word "sodomy" entered the English language as a term derived from Sodom. "This meeting could have been an email" is a well-known modern workplace complaint.