YOU'RE NOT FUNNY. You're just an asshole.

Decided to post this one today because it's September 11th. I really hope I don't have to explain why.

But when it comes to catastrophes, disasters, and other sensitive topics like rape, it's never okay to make jokes about those things. Those things can be a very touchy topic for some people, and trying to make a joke out of something really horrible can be very hurtful. I would know because I'm still a bit emotionally traumatized by 9/11. I was only 9 years old, on the other side of the country, and was just starting to grasp the concept of death...when I saw death happen in real time via a live broadcast. After that, I had subconsciously developed philanthropic/altruistic feelings of wanting to save the world and...Well, now you know how my WHR story came about. For some reason, writing a lighthearted and comical YA series is how I've coped with all the bad-feels of that incident.

If joking about serious shit is how you cope with bad-feels, keep the joking to yourself or between friends who aren't that sensitive to such topics. That way, you don't unintentionally insult people.

I've seen people crack jokes and puns about the Boston Marathon bombings.
I've seen/heard jokes about 9/11 and other catastrophes.
I've seen tons of jokes about rape.
I've had people joke about having cancer, a terminal disease, disability, injuries, etc.
And I've seen Bronies photoshopping ponies into pictures of tragic events, such as the Holocaust and other horrific events.

"B-BUT IT'S SUPPOSED TO MAKE IT FUNNY!"
"I HAVE CANCER!!!1!! NAH, I'M JUST KIDDING. LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL~"

Guess what my reaction is to all of that?
Fuck you.

Making parodies of tragic events to make people feel better is funny.
Using people's photos of tragic events and 'shopping in a cartoon character is not funny. Especially when you have the character reacting to the tragedy in a happy way.

I hate to ruin the fun for you, but you're an asshole if you do that last one. A lot of people were killed/injured during those incidents and many people have died from cancer and other diseases. There's a difference between being a likeable asshole and using mild humor in good taste and timing, and being a disrespectful asshole by taking the humor WAY too far. Family Guy, South Park...Those shows are entertaining because they make parodies about tragedies very frequently. But they're tastefully done in a way that doesn't take the humor too far.

"It's not a big deal anymore, so they should just grow up and get over it!"
NO. No, it is a big deal because trauma does NOT go away very quickly. You think the victims and their families have gotten over the Boston Marathon bombings? Sandy Hook Elementary shooting? Someone close to them dying from cancer? No, they haven't. Hell, I'm still a bit down about my last dog suddenly dropping dead without warning last spring, even though I have a new dog at home. I was so devastated, it took me days to finally look at another dog without bursting into tears, much less talk to others about my dog. It was even more brutal when I went home to a house with no dog around for 2 weeks, where every routine thing that involved the dog was difficult to bear. (Went to make myself breakfast one morning and I turned around, expecting to see a dog staring at me from behind, as was usual with her...Nope. She was nothing more than a wooden box of ashes sitting on top of the cabinets.) I think my little brother (who was 14 at the time) was more traumatized by her death than anybody else because he was RIGHT THERE next to her when she let out a "death howl." When I came home after the semester was over and it had been a month since she died, he told me he still couldn't get that howl out of his head, as that was the most horrible noise he had ever heard from an animal...I was half-tempted to smother him in a protective hug right there. My poor baby brother watched death happen right in front of him.
...It took my family at least another month to finally start looking to adopt a new dog. I think we all agreed at some point that the house wasn't the same without a dog around.

This is why it can take months or even decades of coping to finally "get over it." Trauma can not only leave physical scars, but emotional scars too. And sometimes, people are scarred for the rest of their lives.

So unless you're doing it for a TV show or a movie, or you're a professional at making crude jokes without being too insulting, don't crack jokes about tragedies.

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