Content warning: This article includes topics that may be offensive or triggering to some readers. It includes mentions of the 9/11, the holocaust, and school shootings.
Middle school was a dark time for everyone. When I entered, I lived under a rock and thought that jokes about butts where the greatest thing. Until I got social media, that is. I remember when I installed apps like iFunny and Facebook and watched YouTubers like Ray William Johnson. Those outlets shaped by ideas of comedy in a dark way. I was too young to understand that jokes about others’ races, sexualities, and the Holocaust were not appropriate for anyone, let alone a 12-year-old, but nevertheless, I continued to build my repertoire with racist puns and mean jokes, and spread them with my equally sadistic friends.
Luckily, I had a much better group of friends in high school that changed my perspective, got me on Tumblr, and showed me there was more to life than “What’s the difference between a Jew and a pizza?” jokes. Everyone has been in a situation where someone tells a joke and others riff off it until a new subject is found or someone crosses a line. Where the metaphorical line would be drawn, however, is a moral and personal dilemma because everyone has a different sense of humor.
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In my mind, I drew a line for how far I would take a joke based on the way it would affect another person if I told it. That line continues to change as I learn new things. I developed empathy for others and a general respect for people, but one can’t help but notice that those hurtful jokes are coming back more and more each day by internet trolls and public figures alike.
It also seems like this issue is growing. It can be seen more and more on the internet as public figures and influencers spew hateful content which makes their followers think that it is ok for them to do, too. It is also easier than ever for people to retweet, reblog, and share things. One can assume that the amount of people using these apps has also gone up because the younger generation has more access to them. That means that people on social media, youth and adult alike, are prone to this bias of influencers that can shapes their world-view.
These jokes desensitize those who enjoy them because it normalizes disaster and violence, making the wickedness in the world seem inevitable. Therefore, it seems as if the issues can’t be helped so many develop a “why worry or care when we can joke about it” attitude. Others say this relieves their stress which is insensitive because someone who went through a disaster or tragedy is more stressed than them. It makes people feel like their struggles are meaningless when those who view their situation see it as something to joke about. These same individuals brush off these jokes and claim it is their sense of ‘dark humor’, and when questioned about the morality of these puns, they simply say ‘it’s just a joke.’ There seems to be no end to tragic events that have been joked about, but the most popular ones are the Holocaust, 9/11, and school shootings.
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The Holocaust was a terrible event that should not be taken lightly. People throughout history have been denying it and joking about it, though, and it has not stopped since the internet has come into fruition. On one of the internet’s most notorious sites, Urban Dictionary, if one looks up ‘holocaust’, the top voted definition, with over 4,000 likes, is as follows: “Holocaust (Verb) To utterly destroy something or someone, ex: Bob ordered a sheet pizza and holocausted the s*** out of it, there wasn’t any left for his friend Steve.” If one was to continue looking at the results, they would find definitions claiming it was a lie, saying that the Jewish people should not be worried about it anymore because it did not happen to them, just their ancestors, and that it is the funniest thing in history so far. Although someone might see these people as trolls, anti-Semitic sentiment is coming into the public light and who’s to say this desensitization is not one of the many causes. It lets people who are anti-Semitic think that their thoughts are spreading and taking root in the minds of people around the world.
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Another event that is heavily memed is 9/11. The attacks on the twin towers happened in 2001 so those people making jokes about it, younger millennials and generation Zs, were either too young to remember it or not even born when it happened. It was a tragic event that rocked the nation and sparked anti-Muslim sentiment in the US. However, it is used as a meme at the end of vines or joked about using the phrase ‘Bush did 9/11’. The use of this event as a joke desensitizes those people making fun of it and makes them unable to really grasp how recent and relevant it is in our nation’s history.
The most recent trend is people joking about school shootings.
Image via: Reddit
These memes normally come in the format of text and a reaction image, normally using an already popular meme. They get shared on sites like Reddit and 4chan but can be taken and posted anywhere. The people posting them consider them dank and edgy, which to them, makes them cool. This desensitizes those people from the actual issue of gun violence and suggests that they assume immunity because of their jokes, thinking that it could never happen to them. This idea could then spread around to others who gain this false sense of security, taking the issue and making it less of a priority to them, therefore, diminishing the effects that it has on so many people who are victims.
Although those jokes are made by anonymous trolls on the internet, public figures can also be seen making light of serious topics. For example, after the Parkland shooting, conservative political commentator and filmmaker Dinesh D’Souza replied to a tweet posted by Jon Passantino of the shooting survivors watching the Florida lawmakers vote down a bill to ban assault rifles by saying, “Worst news since their parents told them to get summer jobs.”
His actions show that this culture of rude comments and mean jokes has virtually no bounds. His followers could also see this as a sign that it is ok for them too to post memes and comments that are disrespectful to the victims of a tragic event.
The internet and memes go hand in hand and with technology advancing, it is easier for these hurtful ideas to spread and become more commonplace. The desensitization of tragedies these days is increasing so before you retweet that meme, think of how it could affect someone else.