In Bad Taste ( IMHO )

[Main Streeter]

I think you missed the sanity disclaimer

He Always does! Whatelse is new? :D:

[leftcoaster]

Cheap guys didn't ever offer to buy dinner.

Well, he did end up with a happy ending.

[hobie16]

Well, he did end up with a happy ending.

The customer was happy that the problem was resolved. My lovely parting gift was meeting Wolfman Jack later in the trip.

[DonohoFlnkr]

Not to mention that the absolute millions of people that don't even know it happened. The over-active Disney fans are not that big a crowd. When it first happened sure...many probably made stupid comments thinking that they might lighten the air with their clever rapports, some were just stupid and mean spirited, but I still believe in humans enough to think that they are few and far between. Didn't I read someplace the purple was also Walt's favorite color?

I will never understand people like you just described. Someone lost their life while helping others enjoy themselves. How in the world can anyone make a joke about that?

When I saw the news, I wasn't thinking about who was at fault, who/what screwed up, and especially not what funny one-liner I could think of. What I thought about was the many times that my family and I have visited WDW and ridden the monorails and how it was a part of our day each visit to MK (not always the case when visiting EPCOT). That thought went from my own self-importance to the CMs who lost a fellow CM, then to the Pilots who not only lost a member of their family but must continue to re-live that sadness everyday as part of bringing happiness to everyone around them.

I do believe that maybe this is a tribute, and there may be some who wish that it would be done in some other fashion, but you can't please everyone. It's a difficult situation. The only thing that would bring about a consensus would be to avoid doing anything at all and that would just bring a consensus of disapproval.

[Goofyernmost]

I will never understand people like you just described. Someone lost their life while helping others enjoy themselves. How in the world can anyone make a joke about that?

When I saw the news, I wasn't thinking about who was at fault, who/what screwed up, and especially not what funny one-liner I could think of. What I thought about was the many times that my family and I have visited WDW and ridden the monorails and how it was a part of our day each visit to MK (not always the case when visiting EPCOT). That thought went from my own self-importance to the CMs who lost a fellow CM, then to the Pilots who not only lost a member of their family but must continue to re-live that sadness everyday as part of bringing happiness to everyone around them.

I do believe that maybe this is a tribute, and there may be some who wish that it would be done in some other fashion, but you can't please everyone. It's a difficult situation. The only thing that would bring about a consensus would be to avoid doing anything at all and that would just bring a consensus of disapproval.

When you think about it, almost every disaster is immediately followed by base "dark" humor. It is a tension release and a way of coping with things that we don't understand or want to acknowledge. I'm not saying it's the best way, I'm just saying that it is obviously part of human nature.

Remember after the Challenger explosion? Within minutes the joke...How many astronauts will fit in a Volkswagen beetle? 10...Two in front, two in back and six in the ashtray. Natalie Wood...Why doesn't Natalie Wood like to take a shower? Cause she prefers to wash up on shore.

It isn't justifiable, it's just that it seems to be a normal reaction to relieve stress.

[BRWombat]

When you think about it, almost every disaster is immediately followed by base "dark" humor. It is a tension release and a way of coping with things that we don't understand or want to acknowledge. I'm not saying it's the best way, I'm just saying that it is obviously part of human nature.

Remember after the Challenger explosion? Within minutes the joke...How many astronauts will fit in a Volkswagen beetle? 10...Two in front, two in back and six in the ashtray. Natalie Wood...Why doesn't Natalie Wood like to take a shower? Cause she prefers to wash up on shore.

It isn't justifiable, it's just that it seems to be a normal reaction to relieve stress.

Not to mention that NASA = "Need Another Seven Astronauts."

Well said, goofy. And the further removed from the event or the deceased we are -- physically, relationally, or chronologically -- the easier this type of humor flows (as evidenced by our "will not be down for breakfast threads" for public figures vs. our very serious condolences and support when a relative or friend dies). It is certainly comes easily to a lot of us, and I'd guess that someone with more of a psychology background than me might classify this morbid humor as a natural defense or coping mechanism, laughing at death to ease our own fear of mortality.

What makes a difference (and causes the pain that these evil SG's are inflicting) is that decent people try to be considerate of others when deciding what to say. If something we think is (darkly) humorous pops into our heads, we consider where we are and to whom we are talking before saying it out loud. Just because a tragic event is far removed from us personally does not mean it is for our listeners.

[DonohoFlnkr]

When you think about it, almost every disaster is immediately followed by base "dark" humor. It is a tension release and a way of coping with things that we don't understand or want to acknowledge. I'm not saying it's the best way, I'm just saying that it is obviously part of human nature.

Remember after the Challenger explosion? Within minutes the joke...How many astronauts will fit in a Volkswagen beetle? 10...Two in front, two in back and six in the ashtray. Natalie Wood...Why doesn't Natalie Wood like to take a shower? Cause she prefers to wash up on shore.

It isn't justifiable, it's just that it seems to be a normal reaction to relieve stress.

It is very true that this is a defense mechanism, and many would say that laughter helps us cope, but how many 9/11 jokes do you hear?
Point being, there are times when humor just isn't in good taste. Especially when you make those comments to family/co-workers.

Not to mention that NASA = "Need Another Seven Astronauts."

Well said, goofy. And the further removed from the event or the deceased we are -- physically, relationally, or chronologically -- the easier this type of humor flows (as evidenced by our "will not be down for breakfast threads" for public figures vs. our very serious condolences and support when a relative or friend dies). It is certainly comes easily to a lot of us, and I'd guess that someone with more of a psychology background than me might classify this morbid humor as a natural defense or coping mechanism, laughing at death to ease our own fear of mortality.

What makes a difference (and causes the pain that these evil SG's are inflicting) is that decent people try to be considerate of others when deciding what to say. If something we think is (darkly) humorous pops into our heads, we consider where we are and to whom we are talking before saying it out loud. Just because a tragic event is far removed from us personally does not mean it is for our listeners.

This.

[felinefan]

I remember mom saying that the joke going around her workplace after Natalie Wood drowned was "Know what kind of wood doesn't float? Natalie Wood."

I also remember the cartoon in the college newspaper when I was taking a refresher math class after that flooding and landslide in Bluebird Canyon in Laguna Beach back in the late 70s. Showed a realtor at his desk, on the phone, with the sign "Schmuck Realty" on the front of his desk, and he's telling a client on the phone, "We've got the perfect place for you. It has a sunken living room, a sunken bathroom, a sunken kitchen--as a matter of fact, the whole place is sunken! Where is it? Oh, it's out on Bluebird Canyon Road...."

And then there was the joke map of renamed freeways in the aftermath of the Northridge Quake--Ain't No More Freeway, etc..

I agree--SGs who continue to make "jokes" about the tragic accident last summer, especially those who put there kids up to it, need to be stood up against a wall and shot.

[CujoSR]

Just like you wouldn't tell Corey Feldman "It's alright he's with his career now." (About Corey Haim) you don't make jokes about the death of a monorail pilot to other pilots. End of story.