Roasting, cooking, joaning – synonyms which an ERHS student is likely familiar with because they exist within a culture that does not stray from the admiration of savagery.

Roasting is defined: “To humorously mock or humiliate someone with a well-timed joke, diss or comeback,” according to Urban Dictionary. But it is not simply a cruel gesture at the expense of someone else, but a comedic art form carefully crafted for battle.

The key to a good roast?

“Analyzing,” said senior AJ Awolesi, “you have to analyze the person from head to toe. In that moment you know exactly what you’re gonna talk about.” His friend Bob Okoroajuzie, a senior, looked over and thought about all the times AJ had come to class with a new hair cut.

And then came the onslaught. “The thoughts start flying,” Okoroajuzie casually added. “Who is this man’s barber is the real question.”

But should we feel bad for participating in casually cooking our friends?

Insult has been practiced since the origin of the Greek satire with Aristophanes’ Old Comedy which set the groundwork for other genres of humor, like farce and commedia dell’arte. Commedia is more directly related to the roasting we know so well; it was a sixteenth century Italian style of improvised theatre that often exaggerated and mocked social archetypes, a concept not unfamiliar to much of the vastly spanned entertainment industry.

Think music, movies, television – how much effort do you think is put into flaming someone else for your personal enjoyment?

When surrounded by a world of insults, it would be unnatural to suppress the rising flame on your tongue when around peers. So let loose, as long as your attack knows limits.

Know the line between genuinely hurtful and barbarically playful. If they say chill, “or you see a tear bouta fall down,” as Awolesi put it, then it is time to cool down.

But for the most part, among friends there is little damage. In fact friendships more easily become desensitized to snide and rude asides, generating less hostility and spite over petty things.

“If anything my relationships have gotten stronger,” said Alex Drummings, who is a firm believer in practicing her speech.

“I will talk so much mess with the knowledge that someday someone is going to pop me. But that day has not come, and until that day comes and most definitely after, we will continue to cut people up.”