"Laughter is not always a response of ridicule. Often it is just a reaction to something unexpected. But I'm sorry they laughed. They shouldn't have." The world was a cruel place, Holden didn't disagree with Jonathan there. He was simply trying to get him to focus on something other than that. "You are not a joke and anyone who gets to know you will learn that. Like that Edward kid, if you befr-- I mean, if you talk to him more."