Dead jokes

[Siamsal]

A rash of Steve Irwin jokes seems to have broken out.

What do people feel about these 'post celebrity death' jokes that do the rounds?

[NORMANTHEDOG]

its a strange world we live in when we get txts about this,it happened about princess di and it will carry on happening and most of us chuckle over them,why we do i dont know.

[crete]

last evening i received a txt re steve irwin which was dreadful but some people find them really funny maybe it is because we dont know the person and can feel shocked amd ammused at the same time.

[mushroom25]

these sorts of jokes seem to target those who are held in some esteem or affection, and are not just told by critics of those persons.

I don't know why that should be - perhaps telling such jokes acts as some sort of pressure release.

[admarlow]

some are dead funny though....

[andy-hughes]

It's a trait of human nature that people's reaction to death is humour - almost a psychological re-balancing. People who deal with death on a daily basis cope with the trauma by indulging in the very blackest humour, again it's simply a way of dealing with death, which we in western society have never learned to deal with properly.

[libertie]

Yep good old gallows humour...I know it's terrible, but I often find that my initial reaction is one of amusement then I feel slightly embarrassed that I found it funny!

Naughty pun admarlow! :o)

[Grunty]

Quite right andy. I remember winding up a police radio operator about a man who had been decapitated in an accident:
How is the driver?
He lost his head
Yes, yes. But is he injured?
I told you, he lost his head.
Will you answer my question?
etc., etc., etc., etc.
But we didn't take the black humour to people who may have been shocked or offended.

[Oneeyedvic]

There was a great tv program a while back called KY TV. It was a comedy sketch show, and one of the sketches was really funny.

It was a mock up of a news room with a news reader saying something along the lines of: "...and breaking news, we have just heard that a plane has crashed in X Town. we are getting sketchy reports but believe up to 200 people may have died. If you are concerned about friends or family, please call the X Town police on 01234 567890. If you want to hear the latest joke on this, please call 01234 123456".

[matt66]

Where are these jokes. Could someone give me a link so i can judge for myself if these jokes are in bad taste or not.

[jedimistress]

They're rarely funny and quite predictable.

[jno]

well, that depends, jedimistress. I find I judge them according to the usual criteria - are they funny or not? Some are, some aren't, but I don't think they're any less likely to be funny than any other colleciton of jokes.

There's a distinction to be made between people we know and people we 'think we know' - that is, celebrities. I don't imagine Mrs Irwin and her family and friends would enjoy the jokes at all, even if they would be hilarious if they were about someone else; their grief is personal. But I don't grieve for Steve Irwin. My feeling, I think, is more like sadness and regret that someone who looked like a nice guy and who made fascinating programmes is no longer with us. But it's not personal.

[Siamsal]

My own opinion is as mushroom & andy-hughes say: although sometimes in bad taste, I don't believe they are malicious, just a way of dealing with bad or shocking news. Sometimes they are very, very funny, and you feel you shouldn't be laughing.

I don't think Steve Irwin would have minded though.

[China Doll]

I'm not sure how relevant this is to the general discussion but I will say that working in the NHS there is a very morbid sense of humor that we all share. It's as Andy and Grunty say, you can end up with quite a black sense of humor at times just because that's what you deal with on a day to day basis. It's how people cope.

[4getmenot]

I'm always up for a joke but this is way too soon.

[joko]

i think sometimes they are 'technically' very clever and funny - as such if you were a professional joke writer who had done some sort of course...sometimes these jokes are well crafted and fit all the criterior of what a joke should be - its just unfortunate that they happen to be about a sad subject and that makes us a bit uncomfortable about recognising it as just a joke.

[bimbim]

It's never too soon. Where are they?

[Zen]

ttp://www.dave-edwards.com/cgi-bin/jokebook.pl?action=view&block=1&page=2

Foul language here,bunch of sad peoples postings....

[Joefish999]

As Joko says, most of the jokes are very clever and very funny. Gallows humour has been around as long as people have been coming to unfortunate ends and others have found themselves being glad it was someone else and not them.
I think with technology as it is, it is just a bit more noticable as the jokes spread further, quicker and sometimes to people who might not appreciate them.
As for myself I didn't know Steve Irwin, he had no bearing on my life other than to offer light entertainment if I stumbled across on of his programmes. As such I feel no need to mourn him, his death has had no impact on my life and so if I hear a well crafted joke then I am free to find it funny without a hint of guilt. I would however think about who i would pass it on to as I am aware that others have different views to myself.