Jokes that only work by stepping on someone smaller aren’t funny. They’re cheap.

Humour that needs a target lower than you is the cheapest kind available, because it does not have to be clever to get a reaction. The laugh comes from the difference in power rather than from anything you said. That is why it works instantly and why nobody respects it afterward. Real comedy is harder and does not require a victim.

If the joke needs somebody beneath you, do not tell it. Aim upward, or at yourself. The laughs you get that way tend to be better ones.