Laughing uncontrollably over something hilarious is human nature. Nevertheless, many times over we tend to forget the possible repercussions that laughter can do. In “Do you ever laugh at the misfortunes of others.” By The Learning Network. It explains how laughter, although human nature, can affect one's mental health. I have before laughed at others hardships. I believe we laugh at others' problems as a way to cope with our own lives. As well, the article explains people tend to laugh as a way to cancel out bad situations. In addition the article exemplifies the fact that doctors may use humor as a way to dilute the situation with a patient. Laughter can be best described as a double bladed sword. Although it may seem amusing to you it might not to others.
Question: Ms. Hershberg and Mr. Willingham say that “teasing entails trust.” Do you agree with this statement? Has someone you’re close to ever crossed a line when teasing you?
Answer: I do agree that teasing friends in a joking way does entail a sense of trust and comfort. In the article it states, “In addition, joking about difficulties with those who share your situation creates an in-group, a feeling of solidarity.” This shows how if you are in a group of friends that makes fun of you, it can make you feel safe and make you laugh. In my experience only very rarely does the insults actually hurt my feelings or get to me. The reason for this is because there is a fine line between something you could say to someone that is actually hurtful and something you could say that is very lighthearted.
I don’t think that it is ever ok to laugh at the misfortune of others, if they aren’t laughing. It might be ok, if the person who just had the misfortune is laughing, but they should always be the first to laugh.
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If I’m being honest, I often find myself laughing at others misfortune, both online and in person. Being a clumsy person, I know what it’s like to be laughed at for my misfortune. I like to think of it as They laugh with me not laughed at, because, most of the time, I’m laughing too. I strongly agree with the statement, joking about difficulties with those who share your situation creates an in-group, a feeling.
But it’s never about something big or that I know is sensitive. It’s the more neutral things. Like oh hey you have a horrible grade me too. I think misfortune is a great way of bonding because it gives you a way inside of people’s defenses. You understand something they’ve been through.
I’m going to be completely honest when I say yes, I have laughed at the misfortune of others. There are thousands of videos on the internet of people falling, children running into things and crying, and pretty much anything you could think of you will find online. Just because I do this, does not mean I think it’s totally ok to do so. I believe that if someone is going to upload a funny or embarrassing video of someone, they should have to get that person's consent first. I have had friends share videos of me or our other friends without us being ok with it, and it has caused some dispute between us. I agree with Ms. Hershberg and Mr. Willingham’s arguments that parents should not share videos of their children’s tantrums because if videos like that go viral and are shared, when that child grows up he will be known for that, and this can lead to cyberbullying. Cyberbullying is often related to status, those of a higher status making fun of those perceived to be “lower” than them. There is a difference between “joking around” with friends or family and intentionally trying to hurt someone. I believe that it is okay to laugh at your family, but do not take it to social media unless they give you their permission. Sometimes It can cross the line, however, and even if it’s not intentional, people can get hurt. This has happened to me numerous times before. It hurts, but if you talk to the person and set “boundaries”, then it can prevent something like that occurring again.
@Sarah Hess What i don't understand is how are they gonna get a child's consent. i don't think kids should be made fun of but asking for consent to post it doesn't work.
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@Sarah Hess • well Americas funniest home videos got plenty of families paid behind those viral videos
Parents have a newfound tendency to film there children crying and post it in hopes it will cause a few chuckles. We have all laughed over a baby throwing a fit or a close friend falling or saying something not so smart. Personally I don't laugh in order to hurt them. There is a chance that like the article mentioned I do it because I feel more powerful than my friend or the baby or whoever Im laughing at. I don't laugh in jest if I know something is more serious I become concerned. I don't think laughing is cruel, I think it's a good way of making light of a difficult situation.
@Grace Trimpey-Warhaftig I agree. I don't laugh if it's serious. I will run and help if someone is hurt but if it isn't serious I will laugh. It's just a response I have. Idk I have a lot of empathy. But I laugh at pain. I believe it's just human. Most comedy came from the comics pain.
Why do we laugh at the misfortune of others? Is it the satisfaction of being in power of the situation while the other is in distress, or the feeling of being an outsider not in the center of attention that gives us comfort? In this article, Rebecca Schrag Hershberg and Daniel T. Willingham advise that laughing at the misfortune of others “provides physiological distance from negative feelings like shame or anxiety.” Not being the one going through the misfortune can allow the freedom to experience what others would feel seeing one go through the misfortune, and relieve negative feelings associated if that person was going through the same thing. Hershberg and Willingham also said “humor was a key method of coping with distress” which can be a coping mechanism for feeling upset for the one going through misfortune. Overall though, I think we laugh at others misfortunes for many different reasons, the main one being that the situation is uncomfortable and a stress reliever is needed.
I laugh at my brother all the time for doing stupid things. The only reason people (or at least me) find people hurting themselves really funny, as long as it isn't a serious injury. I go on reddit all the time, and go on a "subreddit" called "kids are stupid", and its just countless videos of kids making stupid mistakes, like playing with a leafblower, and making a huge ash cloud when thy point it toward a fire pit, then they run away screaming. They didn't get injured, but they made a stupid mistake.
@Gavin I could also watch those videos of people falling over and getting hurt on repeat for a good chuckle. There is a chance that we are laughing because we feel more powerful than the ones that are in a tough situation as the article suggests.
@Gavin I could also watch those videos of people falling over and getting hurt on repeat for a good chuckle. There is a chance that we are laughing because we feel more powerful than the ones that are in a tough situation as the article suggests.
Do I ever laugh at the misfortune of others? Well yes sometimes when it seems like an ok time to laugh I laugh. Most of the time when I see something happen I ask if they're ok and if they are then we laugh at the fact that they just like tripped or something. I mainly laugh at my own misfortune and my familys misfortune.
I think that it is okay to laugh at someone else as long as they're laughing along with you. Laughing in the wrong situations can mean to bad things and even problems between people who used to be close friends. As long as they know what you're laughing at isn't super serious, and the persons knows it's just a joke, then sometimes, it helps. Like for example if your friend trips and falls, you of course ask "are you okay?" but they just get up and start laughing at themselves. Then that is the right place where you can laugh, it even takes their mind off the fact they just fell, and now they're in a good mood from laughing.
When we are very young there are just certain things that we cannot control. Like what we find humorous. It’s not our fault it’s just how our brains work. Now that I am older, people my age are expected to act more mature, and as everyone gets older they do mature. It is a fact that a teenager is more mature than a seven year old. Even though we mature as we get older there are some things that are just hilarious that we couldn't help but laugh. I find that with my friends it is easy to laugh if they fall, get hurt, or just make a stupid mistake, especially with people I am closer with. With people I am not that close with it isn’t that funny compared to a good friend. In the article it talked about people laughing at toddlers for throwing tantrums. I think there is nothing wrong with this because the toddler is not able to process things like an adult so little things can seem like a tragic event to toddlers, but to grown ups it can be funny because it seems like no big deal . The toddler won’t even remember the event in five years.
In the article it says “Because you know there’s no real danger during a typical tantrum, you joke in an attempt to silence the false alarm your ancient brain is sounding.” this is talking about how in a real crisis, when the child starts crying parents react and try to take care of the incident as soon as possible. But since there is no real danger or harm in a tantrum it becomes funny to use because there is no real reason to be alarmed .
Posting videos of children in distress is not just wrong, it’s cruel. Children don’t have the capability to regulate their emotions yet, and they should be nurtured, not shamed in this area. They need to be cared for, not posted. Using your crying child to get attention is so twisted, and it shows flaws in parents.
I’m sure I’m not the only one who cries over completely irrational things, way past the age when I’m supposed to grow out of it. I know I shouldn’t be crying, and it doesn’t happen that often, but if someone used me freaking out to get attention on social media, I’d be infuriated. I’m not sure me having a breakdown is exactly parallel to a 2 year old’s tantrum, but I do sometimes feel like I understand kids that age. Sometimes your water really is too wet, the only difference for me now is I know I'm being irrational. These 2 year olds don’t know that, they’re just crying because they’re stressed.
I think we need to stop laughing at kids who don’t know what they’re doing. I understand the need to cope through laughter, but posting online is taking it too far. Parents need to respect their toddler, and the person that toddler will become, and leave their kids off social media.
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I do sometimes laugh at the misfortune of others. Sometimes it is online and sometimes it is in person. Normally I don't really think about it I just see someone tripping and falling, or making a dumb mistake and I just laugh. I am not trying to be rude or make them feel bad about themselves it just comes out. I think that people find other peoples suffering funny because it might just be a dumb thing. For example someone is drinking gatorade and it spills all over their front. It was just a dumb mistake but a "funny" one.
In all honesty, I do often find myself laughing at the misfortune of others, both online and in person. Being a clumsy person, I know what it’s like to be laughed at for my misfortune. I like to think of it as more of being “laughed with” than “laughed at”, because, most of the time, I’m laughing too. I strongly agree with the statement, “joking about difficulties with those who share your situation creates an in-group, a feeling of solidarity” (Hershberg and Willingham, 2019, 5). Personally, I make fun of my struggles with my friends because it makes them seem less overbearing. I also think it’s okay to laugh at someone’s pain if they’re laughing too, because I’m okay with others doing that to me. However, if your laughing is upsetting the person, then it is important to stop so you don’t upset the person further.
Well, I’m just gonna open it up short and sweet: yes. Who doesn’t? I may sound like a jerk, but sometimes some schadenfreude is just what I need to cheer up my day. Now, I find the article to be talking about something different than what I laugh at. Posting your toddlers’ freakouts on Instagram might be funny and even calming at the time, it can be hurtful to your children to laugh at them. But I digress. I mean, it’s completely different to laugh at some guy who forgot about a take-home quiz than it is to laugh at your own kids? Right?! At least that’s what I tell myself. Because even if schadenfreude is wrong, it’s one of my many (possibly unhealthy) coping mechanisms.
I feel like anyone that is asked the question "Do you ever laugh at the misfortune of others?" would initially deny it because of how negative it sounds to take pleasure in another's downfall. In reality, however, that is the root of most modern day humor. We, as a society, have glorified this sense of comedy with things like television shows, examples being MTV's "Ridiculousness" and ABC's "America's Funniest Home Videos," and media pages. There are entire accounts on platforms such as Instagram and Twitter that are dedicated to posting "meme content" daily to entertain armies of followers. This, I believe, is the line that divides the humor between a funny video of your little cousin or some teenager doing something stupid and getting seriously injured. It can be assumed that most would deny the idea of laughing at the misfortune of others, but in today's world, someone has to be the butt of the joke.
@Annalise Robbins I totally agree with this. In our modern society with all the television shows and videos, its like we are programmed to laugh at someones misfortune.
I fail as well in front of my friends and they tease me a bit, but i get over my setback and laugh a little with them. But I think there needs to be a line drawn once the person being laughed at is uncomfortable with the joke and starts to get aggravated by it when it is brought up in conversation.
I have a group of friends that i talk with everyday during school, and we constantly make fun of each other. Its always hilarious and fun, making fun of each other over shortcomings. But one thing that gets to me quick is my weight. When someone makes a joke about my weight, it just seems to make me start to get defensive about it and hostile. The first time it is brought up, its like "Wow, you got me, now please shut up". Then if i gets to being constantly said over and over again. i get fed up and start to get aggressive, sometimes physical with my reactions. not violent fighting or anything, maybe just a quick push or slap. Other things, i'm fine with, like how my friend got a better score than me in a game of Kahoot. But im not mad or over dramatic about it. Toddlers can be a bit of a pain in the butt when their concept of life upsets them. There is no harm in recording it for memories though.
I Came into this article thinking it was about laughing at the misfortune of people with financial problems or about how a person looks but about it being about crying kids. In this sense I do think It’s ok to have a little laugh at a kid throwing a tantrum. A tantrum is nothing serious and every baby has a tantrum. Just like the article says ‘joking about difficulties with those who share your situation creates an in-group, a feeling of solidarity.’ Knowing that every parents with babies experience tantrums.
If the circumstances are a person making fun of how you look, financial problems, or family problems than it is not okay to laugh because they soon can become insecure. These people try or can't do anything about it and is not right to laugh at them about it. If you are close with someone and they are teasing you I think it is okay to get humor out of it because you know them and you know they are giving you a hard time. Friends can still cross lines and if they are true friends they know what the line is.
@Trey Parkes I think that if someone is laughing about something that the victim can not change like the way they look or how much money they have then that is totally inapropriate . But yes i agree that it is OK to laugh at someone that is throwing a tantrum or is mad at something small and meaningless.
I don't think that it is ever ok to laugh at the misfortune of others, if they aren't laughing. It might be ok, if the person who has just had the misfortune is laughing, but they should still always be the first to laugh.
@Naiya Brown, so simple, so right. Thank you.
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I don’t laugh at the misfortune of others especially in a serious situation, for me that’s unrespectful. However, I do laugh some occasions at others but not in a serious misfortune. Back in high school my friends used to cut classes therefore they used to go to ISS that means, instead of going to their classes they have to go to this room until the end of school with no phone and finish all the assessment for the day. In that case I did laugh because they deserved to be punished for their actions and cutting classes doesn’t bring you any good in your future. On the other hand, when I got invited to my neighbor funeral of course in that case is different because I respect the condolences of the family. Lastly, in my opinion we have to separate the misfortune and the funny of an individual.
Do not show your specialty with your humor and do not build your happiness above other’s misfortune. This statement was always told by my mother. What she means that I should never laugh at someone else’s pain because that is not any fun and that also deepens the pain or hurt others more. I think people can teasing each other if not, it is too boring. However, I agree with the statement “teasing entails trust”. Because if the person you well known, or is your close friend, you do not take the jokes seriously. In addition, you will believe that the person does not really want to treat you as fun. Therefore, I also think parents making fun with their child is ever O.K. However, parents do not have to do anything bad to their child. Parents have to promote the happiness of the children. Parents are responsible to let their children grow up believing in a better world, a world without bullying.
I would like to begin saying that someone’s misfortune is not a reason to celebrate or being happy; I do not remember a situation in which I ever laughed at the misfortune of other, because it is normal not being fortunate. I think people who find others’ suffering funny are not normal. I find in it certain kind of sadism because the normal reaction is empathy. The only situation I consider we can laugh at someone else’s pain is in a circus’ spectacle when clowns are doing their show; or perhaps when a close friend slide and fall because it is funny.
I have never seen my parents, or friends ever shared an embarrassing moment of me online or in public. About this, I agree with Ms. Hershberg and Mr. Willingham’s argument that parents shouldn’t share videos of their children’s tantrums online, because trying to show something funny, they show a situation that they cannot manage, which is the behavior of the children; and it is certainly embarrassing even for themselves. The most important reason is also said on the article, and it rests on the idea that we do not have to play a lower status role just to make fun of others. Why should I sacrifice myself to make fun of others?. It is incomprehensible, we have to respect ourselves and then respect other people. As adult we can choose not to embarrass ourselves, but children have no this option; therefore, parents have to understand the big responsibility they have and ensure not embarrass their children online or in public.
Have you ever laughed someone who made mistake or fall down? I think it’s depend on situation and who made the mistake. If have a misfortune other people who I don’t know I never laugh for sure. When my close friend or my family member do this only their nonsense, then I laugh sometimes. I think is what type of mistake they do. If it is not a big deal I laugh. If it is serious issue then I don’t laugh and try to help them. In my experience, my friend and I was walking on a street and gossiping. He was so serious about it so he didn’t look at the road. A dog lay down on that road and he has dog fever. After that he fall on the dog. The dog ran away right side and my friend ran left side because both got afraid. In this situation I was laugh. If the dog bit my friend I never laugh for sure and try to get him to the hospital. So I laugh only if they are my close to someone and important think is they don’t hurt for this misfortunate.
A lot of people like to laugh at the misfortune of others. However, I think that we should not laugh at the misfortune of other people because we do not know when it is going to be our turn. When I was a teenager, I used to laugh at the other people’s misfortune. For example, when somebody fell down on the street, I used to laugh. However, after I am an adult, I have not done that anymore because I realized that, it is not fair for those people who are suffering. The best thing we should do is, to shriek with those who cry, and cheering up with those who are happy, because that is correct in front of God.
@Santa_SW I am a teenage girl and sometimes I like to think of myself as mature but at times I know that I cannot help but laugh when certain things happen to people. It makes sense that you say when you grow older you realize that it is not okay but I am noticing that a lot of people my age do not realize that. Now mainly in movies and TV shows is where we get out comedy of people getting hurt but sometimes it happens in real life to which we need to realize is not the same and sometimes it is better to say nothing and to make a funny remark to giggle.
All depends how it is level in the misfortune of others, because in this time we can see on the social medias people fall or hurt in any situation and it may be funny. If I fall or hurt myself I will laugh a bit and if others laugh too I won’t care. It’s a thing that happens in every one’s life. Whatever your attitude changes in whether or not it is a misfortune. Life always is not pink so we must be strong if in any case we live a bad moment or misfortune in our life.
Humor cannot work if someone is not being being targeted, that is a universal constant. When someone falls in spectacular fashion to the ground after tripping themselves I'm going to laugh. If someone accidentally walks straight into a wall, I think that's funny. When I fall in spectacular fashion, I'm still giggling. Doesn't matter if I'm witnessing it in person or on a screen, still funny. Laughing at the misfortune of others has a dedicated term called schadenfreude. It is actual basic human nature.
With that being said, I have no qualms in finding setbacks hilarious. The problem arises when we're making fun of people who aren't in on the joke. Such as toddlers, calling them curse words is kinda extremely petty and falls more on the sad category then the laughing one. However that can also fall under the basic human behavior category as the article states, laughing is the best medicine for those in stressful situations such as parenthood and it’s sadly commonplace to share toddlers misfortune on social media. I’m not condoning this behavior but I understand why it exists. Putting yourself on a higher platform does boost confidence, but then the kids aren’t in on the joke, which is also a pretty big rule of comedy. That goes from harmless fun to just straight bullying. I believe the article sums it up best as to “always laugh with your children, never at them.”
@Joe Keller This may sound cruel, but if I have kids, they are absolutely going to be teased and made fun of. I consider the ability to laugh at yourself a virtue, and I would try to teach my children that. For instance, I have this beautiful habit of tripping over my feet and hugging the ground (ask any of my friends)-- it's hysterical. When my friends tease me and inquire how I survive cross country, I'm not the least bit upset. However, there comes a point where we have to draw a line, which is kinda what I thought you were saying. Whenever the jokes go on after everyone's finished laughing, or if the words become sharp and passive-aggressive, the time has come to move on.
@Grace Robertson
I would also tease my children when they mess up , but only when they are also laughing at themselves about their mistake. im not going to bring it up in random conversation to see how they react are make them feel bad.
My dad sometimes does this to me and it can get on my nerves as he is the only one laughing. I'll ask him a question about something that I take seriously, and he'll start making jokes out of it trying to be funny. I tell him to cut it out while also showing a bit of emotion in my voice, and he just jumps all over it and says things like "are you going to cry?", or "did I hurt your feelings?" in a very sarcastic tone. this usually makes me quite mad and i just storm out of the room.
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I think sometimes its appropriate to make fun of someone but sometimes its not funny. like if its a kid saying something wrong or doing something wrong thats funny but if its a kid crying or someone getting hurts thats not funny. someones life is in danger and people are just going to laugh at them. especially babies crying people think thats funny but that baby could be suffering.
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Laugh at any other misfortune it depends on situation. If the situation is serious, we should not laugh at them. Like, when someone falls and get severe injured or get dangerous car accident etc., we won’t really laugh. However, if someone falls on icy or sleeper road or doing any funny activities then we can laugh. It totally build on circumstances. Moreover, laughter is also ease the tension of others like awkwardness, embarrassment. In addition, people who know each other really well, laugh just for a joke. Sometimes, people laugh back and other times in severe cases, it can ruin friendship.so, we just need to be careful about feelings of others.
@Mehejabin LB I agree that the situation and people involved matter when laughing at others. If the person who is injured or embarrassed is laughing, then usually it's okay to laugh too. But if no one else is laughing, then there can be serious consequences, and it may be considered bullying.
In my opinion, I think that laugh at someone is like bullying, but sometimes we laugh not because of what happened but because of the way it happened. Many times, people have no compassion and tend to laugh in front of others as if nothing had happened. However, it is not the right way to react a situation of misfortune because we do not know how strong that person’s pain is. On the contrary, instead of laughing at someone, the best way is to help that person at that time.
In my opinion, laughing at the misfortune of others is not good when a person laughs and the person is very serious it only causes problems. For example, when a family member do something wrong or falls on the floor the same family has the same resentment, when a student fails on an exam and another student laughs when he fails. It is not good to laugh at the misfortunes of other people because it only causes aggression and discomfort.
Publish the tantrums of our children on social networks constitutes a misuse of social networks and damages the relationship with our children. When parents publish the tantrums to their children they are behaving like children. Social media is a good way for we share with another person our experience, but when we publish negative things about others people we are abusing about of the uses of social media. Some parents think that it is very funny publish the tantrums to their children and this is very bad because they are creating a negative situation with their children and those can have negative consequent in the future. While children are young they cannot do anything about it, but after they grow up probably they don’t forgive it. To conclude I think is a bad idea of the parents publish the tantrums of their children and that this constitutes an abuse of the use of multimedia.
@Julio SW
I appreciate the point you are making, but I don't fully agree. I think publishing problems parents have with their children on social media can offer help. Many times parents feel defeated with things like tantrums and it can help to know other parents are struggling, too. It can also ease frustrations by seeing the humor in difficult situations. Also, as children get older it would be good for them to learn to laugh at themselves and not hold it against their parents for publishing their tantrums, etc.
I think that we should not laugh at the misfortune of others because we could have the same situation. We do not want to feel sorrowful like them. I also believe that parents should not post pictures or videos about their toddlers when they have a tantrum. It is a problem of parents and children. In social media, there are many things that we can find to laugh about many productive things. Moreover, we ought to try not to mock someone who has something bad happen because that person feels bad. Nevertheless, many people find ways to make others feel bad. Therefore we are able to overcome our frustration, but a kid is not able to because they can have emotional issues and it is tough to calm them. We are aware that every person thinks different. In addition, we are supposed to think that we can offend others and they need to be respected without making fun of the things that happen to them
Now in the real life you can watch a lot of videos or photos in social media, and that makes you laugh. However, we don’t know how embarrassing was for he or she in that moment. Some people think like he or she deserve it, but they don’t considerer the pain or post-trauma they will suffered. I remember when I was a child, my friends and I make a joke to one of my best friend whit a mice. We put the mice inside of his pocket and when he opened it obviously he got scared and started crying. The rest of my classmates started laughing, but you know what happened he suffered a post-trauma and now he hates mice. We need to be more carefully what we post in social media because everything has a consequences.
Obviously I laugh about people's misfortune. When I see a video on social media or on the street when funny things occur to people, because it’s normal. If we see something funny, we will laugh. I even laugh of myself when something stupid or funny occurs to me. It’s just normal. However, I think that parents should not post funny things about their children on social media, because they are exposing their private life and of course the privacy of their children. Maybe later in the future those children will feel embarrassed about it. Also it could influence in a bad way their self-esteem.
In some cases mocking the suffering of the rest is inevitable. However I think, it is a bad way because with this we manage to make people who are suffering feel even worse. I think that the best we could do in these cases is trying to contain our laughter so as not to make anyone feel bad. I also think that it is wrong for a father to publish on their social network the suffering of their son and take it as a mocker. Their does not know how these could affect the children as the years go by. I think parents should be more aware of what to post about their children on social media.
I think it is a bad thing to laugh about other people, who fall down or made something bad. We never know if those people do it intentional. However, laughing about people misfortunes or hardships we don’t know their feelings or acts when we start laughing. For example if someone sees a person fall down before we start laughing help that person to stand up. One day while I was walking at home I saw a lady how fall the street many people started laughing, but nobody tried to help her. I felt so embarrassed then I helped her and tried make her good, because I saw in her eyes she felt bad, because we braked her feelings.
I think, that in any moment our life we have been mocked of the misfortune the other persons, for example we have been laughed at someone who made a mistake, fell down etc. Otherwise, when we see that some person really are suffering, we have compassion and we try to give emotional support or that, this person have another perspective of the things that are happening. I think that all this kinds of emotions are natural in the beings humans because we are not perfects, we daily make lot of mistakes, many times we learn of the things that happen to other persons and something have to happen us personally to learn. Daily we grow emotionally and understand most or less those things that happen of that, we cannot mock.
I have to partly agree with this article. People tend to laugh at the misfortune of others because , honestly speaking, it is funny. Now of course there is a line between what is funny and what is not. Watching your friend fall or slip is undoubtably hilarious , but if something serious happens to anyone like an injury or serious misfortune that's where the situation should not be considered funny. Some of those youtube videos have also made people laugh at others misfortunes, but even for those who do have misfortune they seem to laugh it off. After all laughter is the best medicine.
@D. Wecamp I agree with you that there is a line drawn where serious injury becomes a factor. I think that laughing at small things is good, when its with someone you know. I do not think it is a good thing to compile those into youtube videos which are then advertised, and allow people to make money off of others hurting themselves. Is it funny when my friend trips, spitting out his gum in the process, and landing so that it gets all over his face? Yes, it absolutely is. Is it funny when a random stranger starts getting money from it? No, not at all.
To be honest, I used to watch this YouTube channel called "Fails". It had videos of people(and animals) doing physical activities and then falling, or slipping off their bike and hitting their no-no square. I loved this because it made me laugh and because I wasn't the one getting hurt, it was some random person I had never seen before. I don't think it was cool of me to laugh at those who were unfortunate enough to stumble across pain because I myself have had "fails" and they were not so funny to me. I believe it depends on the circumstance and if you know that person can tolerate a few laughs from his friends.
I have laughed at the misfortunes of others, but I don’t think I have in a harmful way. If someone posts a video of someone else struggling, but the person struggling can laugh at themselves too, then I would think it is funny. Also, videos posted of kids too young to get their feelings hurt or be embarrassed can also be funny. But if someone were to post a video of someone truly struggling about something serious then I wouldn’t find it funny and I would think that it is unnecessary that they posted that. I understand where this article is coming from about people posting about their baby’s tantrums, but I honestly think that the article is taking it too far and being overly dramatic. Babies having tantrums about stupid things is very comical and I think that it is just fine to laugh at that. Posting these videos can also help other parents dealing with similar frustrations with their kids. Also, I have had friends share embarrasing things of me online like me falling or just doing something stupid and I honestly think that it is funny and I always laugh at myself. Posting these videos may help others to know that it is healthy to laugh at yourself and that these embarrassing things happen to everyone. As long as the person in the video isn’t getting their feelings hurt by the video, it is fine to laugh.
I love to laugh. All the time. It is something that calms and humbles me. A good laugh with all my friends is something we can all enjoy. However it’s only funny when everyone is participating and no one is rudely the butt of the joke.
Today my friend tripped on a bookbag and fell on the ground. It wasn't a hard fall or anything dangerous in particular. Just a fall. A funny and wacky fall. She slight picked herself up and started laughing. We all laughed together even though it was at her. She didn't find it cruel in any way. It was just a little fun to ease the tiring day of work we all had.
I think that people make fun of other's misfortune to help there despair and inside pains.Certain people laugh at others misfortune for their pain but you can also have those that just find it funny. Like me for example I have my limits and I find certain hings funny and some not. When someone falls or hurt themselves in a non life threatning way but my limit is when something happens to a person and it could effect others or themselves in an intense way. In TKAM it is common to make fun of ones misfortune. An example would be that lack of respect that Scout gets because of her being a female. Jem usually makes fun of her and reference innapropriate things to her gender usually hell do it when he is having emotional pain. Laughter usually helps people with emotional pains.
Let's be honest. Everyone who has read/commented to this article has absolutely laughed at someones misfortune.
(If you haven't please reply to my comment because if you haven't you're perfect and I'd like to learn your secret.) Here's why; when we, as humans, get lucky, it is in our nature to at the very least chuckle at the misfortune of a parent/guardian, relative, sibling or friend. Now, i don't mean we laugh if they seriously injure themselves, but I'm saying that you laugh if they get a detention for something stupid, fail at a video game, or a teacher picks on them. So you don't laugh at the big misfortunes, but the small ones that, in the end, don't really matter, but at the moment, maybe feel like the whole world.
@Oliver K. I agree with Olivers description on humans humor and think that it is the perfect description of the matter. No one laughs at the life or death situations, it is the lighter misfortunes that us non perfect humans find humorous and will continue to laugh at forever.
I never found physical misfortunes funny. When I was younger I'd see "Funny Compilation Videos" on Youtube, very only consisting of slapstick and violence. I never found it funny, in fact I felt horrible whenever I saw someone getting injured from an exaggerated stunt. I can see why others might find it funny, but it was never really my take on humor. If we are being honest, I think we all tend to laugh at others misfortunes. Whether it be something minor, like tripping on a shoelace or not reading something correctly, it's all in good fun, and usually becomes an inside joke between friends. I find it harder to laugh at others misfortunes when we aren't as close. I just end up feeling bad and wanting to look away because I feel it's not my business. I find that to be an interesting phenomenon. How we find it okay to bully the people we know best, sometimes unintentionally, but care to make a lasting good impression on those we don’t know.
Even though it is always dependent on the situation, the misfortune of others can not only be funny, but reassuring that it is in fact true others make mistakes. I think it’s fair to say everyone has at some point laughed at the mistakes of others, but recording and posting for your own benefit is a different situation. There are obviously exceptions, but making someone the butt of the joke more than they need to be can be embarrassing and inappropriate. As for parents posting child tantrums, don’t. Those types of videos are just simply unnecessary for a strangers feed on social media. As long as the butt of the joke is laughing along with you, I think it’s completely okay to use it as some comic relief.
@Ella Fredrikson I agree with your view on laughing at others' misfortune. Whether or not it is okay to laugh at someone depends on the situation. It can be a fun joke with a friend if it's taken lightly as a silly mistake. I thought it was interesting and true that you said it's reassuring when others make mistakes because we know we are not the only ones. I also think laughter can take away our embarrassment. It is, however, another story if the joke is not funny to the targeted person.
This article grabbed by attention because it was relatable. I know that I have laughed at people's misfortune and people have laughed at mine. This is so common now that we think it is okay. I think that sometimes it is okay if the person that was harmed or something happened to is laughing with you. This has become so common that parents will record their kid crying and getting hurt and make a joke of it. I think this is okay to a certain extent but after that it should not be okay. People thinking its okay will just grow and get worse. Eventually people will not take anything seriously anymore. This is very scary to think. Just think about if you got hurt and instead of people coming to help you they just laugh. I think with things like this you need to put yourself in other people's shoes before you laugh or try to make a joke about it.
@Samuel Jones I agree that laughing at others misfortune has become the norm. Even I have done it many times. I think that if you are laughing at a friend or you are laughing with someone it's fine. But I agree that at some point people will stop taking anything seriously, I have even seen myself laughing in these serious situations.
I laugh at the misfortune of others. We all do. It's called Schadenfreude, and it's a feeling of relief or satisfaction that no, you are "not the only one," as the article states. It's natural, and you shouldn't feel bad for feeling it. This is where I disagree with Ms. Hershberg and Mr. Willingham.
Now pulling out your phone to essentially publicly mock someone, on the other hand, is, I believe, despicable. This is where I DO agree with Ms. Hershberg and Mr. Willingham.
@Lucas Kruger I agree with you that in some situations, laughing at other's misfortunes is just a part of life. Sometimes, it actually makes me feel better when someone laughs when I fall or make some clumsy mistake. It lightens the air and makes it easier for me to laugh at myself.
I also agree with you that purposely filming someone's mishap is never okay, especially if they take it from there and put it on social media for others to see.
Do you ever laugh at the misfortune of others? Yes I do laugh at others misfortune. Anytime I'm on social media or even when I'm with my friend I will see people fall or hurt them self's doing something. I will laugh but not an extreme amount. If I fall or hurt myself I will laugh a bit and if others laugh too I wont care. Its a thing that happens in every ones life and we should just move on unless its a serious injury then that's probably not the best thing to do and help them if they need help.
@Jason S I partially agree with your opinion on this matter. Sometimes, it is natural to laugh at another’s misfortune, if it is a small issue. If everyone realizes that this misfortune is funny, it is appropriate to laugh. But if it is a serious problem, you should not laugh. For example, I would laugh if my friend fell, but I would not if they had crashed their car or failed an important assignment. This is really an issue of context and being able to read a situation.
Personally, I like to laugh at other people’s screw ups. However, it is all dependent on who you are laughing at; I only do it to my close friends and family who I know can take it as a joke and not seriously. Not only that, my friends do it to me as well. My friends and I also know that this teasing is not serious, they know that it’s only friendly banter between friends. On the flip side, I would never laugh at someone I don’t know. I don’t know them, and they don’t know me, so all you would be doing by laughing at a random stranger is being rude. However, people will deliberately get hurt for laughs—all they want is attention— and they post it online on social media. People getting hurt on a YouTube or Instagram video will make many people laugh, even though the person is a complete stranger to most. Maybe it’s because it’s a video from very far away, and the people know that laughing won’t affect the person who got hurt. Overall, laughing at someone’s misfortune is something that should only be reserved for a friend or family member that you know can take it, and whatever happened is not something serious.
@Luke Zemenak I agree, if it was one of my friends or at least someone who I know that I know will handle my laughing well, I will laugh. If it’s someone on the side of the road like you said a stranger I wouldn’t even think to laugh. Like you said there’s tons of people who are making videos of people getting hurt can be funny but it’s not like we are thinking bad. More like a simple joke-of-a-laugh, in a way.
@Luke Zemenak
I agree with you. Laughing at a friend versus laughing at a stranger are very different from each other. If you’re laughing at someone you don’t know, people would naturally assume you’re a bad person. It’s a little strange that we’re accustomed to laugh freely at a close friend or family’s misfortune without worrying about hurting them but it’s a completely different story when it’s anyone else out in public. I believe if anyone witnessed a situation like those viral fail videos on social media happen in real life, they wouldn’t be laughing the way they do behind a screen. It’s interesting to think about.
I will laugh if the person is someone I am close with, like friends and family. I generally don’t laugh at other people I don’t know because I think it’s disrespectful. In the article connected with the writing prompt, it explains the problem with parents posting their children having meltdowns. Some videos of people’s misfortune can be comedic, but I honestly think it’s unnecessary and mean to the person in the video. I don’t think it’s the best thing to be putting embarrassing videos of people online if they don’t want you to. In the article Ms. Hershberg and Mr. Willingham says that “teasing entails trust,” I Agree and disagree with the statement because teasing with friends sometimes does entail trust because you are making a joke and not taking things seriously. But you can still cross a line where it isn’t funny anymore.
When i comes to what I laugh at, unfortunately about 50% of it comes from laughing at others misfortune. I try to restrain myself however i find it to be extremely difficult sometimes. I believe that while it’s not totally appropriate to laugh in a situation where another is suffering, as long as the situation isn’t totally serious and the person is ok, I think it’s acceptable (although it’s better to laugh when they are!). Either way, this should ideally only occur with your friends, as when it comes to such behavior online, you never can truly know if the person is actually ok.
To be completely honest, there have been numerous times when I have felt tempted to laugh at the misfortune of another person. Depending on what type of setting I am in, I often try very hard to not laugh at that person, and I try to put myself in that person’s shoes. If I know the person well and I know that they are ok, I often will laugh with them, rather than at them in a mean way. There are millions of videos on the internet of funny and embarrassing misfortunes that have happened to people right at the world’s fingertips. Since people all around the world have such easy access to these videos, I think that it is important to get consent from the person in the video before posting it on the internet. Overall, I believe it is ok to laugh about something if you have permission from a friend or family member, but it should never be one’s goal to humiliate someone on the internet.
Dependent on the situation and who’s in involved, I believe that it sometimes it is ok to laugh at the misfortune of others. When with family or close friends, it is often appropriate in my opinion, especially if it’s a silly thing that won’t affect them long term. For example, I have a friend who’s super clumsy, so if she falls, we often laugh because we know it’s not a big deal and we have developed trust, so it it’s clear we don’t truly mean to make fun or hurt her feelings. Though I don’t believe it’s okay to laugh at someone if there’s a long time consequence to their action or if I don’t know them and their is a chance they may have a disability and in my opinion it is disrespectful to laugh at people you don’t know. I also definitely don’t think it’s okay to exploit others misfortunes, especially such as by posting a video, as it is very rude and disrespectful for their privacy.
Although it is shameful to admit, I do find myself laughing at other’s misfortunes. It seems to be a very hypocritical topic as authority figures reinforce that laughing at a misfortune in bad, but at the same time, they laugh something themselves. However, I do think that there are certain things that can pass this rule. For example, there are many who ‘laugh off’ their own misfortunes in a light-hearted way. In those instances, I believe that it is acceptable to join in. When it comes to more serious problems, like family struggles, someone should not laugh at someone else who is going through a rough time.
i think that is it inappropriate to post videos of people in distress or if they are in pain and upload them to internet to get views and likes. it is very rude and unthoughtful of the person and can hurt them even more.
Part 1-
There are numerous times when I am tempted to laugh at another person because he/she made an unwise decision. During these moments, I try my very best to put myself in the other person’s shoes and ask myself how it would feel to be laughed at. When I see the situation from the viewpoint of the other person, I often stop laughing and am able to calm down. Often, I only laugh because there are other people who are also laughing at the person. If I alone had watched a person make a silly mistake or decision, I would not have laughed at him/her, but because there are other people laughing and making fun of the person, I am tempted to join along with them. However, I never post pictures of the follies of others on social media. I never wish to humiliate people in front of the world and try my best not to share the misfortunes of others.
@Sahil Patel I agree with the fact that you don't post these moments on social media. I as well would never do that to someone else to get likes or shares. It just isn't worth it in the long run. I think laughing with someone is okay but anything else is attention seeking.
Part 2-
As shown in the article, the majority of parents throughout the world find it amusing whenever their children do something silly and go to social media to share it with all of their friends and relatives. Parents should be able to understand that their children do not want to be humiliated in front of the whole world and should not poke fun at their own children on social media. The article explains that for a two-year old, the water in his sippy cup being too wet and his dog dying might be equally tragic. Before parents begin making fun of their children, they should try to see the matter from the perspective of their child and realize that for their child, the matter may not be funny at all.
Nowadays, I believe that people feel too much pressure to post videos of others on Facebook, Instagram, or other social media platform. Making fun of the mistakes of others is actually encouraged, not discouraged, in society. Posting videos of others without their consent on social media ought to be prohibited, or at least, discouraged. As human beings, we should understand that no one likes to be humiliated and mocked by their friends, relatives, or strangers. If we want to make the world a better place, we should at least attempt to be decent human beings and not find happiness in the misery of others.
I do laugh at misfortune of others in real life and online. I think people suffering is funny because it is not you experiencing it.
I think it is O.K. to laugh at someone in pretty much all situations unless family or death involved. Yes I have had some of my embarrassing moments posted online. Status plays a big role in making fun of others. I think that it is okay to make fun of someone with a lower status if you do not take it too far. Teasing does entail trust because usually you tease your friends and people you truly know. I d not think that someone has ever crossed a line when teasing me.
In my opinion you should only laugh at someones misfortune if it is a close friend who understands that you are joking, but do not post what they did. When it comes to a child's misfortune one should not spread their tantrum to the internet for others to see and laugh at, because this could lead to the child having say trust issues or even where they are scared of peoples attention towards them. If the child is old enough, these types of issues could happen and lead to the child feeling a bit disconnected from the one who posted it.
@Brianna L I do agree with you about how laughing at some misfortunes is okay if you are friends, and they know you are kidding. But I think if you over-do it, it can get annoying and they person will start to feel resentment towards you. Americans today tend to believe that posting their children’s tantrums is funny but I do wonder how the child will feel when they see it at a later age.
I feel that the article has some good points and some bad ones. I think that it is unfortunate that some kids feel distressed enough to scream yell and or throw a tantrum. Although I don't think that her way of disregarding dark or normal humor is a good thing. In my life, I don't think P.C. culture is too bad but it can definitely make things worse when they could be better. Sure you can feel empathy for these toddlers in their time of need but don't disregard comedy as a whole. Making fun of bad things doesn't make mankind evil it makes mankind more optimistic or at least happier. Is it wrong to seek joy in a time of need because shouldn't human feeling matter to which a toddler doesn't necessarily have many feelings?
i think it is not good for parents to be posting the kids tantrums.because this can make kids think that it is OK to do that.i know people only post that stuff to get famous.because people know people like to see people getting hurt ,upset,sad.just the bad stuff that could happen to people.
I don't think you should, but yes it very much so depends on the persons situation. I laugh at things that are funny but yet, I realize know as i'm getting older that most of those funny videos are of people in pain. I feel like it is really depends on the person and the situation.....
No I don't think it's okay to laugh at another persons pain. It's unfair and you kind of feel attacked. Sometimes when me and my family would be on vacation or just normal day to day routines, my dog would slip and fall or run into a pot and my family would laugh. I started to realize that pets have feelings too and we shouldn't laugh at them when they are hurting. And it's the same with people. Try to console with them instead of laughing.
Do you think it is ever O.K. to laugh at someone else’s pain? If so, in which situations? If not, why not?
Some times its okay to laugh at someone else's pain, but only if it is a close friend or family.
Yes i do think other peoples misfortune of other is really fun in some cases but if its like bullying or a sexist or racial sler then that's another story. I think sometimes people want to feel bettr about them selves because they are not happy with the way they are and that they have things going on at home and they need to take that anger out on other people that look like they have a good life or is that they might be smaller then them so that they cant fight back.
Do you think it is ever O.K. to laugh at someone else’s pain? If so, in which situations? If not, why not? It is okay but only if it wasn't a bad situation and the other person is laughing first. But if someone got hurt or is upset about something it really isn't' something to laugh at.
dose teasing someone mean you trust them? well for me I would have to say yes I tease friends about stuff to make them laugh. Like a funny moment we spent together pr inside jokes. I could never say something like " you look like a chicken nugget" to a class mate or peer.
I do think those vids are funny but more is just kind of too much and going out of your way to publish a video abut a little kid who doesn't know better is just wrong. Yeah they never see it but, when they see a camera in their face recording what they're doing, the situation will get worse.
I honestly think that parents should post about their child's crying on the internet. I think they should cause they can get feedback from people and they can figure out what to do. because when a kid crys then it raises the heart rate. Parents can discuss with other parents what to do when a kid goes crazy. that is why I think parents should post about their kid feakin out.
@henry butsch I disagree because normally people will just be like aww a cute little kid crying and most of the time the parent knows what to do, they just think its funny and that random strangers should be able to see it.
I think in certain situations laughing at a small mistake would be acceptable. If it's clear that the other person is bothered by their mistake I wouldn't find that an appropriate time to joke or make fun of that mistake. I think some people laugh about misfortune because of the simple fact that they are either one insecure, or two that is the only coping mechanism they know. Sometimes it's a lot easier for someone to make a joke about others issues then to be supportive. Acceptable times wold be after small mistakes or if the the person laughs it off first. It's quite easy to tell when someone is embarrassed and upset even if they add and awkward laugh to the mix. So I just think others should watch out for that, otherwise I think it's fine.
i think it is okay to laugh at others pain as long as they laugh to or if you laugh then they laugh or if they are OK with you laughing at them.
laugh at pain.:/
@jonny OK? Well its sometimes OK because sometimes they are pretending not be hurt so people wont think there weak.
My mom has posted embarrassing photos and videos of me on the internet but she never posts me throwing a tantrum or stuff like that. I know that lots of moms do post their child's tantrums and I think its just annoying and wrong. Its not that funny to see a crying kid just crying while the parents are filming them. I mean it could be funny to a relative to the kid but to me a total stranger, I think its just wrong. Like do something about it! Your kid obsessively needs help or might be in pain, stop videoing them and help them!
@Kristina I totally agree! I hate seeing parents video tape their kids crying when they should comfort them.
@Kristina I agree parents are supposed to comfort you and other people shouldn't juts be able to laugh at your child is crying.
I sometimes laugh at something that might be funny like if your friend tripped and fell, you might think that its hilarious. But, it mostly depends on who it is, like let's say it happened to a teacher you might help the teacher up, but you won't laugh. I think it okay to laugh at a right time and moment.
Do you ever laugh at the misfortune of others — whether in real life or online? Why do you think people sometimes find others’ suffering funny?
i have not laughed at the misfortune of others in a bad way but i have laughed sometimes when i shouldn't have and i apologized and made up for it. Also some kids are really mean and are trying to be cool and make fun of and laugh at other peoples misfortune and hide behind profiles. They say mean things and are not good people and are probably insecure of themselves and are rude people. kids now want to be cool and other kids get bullied and made fun of and get laughed at. kids need to be themselves and not laughed at and i think thats whats wrong and the bullies need to be stopped.
i believe that its not okay for parents to laugh at their kids it doesn't teach them anything sometimes the fits they trow are funny but its still not okay.
I think that it is really childish as a grow up to post a video of your kids tantrum. It may appear funny to others but sometimes people can be made fun of if somebody you know finds out.If you post some thing like that it kind of proves that you as an adult are immature to be posting a video of your child throwing a tantrum.It also shows people that all you do is go on social media and post anything that you think will make people give you attention.As you can see people who post these stuff are just immature.
When I was younger, my family and I would sit together and watch “America's Funniest Home Videos.” At first it was fun to see the cool tricks and funny mix-ups that people recorded, but soon I saw a dark side to the show. It emerged when my family would laugh at the pain of the poor children that were pranked for the camera, until soon, every time we would settle down to watch it, I would make an excuse of something else I had to do. Shows like this teach parents that it’s okay to make fun of your child. In "Do You Ever Laugh at the Misfortune of Others," it's said that if someone is unnecessarily mean to another, that tormented individual will be “much more likely to smile or laugh” when something bad happens to their tormentor. Exchanges like these are toxic, it’s better to keep jokes to a minimum.
There’s also a difference between lightly joking, and making fun of a child that doesn’t understand yet that their parents are meant to protect them. Joking around with those that can return the favor is different from one-sided mockery. Don’t make fun of a child that can’t defend themselves. Like the social hierarchy mentioned in the article, children can’t make fun of their parents or risk being hit with the same “Respect Your Elders.” Here’s a tip: if you wouldn’t want your child to show their class a video of you being fired, don’t share embarrassing pictures of them online.
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@Simone Cronier I like how you connected a personal life example to your argument. You mentioned that "it's better to keep jokes to a minimum," but when I joke with people, and they smile, I feel like we're connecting. I enjoyed how you compared making fun of toddlers and brought it back on the parents being made fun of in the end. Your writing is exciting and engaging, and I'm glad I was able to read it.
@Simone Cronier I like your take on the subject you did a great job at explaining it.
@Simone Cronier
“America’s Funniest Home Videos” is an excellent example of a show where people make fun of the follies of others. Shows such as this one encourage people to find happiness in the suffering or misfortunes of other people and I believe that they can be extremely detrimental to society. This is only one example of the numerous shows out there in which people make fun and laugh at others. There are plenty of comedies and TV shows where laughing noise is created in the background plainly for the purpose of getting the audience to laugh. The fact that we have trained ourselves to be entertained by the mistakes of others demonstrates how corrupt human thought process has become.
I agree with your comment that there is a difference between teasing and making fun of someone. It is part of human nature to tease and joke around and it is important for humans to have fun in life. However, making fun of other people by posting embarrassing and humiliating pictures of them on social media is unacceptable and should be frowned upon. The tip you included at the end is very meaningful and basically shows that if you don’t want people to make fun of you, you should not make fun of them. Before you post pictures of someone on social media, ask yourself whether you would want that picture or video to be about you.
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Do you ever laugh at the misfortune of others- yes i think is ids funny to see someone fail. it doesn't really matter if i see the fail in front of me, i usually laugh a little. if i see a nice fail online a might laugh. i think it is OK to find mistakes that other people do funny. but if i fail at something and i get laughed at it just hurts a little.
- no one reed this.
@Mr.Nathan.H I like the way you think and I appreciate we can share some similar views. I think it isn't all that bad to laugh at the bad because it's not like we're dismissing the issue as a whole we're just trying to be more optimistic.
Do you ever laugh at the misfortune of others- yes i think is ids funny to see someone fail. it doesn't really matter if i see the fail in front of me, i usually laugh a little. if i see a nice fail online a might laugh. i think it is OK to find mistakes that other people do funny. but if i fail at something and i get laughed at it just hurts a little.
- no one reed this.
@Mr.Nathan.H I dont really agree cause you cant take it but can dish it. Its also appropriate to laugh but also cant laugh a lot at people and to know where the line is..
I think that it is extremely immature as an adult to post a video of your kids tantrum. Some might find it funny but, it is just sad and the parent of the child should be disappointed of themselves. Not only is it disappointing but, it is super immature because, if you where to post a kid crying that is a huge clue that you are addicted to social media and post basically everything.
@gavin I agree because some people are immature and they are just on social media.That is why i agree with gavin.
@gavin I do feel sympathy to these toddlers but it isn't that bad to do these things. We aren't hurting the toddlers only making fun of it. It could be seen more as documentation than a misinterpretation.
Yeah i think everybody has its funny when people make mistakes but when its serious i tend not to laugh. lets say someone falls and they hit there knee if they stay on the ground and cant get up i wouldn't laugh but if they get up and walk it off then would chuckle a little yeah .
@owen I agree with you cause it can get serious when you need to be and also funny and laugh when its appropriate. and also if the person who fell can agree and laugh then its completely fine.
@owen I agree with you because some people laugh a very disrespectful moments and don't care.That is why I agree with Owen.
sometimes i think that it is ok to laugh at certain people pains. but it depends on the person you are doing it to. as an example you dont normally walk up to a stranger and laugh at them if the make a mistake or mess up. but sometimes people will mess up things on purpose and they want people to laugh because they do it for attention. the only time that i will laugh when someone messes up is normally when one of my friends do it. this is because they know that i am not judging then for what they did. in my opinion no one should be judged by their mistakes.
Yes. I had a laugh about it when helped them. I would only laugh if it were my friend, or family member. It is okay because sometimes they learn to laugh with you and than it turns into a joke and than left alone. Me and my friends have many jokes from when one or two of us made mistakes, and when we remember them we don"t do it anymore and learn to not make those mistakes.
I think that it is okay to laugh at someone else's pain as long as they're laughing along with you. Laughing in the wrong situations can lead to horrible things and even hatred between people who used to be closed friends. As long as the pain that your laughing at isn't super serious, and the persons okay with you laughing, then sometimes, it helps. Like for example if your friend trips and falls, you of course ask "are you okay?" but they just get up and start laughing at themselves. Then that is the right situation where you can laugh, it even takes their mind off the fact they just fell, and now they're in a good mood from laughing.
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@Sara i agree with you 100% its not ok to make fun of people in serious cases
@Sara I agree, laughing at someone else's pain while they're are laughing with you is better then when they are not.
Do you think it is ever O.K. to laugh at someone else’s pain? If so, in which situations? If not, why not? Yes I agree when it is a appropriate situation like if they think it is funny too. But if they obviously are ashamed and are not having fun then no. If they fell off of a table and they laugh because they jink they were dumb then it is OK to laugh.But if they fell off and they are crying then as how they are.
Have you ever laughed at a video or something you saw in person. We laugh at these things because we don't physically feel these emotional pains or sadness. We also laugh because it usually something that's not that bad in pain and something that we could walk through and live and not necessary going to the hospital. Thank you for reading my comment.
@aviel
I agree with you that people laugh at others who are in unfortunate situations because we ourselves aren't feeling the things that they are. I wouldn't say it's very often or at all that I see an America's Funniest Home Videos clip where someone trips and falls or get's hit in the groin with a baseball bat and laughs after. There's a reason that TV show has so many seasons: it's easier to laugh at other's pain than to deal with our own.
indeed, i do laugh at other's misfortune but i don't know why nor have found a way to control it. Its has happened ever since i can remember and i don't exactly want to laugh, it just happens and most of the time i feel realy bad afterwards. Like even when i cause the pain, its realy sad. I don't know if anyone else feels the same and i dont know if this is like a sigh that in a sociopath or something but its true
@Nathan C I get it, sometimes I do laugh too. I'm sure that everyone has at least once.
Yes, I do laugh at the misfortune of others, typically when it is online. I think that sometimes people find others suffering funny because they either have experienced that discomfort or they don't understand the pain of the situation. In most situations I try not to laugh at others getting hurt because it is rude, but if they barely even get hurt, for example, get a small scratch and then act like it is the worst pain they have ever experienced then I find it funny. If I ever do laugh at people who get hurt really bad then I feel super guilty. So yes I do laugh at the misfortune of others.
@Parker I may not laugh at peoples pain online, but I am guilty of laughing at peoples pain in person. I've caught myself do it to and immediately stop.
I dont think that people should be commeting on a childs mistakes. Even though mistakes are good, that doesn't mean that they should be putting their opinion on social media about that child.
I think that laughing at someone else pain if you know them and they are able to also laugh at there pain but if they get offended or it actually really hurts them.
Do you ever laugh at the misfortune of others — whether in real life or online? Why do you think people sometimes find others’ suffering funny?
Yes I have laugh at misfortune of others in real life and online. On Instagram its kinda hard to not come across something that isn't showing pain of others for amusement. The reason why people think pain of others is funny is because we don't physically feel the pain so we don't have to go through it as the people we are laughing at are.
My family has posted a embarrassing video of me when i was little. i agree with them that a childs tantrum should not be posted online. i think its wrong and the world doesnt need to see your child throwing a tantrum online.
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Do you think it is ever O.K. to laugh at someone else’s pain? If so, in which situations? If not, why not? Yes I do if it wasn't a bad situation and the other person is laughing with you. If the person that got hurt is in deep pain and crying. it shouldn't be something to laugh to. Many people try not to cry but they really want to, and people that laugh make them feel better laughing with them. laughing isn't anything judging and people should not get offended by it.
@Diego I agree with this because parents just don't know when to stop posting about there kids. But once the parents post a picture about the kid getting sad you know it is too far.
@Diego i completely agree i think it is important to know when its important to laugh and when its not.
Do you think it is ever O.K. to laugh at someone else’s pain? If so, in which situations? If not, why not?
No. I do not think that laughing at someone else's pain is okay. Because for one is it rude and not nice, there is also no point to why you should laugh at that, and lastly it makes that person loose there self confidence. That is also how people become depressed and could cause them to kill themselves or something that no on should have to go through, and by laughing at someones pain will never help you prove your point either.
Parents should never video them having a tantrum, to me that is just cruel. When i was younger i would have tantrums all the time and my mom and sister would just tease for it while i was still having the tantrum. Because of there teasing me while i was crying i felt even worse when they did that and made me cry harder, but when i cried harder they would either keep teasing me or tell me to stop crying. When my mom would apologize to me for teasing me she would never mean it instead she would always tease me further about it and it would keep making me feel worse about myself and kept making me every frustrated. That's while parents would not post their kids tantrums, because while they do that they make the kid feel terrible.
I think its inappropriate to post your child throwing a fit online. Yes some people find it funny but its your personal business. I think its okay to laugh wen its a laughing matter. For example when people are being clumsy or getting scared. But it is a totally different situation when it is a video of your child having a fit.
I do laugh at the misfortune of others. Sometimes depending on what happened I will feel bad. I like to watch videos of people doing things that I think are stupid and they end up getting hurt because of their stupidity. If some one is hurt on accident I will usually feel bad. If they caused the pain themselves I usually don't feel as bad. I play games with my friends and some times I will be saying something and I might stutter or say a word that doesn't make sense and then my friends will all laugh and make jokes! its fine in my opinion! We all do it to each other. I don't think I would want my embarrassing moments to be shared! At least not without my consent. If I did something stupid and someone wanted to post it I would want them to ask first and not just upload it. I don't think that people should post embarrassing moments of children/ toddlers/baby's because they can't really give consent. I think if the person gives consent to post the embarrassing moment then it is fine.
Do you ever laugh at the misfortune of others — whether in real life or online? Why do you think people sometimes find others’ suffering funny?
Yes, I have laughed at other people tripping or getting like bumped into. But if I think that they are really in real pain I don't laugh at them I just help them. I think people find it funny because its someone else being clumsy or awkward and its not you. But I try to laugh with people.
Question 1:
Along with many other people in society I often laugh at people's misfortune. I laugh mostly at the videos I see on social media of people falling, or a guy jumping off the roof and landing flat on his stomach. The reason we laugh at those gut-wrenching videos is because our brain does not know how to process what we're watching. It is in shock. The feeling of being shocked leads the brain into not knowing how to respond, so instead, we just laugh. We also laugh because the person getting hurt seems to be okay. Other times when I laugh at a misfortune event it is because the victim of the event is a close friend to me. Other people will agree that they laughed because it was their friend and they claim it is ‘okay’ to laugh at someone close to you. A couple of weeks ago, my teammates and I were at a team dinner and one of my closest friends on the team was playing a game and fell and smacked her head on the ground. Instead of running to her to make sure she was okay everyone started to laugh. We laughed because we were unsure how to respond and we knew she was okay.
@Kara Wecamp i totally agree with you. people very often laugh in serious experiences.
Do you ever laugh at the misfortune of others — whether in real life or online? Why do you think people sometimes find others’ suffering funny?
I have laughed at all the misfortune of others both in real life and online. I think people sometimes find others' suffering funny because sometimes people do it on purpose to make everyone laugh but others might laugh because they just like their reaction and some times it can lead to them trying to be misfortune on purpose and it can get hurt (it can be dangerous).
@Michelle - I agree with your statement. This happens almost every day and many people don't care.
@Diego no diego,i agree with your statement. people can prey on misfortune
Yes, sometimes I do laugh misfortune other but usually I feel bad for them because you dont know what is going on in their life because what if they are being abused or harassed online or at school by someone or at home. I only laugh at someone when its a joke but when its real life and they get hurt or picked on, I don't laugh or make fun of them because they are physically or mentally being hurt. Yes, a lot of the times I get hurt my family laughs and that is ok because I don't mind it. If someone is more popular and they get hurt or something people don't say anything because he is the "cool guy" but if another student that is not that popular gets hurt, they get laughed at the most because no one cares about him or hr because they don't know him or her.
@Israel i agree with you its fun to get a laugh and that its truly not right.
No it is not good for the parents or older family members to make fun of a younger family member because when you make fun of them they notice that and they might inhabit that same thing you might of inhabited from your parents, They will learn how to antagonize their siblings. eventually think it is OK for them to be an antagonist to their younger siblings but also other adults siblings. This could get your child in lots of trouble if they think its OK to make fun of other adults children and they probably wont have many friends antagonizing other kids.
@Simon -I agree with you because every in their life has this happen in their life. And the parents or family members, they shouldn't have conflict.
I do not think teasing requires trust. Teasing is an act of comfort or a relation between multiple people. When teasing a sibling you do not always trust them enough to tell them all of your secrets you rather have a level of comfort with them where it is clear that you are merely joking around about the teasing. No one has ever crossed the line while teasing me because the people who tease me are mostly close to me, so I am comfortable with them to understand that they are trying to joke. If I do not know the person who is teasing me I will try to understand it as a joke or simply ignore the comment and move on or change the subject to a different topic.
I think that it's okay laughing about other people when its simple things like them being clumsy and they're also laughing but when they are genuinly bummed out or they're stressing over the story or expereince then it's not. but in the case of parents laughing about their child on the internet i don't think that should be normal due to the kids learning empathy and such from the parent, The child looks up the parent naturally and learns from them and sets them as the default example and they should be teaching them to always help others in their times of need rather then laughing at them because as the article states they haven't fully developed those emotions and the "Wrong color sippy cup" can be a huge thing for them and its a perfect moment to teach them and set a good example because even if they don't know your humiliating them online they can still read your reaction and emotions which they can still interpret and learn from.
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@Christopher Cverna
I've never thought of it the way you put it. To me, I felt as if this article was over reacting when talking about the empathy of toddlers, because they'd be able to laugh at how ridiculous they were as a kid. I never thought of the fact that parents are role models to theirs kids. You made a very good point that kids are learning how to empathize with their parents, and they might see that making fun of others is okay.
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I don't believe it is ever okay to make fun of someone. Perhaps, that person is insecure about something you're making fun of. It can really effect them. Example: If you make fun of something that person is born with, such as birthmarks of hair color, they cannot control that trait about themselves, which can cause people to hate how they look. Or, you make fun of something optional, such as dress-styles, which may make them change how they dress, therefore making them NOT themselves. I disagree with making fun of people. Its a mean way to drain your insecurities onto someone else.
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@Millie i completely agree with you.
Question #2 : Do you think it is ever O.K. to laugh at someone else's pain? If so, in which situations? If not, why not?
I don't think it is ever O.K to laugh at someone else's pain. You never know how the person is feeling, in situations like this hurting them more will not take the pain away it will increase it instead. Instead of laughing at them when they're in pain, comfort them and give them space. Understanding that the person is in pain will make the situation better. If the person is a close friend or family it might come to you to instantly laugh because believe me I do it all the time but from me laughing I'm learning that I don't know how they're feeling, are they laughing just because I'm laughing or are they laughing because it's truly funny. Rather than laughing at them laugh with them and if they're are in pain help them and laugh with them through the good not the bad.
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I think laughing at a post is not okay if the person is physically or mentally hurt. It would probably be appropriate if the person looks as tho there having fun, for example someone gets hit in the head with a ball and starts laughing right after. I do laugh if I'm being honest when a friend or family member shares something with me on Instagram and it has a funny caption, it might include someone doing something dumb or getting hurt, I mostly laugh because they decide to do something stupid and don't think about the consequences of there dumb action, and the injury is minor . However i don't really laugh if the injury is is severe.
Yes, it is ok to laugh at other people's mess up, but only in a few situations. The man one being if the suffering persons laughing than you can laugh along with them to not make them feel so alone.
In my opinion making fun of someone or laughing at someone you don't know is totally wrong. Like what would you do if you twisted your ankle and couldn't get up and everyone is just laughing at you. It would be VERY embarrassing for you. Just like the golden rule " Treat people the way you want to be treated. " If you actually help the people and don't laugh at the person you would be a better and nicer person. Thank you for your time.
it's not okay to laugh at kids tantrum.
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I do laugh at other people online and in real life but it depends on what you are laughing at. Like if your brother falls and he gets up laughing is it not OK to laugh at him even though he is laughing is that saying that he is suffering. Or if your toddler comes up to u and says that his water is to wet than this is funny that would be like laughing at any other joke. Now when someone is in serous pain and u laugh about it than that is not cool or even if u post about it. How would you like it if your mom posted a really embarrassing thing like you crying about your dog dying than that is sad. I think that there is a cretin level to post things but if they are so post to be funny then laugh and if they are sad of bad than don't post it .
@Megan I really agree with what you are thinking about. It is not okay to laugh at somebody who is hurt.
I dont think its ok to post your kids online but if you were to send it to someone or if it wasnt a bad tantrum it would be ok, parents might think its funny to post there kids throwing fits
Laughing at someones misfortune can be wrong but when they make a mistake and or forget something some of those people might need to lifted up by others and the only way to do that would laugh. Parents posting their child's tantrums online is bad and can hurt the child's self esteem if they ever see the video or picture and it is a one way ticket for your child to hate you. If your parent has a funny picture of you they should never make fun of you if they post it they should complimenting you because in most cases you may not enjoy the picture like say your mom has an embarrassing picture of you when you were little you think it looks funny but to her she thinks it looks cute, not all parents are out to make you feel bad and most just want to share your cuteness to others. Teasing should always stay in a family not to hundreds of other people, teasing is a sign of love and and can be part of a healthy relationship with your loved ones.
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I think it is okay to laugh at someone when they trip or fall down.
everyone laughs at that. something like death or emotional pain isn't a joke. some things are okay to laugh at. others are not.
I don't think it is okay to post a kids tantrum on social media because laughing at somebody post of a kids tantrum is not a part of somebody business. It's something parents have to go through to calm their kid down, and posting it on social media would be a waste of time.
As a human being we have different emotions. Myself, i laugh at the wrong times either because its an awkward situation or because i dont know what else to do. its probably not right to laugh at others pain or when someone is struggling but we dont do it to be mean, it just happens
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I mean I do laugh at my brother or my family members or my very close friends, if like they fail at something or did something stupid, but i don´t find it funny if they are suffering, i honestly don´t know why other people think it funny to watch some one hurt them selves or fail and suffer from it, i don´t find humor in that.
People should not laugh at other feelings because , you never know how the person is feeling and you laughed at him/her which is not equitable. If the situation seems that you are not hurting anyone then you could laugh but if someone in pain then you should not laugh . You should understand the feeling of the person who are suffering. Usually some people are not able to understand others pain and they laughed at them which is different because they never understand or might be they do not want to understand which is not suitable. I believe if you are educated and you live in society and you have feelings you should not laughed at others pain. However , who knows you will be the next person and you will be face the same problem like others whom is suffer pain also suffer other peoples reaction.
@Sabiha-LB I completely agree with you, everyone has different home situations and they could be in a lot of pain. when you laugh at them for a simple mistake they could explode from everything that has been boiling in them and hurt them selves.
I think it is not okay to make fun of others if you don't know the situation because you could not know the type of pain they're in. You should not post people or kids online funny or not, but it may be okay to laugh sometimes. If they don't allow you to post it online because they're in a moment and they don't want people to see, then don't post it. If you want someone to like and trust you then don't tease them and embarrass them its not cool anyways. So, before you post or laugh about someone think about what they're feeling too.
@bella I get you're point and I couldn't more. it's not okay to laugh at or post something someone doesn't want you to. if it's a good joke then that's fine but bullying or even posting something you shouldn't is wrong. like you said, " think about what they're feeling too".
@bella but what if they like to laugh at pain like my friend Bella when ever we play basketball and she gets hurt I laugh because I know she is not in great pain so sometimes its okay.
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I'm going to be completely honest, I do laugh at kids crying and throwing temper tantrums, but there are videos all over the world with kids crying and them talking like they are all of that. I don't make fun of them though I just laugh. Usually the parent post them on the internet on purpose to show how funny it is and usually it goes viral. It's not always funny like that and sometimes parent post those types of videos to show how bad toddlers are, but toddlers are gonna be toddlers. I feel like people laugh at other people when they fall because it's just an instinct for us. We don't do it to make fun of them we just find it funny.
@Braezen H
Ya sometimes depend d on what the situation is i will laugh at a toddler throughing a tantrum because its funny and if it for a stupid reason
@Braezen H
I agree with you, Parents just post their toddlers online because they think it's funny and to show what their life is like. Also the videos that go viral about toddlers is to be funny and we don't make fun of them because of what they are doing, we just find it funny.
@Braezen H I agree that they can still be funny but in the sense of the parent posting that affects the child and they can start learning from a not so good example. The parent should be helping their child due to them not fully understanding the severity of the situation in the child's undeveloped mind.
I think in certain situations I think it's okay to laugh at someones pain only if they're one of you're good friend and they'll know that your joking. If you see their mood change then obviously apology. Something that would be helpful is to know and see who's more sensitive than others and to not joke around with them as much. Also remember that most things are funny but to a certain extent.
Laughing at the misfortune of another person is not a bad thing and making fun of your children and posting it is not a bad thing, laughing is a common thing that basically everyone does. In TKAM there are examples of mockery for example when scout was making fun of dill for drinking a gallon of water a day and says she is left out again because she is not talented in that area. This is an example of when it is okay to mock someone because it's not directly hurting Dills feelings. I laugh at the misfortune of others often I think that sometimes however there are times and places where you shouldn't. My mom has posted videos of my misfortunes and fo me I don't mind yeah sue they are embarrassing but it's easy to get over. They think that it is ridiculous to post your child's tantrums calling them bad names at a young age is not okay and neither is making fun of them in a point where they are upset. Status is a big factor on making fun of others. Someone that has a higher status is more likely to make fun of o mock someone that has a lower status than them. I think that anyone can cross a line when making fun of someone else its just what people do.
@Amya Ocasio I agree. I find it quite amusing when toddlers cry over dumb reasons. As long as you don't make fun of them to the point theyr'e upset.
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to answer question number two i don't think its okay to laugh at someone if they seriously get injured. That could be a serious tragedy and your sitting there laughing while they're crying in pain because they broke their arm. If it's just a little thing like you stumble while walking i will laugh with the person. But if they stumble and they are embarrassed i will try not to laugh because then that just puts them down. how would it feel to be laughed at by the whole school when you go to get your "award" and you trip i assume not very good.so instead of laughing at them try to help them up because to only are you helping them up physically but also mentally putting them in a better state.
@isaiah Yes I totally agree.
@Braezen H Yes. If you make fun of someone who gets injured, you may or may not be a sociopath. Though, if its harmless, such as a kid fall onto a ball and ricochet off of it, thats funny.
personally i don't think it is o.k to laugh at someone else's pain because not everyone knows what they could be feeling. And most people or all go through some sort of pain, and i don't think any one else who is going through pain would like getting laughed at. And no one should be laughing at someone when they aren't having a good time, because they can just make it worse. That is why i don't think it is o.k to laugh at someone else's pain.
Do you think it is ever O.K. to laugh at someone else’s pain? If so, in which situations? If not, why not?
I think it is OK to laugh at someone else pain if they find it funny . For example if a person stubs their toe on a couch and you start laughing and then they smile and laugh too then its OK , but if they break their arm or have a disease and their crying and in serious pain and you start laughing and they don't find it funny then its not OK . It would not be OK because it may be a sensitive topic for them .
@Danica I totally agree especially if they are laughing with you. when you said if some one stubbed their toe and they start to laugh it is okay to to giggle.
@Danica I totally agree. You can laugh when someone falls or cries but it has to be the right person to laugh at. You don't want to laugh at someone who is sensitive.
@Danica I agree because it's ok to laugh when someone trips while walking. but if you laugh when they're in serious pain then that is wrong.that's almost as bad as laughing at a man or woman that can't walk. it's to giggle or even burst into laughter if someone stubs they're toe.
There're are some times when it is okay to laugh at other peoples pain. One of those times is when there laughing themselves about it. If they are crying, hurt, or embarrassed by it then that would be one of those times to not laugh. When in a sport people get hurt a lot, but not to the existent of them crying about it. Almost like how when you trip and fall. Your hurt, but not to bad. You will probably start laughing at yourself about it. I know I would. Sometimes that can differ from each person. Some people are more insecure about embarrassing themselves. I am not one of those types of people, but some of my friends are. That means that I have to be careful at what I pick jokes at because the last thing I want to do is hurt them. I also am okay with people pick jokes about how tall I am. I am short and I know it, so when people make jokes about it I laugh along because I know how to make fun of myself. It is only okay to make a joke about someone or laugh at them when they fall if they are okay with it or if they are laughing along with everyone else.
Question I responded too: Do you think it is ever O.K. to laugh at someone else’s pain? If so, in which situations? If not, why not?
@Ella
i agree with that
@Ella Its OK to laugh at someones pain only sometimes when its your friend but its never OK to laugh at some complete strangers pain.
My thoughts on this article is that I agree that we shouldn't laugh at others if they make mistakes because everyone makes mistakes and we learn from them. We should treat others the way we want to be treated with respect instead of being so immature.
@Betsy Agreed
when I was pretty little my grand parents got the new iPhone at the time. It was the 5 or something on that update they got Siri, every one was asking her questions so I wanted to give it a try. I held the home button and said siri " what is the sharpest knife in the world" and she didn't pick up what I said, but everyone else did
they were confused but started to giggle. I was so embarrassed, I was just curious. Good thing nobody got that on video.
@emmett that's a little funny but i can totally see where that can be embarrassing.
I have defenitly laughed at others when they do something out of the ordinary but i still believe that it isn't ok for it to be posted on the internet because some things could be personal. I just think parents should keep photos and videos of their kids off the internet. sometimes people could laugh it off but when it comes to little kids i don't believe they have discovered the strong emotions of being seen on the internet without consent. I scrolled through the comments of this post and i have seen that its mostly about consent of posting videos or images on the internet but how is a little toddler gonna even know what to do when he or she is asked that? All i'm saying is that children should be kept off the internet because how would you feel if you didn't like something you did was caught on video and posted about.
@Jesse Me too when you post something its a little over board. All of the videos of the kids crying or getting hurt are taken by their parents.
@Jesse sometimes laughing at other people can make you feel better and as long as no one is being bullied and they are laughing at them self i think its ok
Do you think it is ever O.K. to laugh at someone else’s pain? If so, in which situations? If not, why not?
I think it's okay when the person whose being laughed at is also laughing. For example if they're telling a story about something stupid they did over the weekend and laughing about it then it's okay to laugh. If they're telling the same story but not laughing and really bummed or regretting what was said or did, then instead of laughing and joking with them you should be taking into consideration the feeling of the person. It's actually really rude to deliberately laugh at someone if what they're saying something that is personal, and sensitive. It makes them feel stupid, and hurt. If they're laughing, then depending on the situation it's once again okay to join in on the laughter.
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I think that laughing at someone else's pain depends, if it's okay. In situations like a child crying over their cheese stick being opened the opposite way is funny and could be laughed at because it's really not that major and doesn't need to be helped. But, say someone tripping, falling and breaking their arm is not funny. I think it is best to laugh when a problem happens to a person who is laughing about it. It is not a good time to laugh when someone is crying. But, like the cheese example it is funny to laugh at because it is unnecessary. Don't laugh at someone, laugh with them that is the best time to laugh at a problem because you know that they thought it was funny and not a big deal. Yes, I do admit to laughing at someone's misfortune, everyone has. Laughing is contagious.
*An example of mockery in To Kill A Mockingbird, could be that Scout does not dress up very feminine, and people make fun of her for it and laugh at her saying that she should act more like a women.
I laugh at the misfortune of others only but I don't make fun of them. I would only like say something sarcastic to them if they are my friends. It is ok to laugh at others because sometimes you can't stop yourself from laughing but you shouldn't make fun of them after if you don't know them well enough.
When mocking others status definitely plays a role but depends on the type of status being used. Social class or "wealth" class should not be made fun of. Being poor does not make someone anymore less to you then you are to the rich. However, mocking the "age" of someone is different. It is uncommon to see the young making fun of the elderly because it as seen as disrespect, but if elders are mocking the young, especially if they are being stupid, it's ok because they are trying to better them and teach them discipline.
1.i do sometimes laugh at others misfortunes. I think some people laugh when people are suffering to lighten up the mood.
2.Yes but it depends on the situation for example if someone in their family dies then you shouldn't be it would be rude but if they trip then yes because it just lightens everyone
3. they shouldn't because it could ruin their plans for certain jobs.People would start making fun of them etc.
4. like with the second question it depends on the situation. if its something little like tripping its fine but if its like someone broke a bone then they shouldn't.
5. I don't agree with this statement because in the mocking bird jem and scout wouldn't have teased each other as much if they didn't get to know each other etc.
I never laugh at the misfortune of others because that´s not how my brain works, when I see someone hurt or anything like that my first instinct is to help him/her. I think people think that other people´s suffering is funny because they know what it is like to get hurt or have anything happen to them. And the human race is pretty cruel and selfish so they laugh at someone else´s misfortune because they think there life is all fine and dandy.
Sometimes when people make mistakes people tend to laugh. Often, people will laugh to. It honestly depends on the person the mistake happened to. Some people do not like being laughed at. Others really don't mind.
It is totally fine to laugh at someone's pain depending on the situation. For example, if someone is dealing with a disease or a family crisis, it would not be okay to laugh at that. That is something that actually hurts them deeply and things that hurt somebody deeply is not good. There are times that it is okay to laugh though. For example, if somebody does a silly mistake that they knew they did wrong and shouldn't have done wrong or trip over themselves and are not hurt then t is okay to laugh. It's okay to laugh because they are not deeply hurt or offended. That is when and when not it is okay to laugh at someone in pain.
@Cole I agree to that. I have tripped and got up laughing and my friends laughed with me.
People shouldn't laugh at other people if they are different from them. Everyone is different and has their own way of doing things and people have no right to make fun of the way they do things. The article talked about how parents were laughing at their baby's reaction to a string cheese wrapper and how the automatic response is to take a picture or video and post it. In my opinion I would say it is fine to laugh at situations like this because it's just a joke and it will be a good memory to look back on. The parents don't mean any harm they just think it's funny. If someone is actually feeling bad or is less fortunate then it isn't okay to laugh and make fun of them. You might not know their story or what they are going through.If they laugh with you and know it's a joke then this would show they think it's funny too which makes it not rude. This is still going on today because there are more way to reach people. For example there is more technology. People can reach out to other people and say things that might be offensive. People just have to remember not everyone is as fortunate as them. There are tons of videos online making jokes of people in general or children getting hurt. People post these to get views and to get people to laugh when in reality it might not always be the right thing to do. If it is a serious situation laughing wouldn't be the right thing to do because it's rude and you wouldn't want people to laugh at you if you were in the same situation.
@Ria Mehta
I totally agree, when someone is in pain but once you know they laugh then you know it's a joke and you can laugh with them. I also agree with when people post about their children having a tantrum the first thing to think is laugh but knowing that your laughing at a situation that might be actually devastating for that child might be wrong thing to do by posting it on the internet.
My thoughts on this article is that I agree that we shouldn't make fun of people who are having a difficult time because I know that I wouldn't like that if I was getting made fun of and I know that no one else likes getting made fun of so why do it?
Some people laugh at this kind of stuff because maybe they're with their friends and if their friends make fun of someone they think it's okay to do it to. Sometimes you'll find this stuff like kids falling or running into things or doing things they aren't supposed to do, we'll usually laugh at that stuff even though we know we aren't supposed to.
Personally, I have laughed at the misfortune events of others many times; its a natural response to. On thing that can often happen among teens is that they upload it without their consent, which later leads to cyber bullying. Although people can often misunderstand it and laugh at it on the outside, they don't know how it feels on the inside. Just because I do this does not mean I encourage it. When teens and sometimes adults are just trying to have fun and do a flip off a dock and accidentally fall, that's when you shouldn't laugh. In 2019, these types of videos are often misunderstood so much, and you shouldn't really laugh at ones injury unless they are laughing too; or, If you've experienced the same pain. What I often think is that if you wouldn't want someone laughing at you, then do not laugh. I do agree with Hershberg and Mr. Willingham's idea though; you shouldn't post your children's videos of their tantrums, because that can lead to cyber bullying, but the odds are very low.
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@Haeden Senter Exactly just like the show AFV usually the person getting hurt isnt laughing.
I think that laughing at misfortune of others really depends on the situation the person is in. First of all something that needs to be said is that of course it's not ok to laugh at a little kid for throwing a fit because of food. And I think what makes it worse is that parents post about this certain situations. It seems very inappropriate and isn't humble. Yes, almost everyone has laughed at a situation that shouldn't have been laughed at or maybe made a comment about something that has happened. But I think if you have done it once you shouldn't be doing it again. When laughing at someone you don't know that comes off as disrespect. If it was someone close to you such as a family member or friend that's completely different. I personally think that it isn't ok to laugh at someone even in certain situations that could be silly. The reason why is because you don't know who the person is and also nobody in the world is perfect so you shouldn't be doing things that are inconsiderate. The saying actions speak louder than words applies to this situation because, the actions you make towards a certain issue whether it's laughing or joking about something you should always think about whether your reaction made an impact or what you said.
I think that that it is not okay to laugh at people because you don't know there situation and why they are reacting that way. If you were to be mocked you would feel what the other person is feeling and you would see that it does not feel pleasant being mocked. The thing that I have never understand is why do we mock little childrens truams. Like there young and don't know everything and there still learning new things so why is it worth mocking little kids?
In my opinion, there are scenarios when it is O.K. to laugh at someone. These scenarios can include when they are laughing as well, or if you know they are completely okay and are not upset or hurt, and they are laughing or smiling at the situation too. In any other situation though (if they were actually hurt or crying or visibly or mentally upset) this would not be okay because it could mentally impact them or give them major anxiety in regards to something similar happening in the future.
I try not to laugh at misfortune of others. Some people can just be mean and find it funny when bad things happen to people. I think that most situations it isn't ok. Maybe in some situations like if someone drops a book or if someone trips over the air and almost falls. My parents have not put anything of me online and I believe that parents shouldn't do that. No, status should not make a difference, just because you are popular and someone isn't does not make a difference. Yes I believe someone teasing you can take away trust. It can make you less likely to want to tell them because you dont just want them to make fun of you, causing you to not tell them things.
Do you think it is ever O.K. to laugh at someone else’s pain? If so, in which situations? If not, why not?
I think that it is sometimes okay to laugh at someone's pain. Although it depends on how the other person feels about it. If the other person is embarrassed of their mistaken then you should not laugh at them. If the person is laughing at their mistake and thinks what they did was funny, then that is okay to laugh with them. In conclusion, before laughing at someone's mistake you should think about how you would feel if you were in their situation.
Do you think it is ever O.K. to laugh at someone else’s pain? If so, in which situations? If not, why not?
I think that it's not ok to laugh at someone's pain unless they laugh first or they laugh with you cause it wouldn't make sense to laugh at someone's pain if the same thing happened to you id be a different story. So in my opinion you shouldn't really laugh at someone's pain. To be honest i have laughed at someone's pain but I felt bad and said sorry to them. Another thing is that people should also not post people's pains on the media without asking them if they can cause that is none of your business to be spreading it to the media if it's not about you.
I believe that it is okay to laugh at others pain only if it is something minor like a fall. If it is something more severe like a disease it will just be disrespectful.
To answer one of the questions given, unfortunately yes I have laughed at the misfortune of others in the past. Sometimes when somebody makes a silly mistake or does something to cause a comedic scene, the majority of people will laugh. I am not proud of myself for laughing but sometimes it is the bodies natural reflex. I do not mean to humiliate them or mock them in any way, I simply just want to laugh at their unintentional comedic gesture. Other times, if one laughs at another one's misfortune the person who was embarrassed could just join along and laugh with them. This is a common reaction to others laughing at you, you want to feel secure so you just laugh at yourself and your own misfortune.
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@Julia Copre This is very true. People do laugh at themselves to feel more secure about their mistake. If they are really embarrassed by the mistake laughing could help them feel like it wasn't that big of a deal and they don't have to feel that way.
Some people reactions are spontaneous and inevitable according with their personality because all of us have different attitude in life. Laugh at the misfortune of others is something that sometimes we cannot avoid. It does not matter if is in real life or online, I do not understand why we only have fun with suffering of others when it supposed that they are in pain. When we laugh at misfortune of other, it does not mean we are happy for that. Our attitude only reflect what is inside of us, and in many occasion we only can laugh because we are nervous and don’t know how to help them in this exact moment. However, we are not demonstrating compassion or empathy to them. The last thing a person in pain need is see another who is having fun with his/her suffering. That’s why I think if some of us have this kind of reactions in front of people who are going through for a bad circumstances, it is necessary try to help them instead of laughing since this can change how they feel and what they will do in the future.
@Daliza-LB I agree it could be so emberrising if something i have done was posted on the internet and that shouldn't be put on a toddlers shoulders.
To answer the question yes, because if a kid is crying over cheese I am going to laugh it is cheese. I laugh when I know that it is a good time to laugh, I would not laugh if it was something really sad like a funeral. I think it is best to laugh when the misfortunes happen to a person who is laughing about it. I would not usually laugh at somebody who is crying unless it was a little kid crying over cheese.
@Sydney Comet ya but when your laughing at them instead of trying to calm them down it just stresses them out more. Also what could be just a piece of cheese to you could be the end of the world for them because they don't know. So next time try to calm them down let them now that its not the end of the world instead of just laughing at them.
Not going to lie, yes. All the time. Comedy is tragedy plus time and as someone who finds like, everything funny, misfortune can be quite amusing if timed correctly. A low LOW point for me was at my grandmothers funeral when my sister whispered in my ear "I put the FUN in funerals!" and I laughed. Out loud. During the funeral. But honestly, who doesn't laugh when something bad happens to others. Most shows includes some kind of tragedy that becomes really funny. I have lost count of how many times I have laughed at someone tripping, or falling, or getting hit in the head. There was once this really funny time when my friend got a concussion from a FOAM BALL. Like, how weak is her head it was hilarious... I'm not a bad person I swear.
I think the only time to laugh at someone’s pain is when they hurt themselves and they start laughing since they know it must’ve been funny but then no because that makes the other person feel hurt mentally and physically of you laughing AT not with your friend. That will hurt them and trust you less as a friend and think of you as mean.
@Shaun Mooney Exactly what I thought. Very true. The only time to laugh at somebody's pain is when they hurt themselves.
I do admit to laughing at the misfortunes of others. Most of the time it's when I watch youtube and fail compilations pop up in my recommended and I click on one. I do think that they're funny and almost always laugh. I feel like people laugh at other people because they think the thought of other people suffering is funny. It really doesn't make sense, but people still do it.
@Lucas So true. It doesn't make sense that humans laugh at somebody's suffering. People just click on a video and laugh away.
@Lucas I agree with you, but I also believe that there needs to be a fine line to when someone is seriously hurt. Although the odds of them of getting cyber bullied are low, It can still happen.
Honestly, while it is never considered morally correct to laugh at someone else’s misfortune or distress, I don’t think the human race, especially Gen Z, will ever stop doing it. Most kids will tell you something along the lines of ‘it’s not that deep’ when they get called out for it, simply because they really don’t think it is that serious. Of course, everyone has their own moral compass, so there’s always someone who’s offended. Personally, I always laugh at the misfortune of others, especially my friends. We have developed a mutual understanding that although we care deeply about each other, making fun of each other is how we show that. Also, sometimes it just really isn’t that deep.
I believe it's very different to record your young child throwing a fit and share it with a few other parents who are going through/gone through the same thing than to blatantly make fun of someone.
The articles backup to prove how the insignificant things a toddler does are more significant to them, saying the prefrontal cortex has not fully developed prevents them from registering what's a big deal and what isn't doesn't mean that it still isn't a big deal. What I mean by this, is if this child does not have any disabilities or conditions which prevent them from growing out of this phase, they'll be able to joke about the video when they're older as well.
However, this does not mean that I advocate for parents posting these tantrum videos online. I do find it a little uncalled for to be using their child for recognition. Sharing videos like those with close family and friends who can realte is understandable, but posting it for thousands to see crosses the line.
In conclusion, I do beleive it is totally ok to share funny videos of toddlers throwing tantrums under the right conditions. There are certain circumstances which would make it so those videos shouldn't be shared, such as if the child has a certain disability. And in general, I believe matters like these shouldn't be posted for everyone to see.
I do laugh at the misfortune of others, but based on circumstances and depending on the person. For example, I would laugh at my sister if she tripped, but I wouldn't laugh at my neighbor if he tripped. I think people sometimes find others suffering funny because, again, its based on circumstances and who the person is. I do not think it would be okay to make fun of someone who has already stated that they don't appreciate the teasing.
I believe it’s okay to Laugh at a little misfortune from someone you’re close to. This is because a little teasing does entail trust. However, laughing at a serious event is not acceptable. It depends on how the person being teased is feeling about it. If the teasing makes the victim unhappy or angry, it should not be done. If there is trust between both of you, and the person being teased is not upset, it is okay and could even reinforce your relationship. Just because somebody has a lower status than you doesn’t mean that you have permission to make fun of them, and someone higher than you shouldn’t make fun of you either.
Laughter is a way to express our amusement over something, whether that be as a result of someone else's misfortune or a genuinely funny joke. I frequently find myself laughing at the misfortune of others because I'm amused and I know that they'll likely end up laughing at themselves later for making a mistake. If I was the toddler in the video that shrieking over my torn wrapper, I know would come to laugh about in the future because of how absurd my problem was. If something truly bad happened that was going to make a lasting impact on my life or someone else's life, laughter would be inappropriate because the person who is being laughed at is never going to feel better about what's happened. However, if they're probably going to get over what has happened and will feel better, I believe it's okay to laugh at other people's misfortunate because its our way of expressing relief that they're going to be okay.
@Sam McNamara I agree with you, and really like your analogy. I believe more people need to find themselves relieving anger through laughter.
I rarely laugh at other people’s suffering and I only do it when everyone else is laughing because it makes me sure that the person is okay and not hurt. Some people laugh at other people’s suffering just because they think it’s funny. I do not know of any situations in which a parent has embarrassed their child online but I do not think it is okay to do that because if the child throws a tantrum, like in the situation where a two year-old’s water is too wet, it is not their fault and they do not deserve to be embarrassed by it.
I think there is a fine line between laughing at an unfortunate situation to be less awkward, and laughing at an unfortunate situation because you’re borderline psychopathic. Let’s face it, we’ve all laughed at the misfortune of others at least once in our life. It’s human nature! It’s completely fine to laugh something slightly embarrassing, because I’m sure it will probably lighten the mood. I know some of my friends have laughed at me when I did something kind of stupid, and I felt better when they laughed because it was less awkward. However, if something very serious happens, for example your friend dropping her wedding cake, it wouldn’t be the best to laugh. I also know there was a time where I got very offended because someone laughed when I did something dumb on accident that wasn't my fault. In conclusion, laughing at your friends, family, or even videos of people in embarrassing situations can help make it less awkward, but you should laugh at your own risk always because the other person may get offended!
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The inhumane amusement that comes from someone's misery is initially appalling, but with further thought, it is not as bad as it seems. People laugh at others because they know the person they are laughing at is going to survive their misfortune. An example given in the article would be the experimenter who “spilled coffee on herself” and was laughed at. The audience laughed because they knew the experimenter was not going to be seriously injured from hot coffee seeing as other people have survived it before. Of course, the audience seems to be intentionally cruel but it is actually an unconscious reaction to laugh as a form of relief when they know everything is going to be alright (enemies aside). For instance, this is why people like to watch comedy movies. Let’s be honest. Real comedies are full of characters getting stuck in unfortunate situations,especially physical ones, and it is because they survive those misfortunes that the audience laughs.
Naturally, there is a line to be crossed when making a mockery of someone’s anguish and it is a line of poverty, famine, disease, depression, etc. But, with these things going on in the world, it is important to cherish the overcoming of small misfortunes.
If somebody has a very serious problem, I do not think it is okay to laugh at them. If they got hurt, you shouldn’t laugh at them, unless they are laughing or you both know it isn’t serious. If someone loses their textbook and is frantically searching for it, but you are hiding it in your bag, that may seem funny. You shouldn’t, however, take and hide something important, like a wallet or keys. It may have negative consequences, like being late to an important meeting. If someone trips and falls comically, and they are not crying but laughing about it, you would be allowed to laugh about it. It is always funny when someone falls and you all are laughing about it. Other misfortunes, like homelessness or hunger is not a subject to laugh about. It is serious to people and can be found very offensive.
I only ever really laugh at people who I am close to such as friends or family, I think it's okay around friends and family when you know they won't take it harshly and it's nothing serious and as long as you ask them if they're okay or whatever after. Neither of my parents use social media and very few of my friends ever decide to post anything of me although there's been a couple times when something is posted that's slightly embarrassing but I get over it pretty quick. I feel like laughing at a child or anyone for a brief moment is fine as long as you keep it brief and make sure everything is fine after. I've had friends who have crossed lines but they apologize after and it usually doesn't happen again or we end up not being friends for much longer. I do agree with the statement "teasing entails trust" somewhat because friendly teasing is really only ever okay with people who are close to you and you know won't take it the wrong way (at least for me it's that way) and if they do they'll apologize or at least notice it.
When it comes to laughing at others I feel as though some people prefer not to be teased while others embrace it. For instance, in my own family, we all are comfortable about making jokes about each other, but we respect each other’s boundaries. However, I find that joking & teasing others is not right when pain is involved. Even so, in today’s world laughing at other’s pain still is propagated through the media, which I find unfortunate and definitely not entertaining. While I agree with the statement that teasing entails trust, in the past I have had others cross the line when teasing me about more personal topics which caused me to trust them less. Overall, I just feel it is important to be aware of your surroundings when teasing someone & before laughing at someone put yourself in their shoes.
I do, in fact, laugh at the misfortune of others. However, this is most often when they harm themselves due to their own un-thought-out actions. When someone puts others in the way of harm or themselves for no reason I allow myself to laugh at their misfortunes. If I really want to watch someone fail so I can laugh at them I will put on a situational comedy. Although I am not a big fan of slapstick humor I do enjoy watching the failed social attempts of regional director Michael Scott or the workaholic Leslie Knope hard at work on a doomed project. These give me a way to pass my time away and an outlet to relieve stress.
@Ray ya but your laughing at their failure making them feel stupid. like if you failed on a test because of your actions would you laugh at it....no. So making people feel stupid because of their mistakes only puts them down.
I don’t think it is in any way acceptable to laugh at another human being’s pain, suffering, discomfort, or struggle. The only way that laughing at anything’s pain is OK is when they are a cartoon character, such as Tom and Jerry. That isn’t offensive, because they are imaginary characters made to be clumsy and accident prone. However, laughing at a character’s pain in a non- animated TV show or movie is pushing the boundary of what I feel is socially acceptable.
I think that it is bad that I say that I do laugh at other misfortunes. Even though I think of it as all jokes, they may not know that. I also have a really bad habit of laughing at the wrong times. My friend got a phone call from her mom telling her that her grandma had died right before her birthday, and I feel her pain and sadness, but I also started bursting into laughter. I felt so bad and horrible that I was laughing so uncontrollably because when someone close to you dies, it is not something very funny. However, if there is some content about other people's misfortune, I do not feel as bad. That is really something that isn't very good to say, but when something is posted, there is always someone bound to find it funny. I don't think it is good to laugh at others misfortune, but I would consider it a “bad habit.”
Absolutely, but never at anything serious. For example, think of all the wisdom teeth post removal videos. These videos are similar to the tantrums of a toddler being posted on Instagram by their parents. The article says, “It’s funny because nothing is wrong,” . Through our side nothing is wrong, but within the mind of a child or a drugged out teen how are we to say nothing is wrong?
In both instances of public mortification the participants are young. Being young involves a multitude of things, but mostly just figuring it out. Therefore I agree with the writers and how this video taping of a child, is wrong but it’s not just the toddlers that are being targeted.
While figuring things out, during youth everything is new, and can be frustrating. Therefore the act of recording one’s “misfortune,” is as the articles says, “not acceptable”.
Maurice Vetri
Julia R. Masterman
I wouldn’t say that I laugh at very serious misfortunes like homelesness for example. I think that it is definitely not ok to laugh at something as serious as that topic, but I do laugh all the time when say a friend slips on a puddle in a hallway. I think people could find it funny if your friend slips because you know each other and your joking but if its like homelesness I think it's because they are probably going through something similar like that in their lives.
I do laugh at the misfortune of others in real-life situations and online. If I am online and I am bored or have had a bad day. I will go on youtube and entertain myself by looking at videos where people had one job and failed at it or people getting hurt in funny ways. In real-life situations, someone may do something so idiotic it is impossible not to laugh. Why do people laugh at the misfortune of others it is either for two reasons. They just can not hold back their laughter. Or they are laughing away some emotional pain or the stress of the day.
I agree with miles, as long as the damage is not permanent or will hurt their feelings in the future. I also don’t think you should laugh at people’s misfortune because it is degrading and that shouldn’t be tolerated. I sometimes do laugh at other people's Misfortune because it can be funny as long as it's not concerning damage. I think the other reason people laugh at other’s misfortune is because they also have encountered some as well and cant deal with it so they laugh at others.
I think that it’s only ok to laugh or joke about someone else's pain when it’s your friend and their ok with it. It’s always okay to laugh with your friends, but sometimes it can get a little out of hand and when that happens it can have an effect on someone. If no one gets hurt then it’s ok to laugh at someone's misfortune because if they are your friend they know that you fool around and that you are not trying to hurt them or make them feel embarrassed.
Personally, I will only find others misfortune funny if it’s not something that will impact their life, and they find it funny. Online now, there are increasing amounts of fail videos where kids or adults get hurt in funny ways. I think that the reason people find these videos funny is because it’s not them who is getting affected, and so they only think about the funny way the person got hurt, and not the person. I think that you should only laugh at someone’s pain if they are laughing about it too. If someone is hurt, and you are laughing at them, then it can make them feel like they don’t matter to you. Knowing what is okay and what's not okay to laugh at can sometimes be challenging, but as long as you try to make sure that the other person is okay with it, then you can decide what to do easily.
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I fell that it is always ok when someone is laughing with you unless they are just trying to cover up the pain and they are actually hurt than it's not right to laugh or make fun of their misfortunes.
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In some situations, I think that it is okay to laugh at other people's pain, but not all the time. In my opinion, when someone falls down the steps, trips or just acts clumsy I will laugh, but afterward, I’ll also ask if the person is okay and apologize for laughing. I’m not the type of person that will just walk away. For me, this is mostly with my friends or other kids because for an adult I feel that it’s more disrespectful, with a kid they probably will start laughing or trying to play it off. But I also think that laughing at others is not okay because people can get emotional and upset even though you think it was something small. I also definitely believe there is a line that draws if people start laughing about personal and specific things because it could be beyond hurtful.
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In social media we can find a lot of videos or pictures of this kind. Some of these result funny for us because it can be inevitable. A kid’s tantrum is annoying especially in the street or in a store when we are shopping. Although this can be funny sometimes, it is not reason to upload in social media to that others see fun of your kids. The kids can think that doing a tantrum is funny instead that this is not correct. They can grow up thinking a wrong concept of to be funny. Also when they do a tantrum the consequence is be in social media. Thinking this is not too bad for the kids because a video is better than a chastisement. Educating kids is not easy work, but we must try to do the best because one day the will be adults and teach other kids things that they learned like correct.
While it is true, millennium people are accustomed to using social media such as Twitter, Instagram or Facebook for everything, not only for chat, or just to pass the time, but also is used to make fun of people. Even though, those medial social it is essential and relevant tool for promoting any news or offer jobs, but not always is used at the right way, some people used it just to make fun of something or someone; they published and it became viral. On the other hand, as human beings we will always have defects which makes us make mistakes, this does not allow us to laugh openly at the misfortune of others who made mistakes [only whether the person who did is family, or a friend; if there is; If there is mutual trust]. Life is about mistakes, because we learn from mistakes. Laugh at the misfortune others it could be also considered bullying because we don't know how the feelings of the person who made the mistake are, and the way how they feel can affect to make more mistakes. However, I think, I believe that each and every one of us has the right to do wherever we want, but as long as we respect people's rights and values .Laugh at someone is not bad, is bad when we keep laughing, especially because the person thinks that is better than the person who made the mistake.
The only time I believe it is appropriate to laugh at anyone for having misfortune, for example, falling or tripping, Is when you are 100% sure they will not be offended by you laughing. I go by this myself. If someone I barely know falls, I will help them up, but If it is a close friend of mine that I often joke around with, I will have a chuckle as I help them up. I believe that it is okay to laugh in these situations, but not others.
It is not appropriate to laugh at someone’s misfortune when they are very sad or disappointed about something, for example, a test grade or a sad moment. I have been laughed at for not getting a good grade on a quiz after already being disappointed in myself, and I think that no one should get made fun of for this.
Do you ever laugh at The Misfortune of Others?
Life is a step of situation everybody lives around your existence, sometime bad thing can come to make cry or good thing can come to make happiness .In my opinion, I never laugh at the misfortune of others, it is unnatural to people enjoy laughing at the problem someone .In any situations people can make mistake ,mistake is the domain of man .Enjoy laughing the misfortune of others ,next time, some people are going to laugh you too .It is better when you see or when you have someone in a situation like that you contribute your support to them ,because everybody can suffer some difficult situation in life .Misfortune comes different way ,such as :pain ,injury ,death ,fall in the exam ,accident etc. Misfortune usually comes suddenly, sometime misfortune can make a correction in life to avoid some problem or to avoid doing anything .But, it is unacceptable to laugh others at the misfortune.
Children are as pure as flower. These innocent souls are full of energy, love, and excitement and playful. They don’t care about what other people will think if they don’t act properly or do something funny. Whatever they do that’s comes from their heart. Although, many times they got suspect as a victim in a funny way to the public posts or in public places. It depends on situation whether if it’s serious or funny moment. Personally I laugh when toddlers fall, cry, crawl or trying hard to speak or want to get something because that’s learning process for a human child but also funny how they trying to do things. However laughing on someone’s pain is not a good manner at all, I would rather help them on that situation to get up. Luckily, when I grew up that time had only camera pictures existed so regarding on my pictures my sibling’s laughs at me the way I looked when I was kid but my parents explain all those memories when they have taken. I’m totally agreed with the article specially authors because in a certain age it’s funny but same time it’s not good to leak your kids, or someone’s privacy to the social media. Because kids could act aggressive by those images and become stubborn sometimes. Nevertheless, we always should have limits on ourselves with surrounding ares to not laugh or make fun out of others situation.
I think everyone in life has ever laughed at the misfortune of others, sometimes it seems fun. In my opinion and depending on what situation you are in, it could cause a negative effect. For example, in children, and in relation to Mrs. Hershberg and Mr. Willingham say that "teasing implies trust." I don't agree because you put them in a shameful situation, no one likes to be seen in that kind of situation. In addition, you cannot know how the child will react in a specific situation. Each person has a different pattern in their behavior, could influence negatively, for example, and create a shy and fearful person. These kinds of consequences can be seen, especially when people are adults.
I think it is natural when I kid shrieks inconsolably can be for several reasons, when they drop something on the floor because is their favorite food, favorite toy and that toy breaks or when they get hurt. But there is a problem from their parent, because when this kid drop some food on the floor or when the kid does something which is funny for h/er parent, the parent eventually take a picture make some sarcastic commentary and share on their social networks; Facebook, Instagram or others. If we think consciously we can see that is a very bad idea to make this kind of “funny” because we don’t know what kind of consequence can bring for a kid, to the place where he or she frequently pass the time for example school is one of that place and I think everyone knows what happen in school, other children can make bully on this kid when they see the picture on the social networks, or do something badly, so in the future this can be a several problem for him or her because the emotion of kids are very sensitive like a sponge.
@Antonio LB ya so true you so right .but also wrong at the same time.
I think is not ok to laugh at someone else's pain because laughing is a bad thing to do when someone is feeling pain. You can hurt them more than the pain. Some children don't like mockery if they fall down, it makes them cry and sad. However, some of them don't care. The only time that I can laugh at someone's misfortune is when my best friend fall, I will feel her pain but I am not going to show it. I know she will feel bad and mostly if I recorded but I don't care because I know she will do the same things if she was me. But, doing that to someone under age can hurt them and they will still remember if they grow up. They will think that you don't like them or care about them that's why you making fun of them. However, if it is your friend or you are the same age you will be understanding each other and you will not get mad. Posting children's misfortune on social media will put your children in an embarrassing feeling because once they grow up and some of their friends watch these videos they will bully them and almost all of their friends. It will be a serious problem and it causes by the parents. These children will not have the ability to face their friends because they will always hurt them and the parents' attitudes lead their children to a bad life.
I never laugh at other misfortune because I will never know one day I would have the same situation. I don’t believe that normal person cannot smile of other misery. I always think whatever is happen in our life or others there is a reason for that. I have a well experience that my little kids failed to do something her friends are laughing at him and my little boy got upset and behave aggressively. I can understand it’s a little boy who don’t know the real life, but as an adult if I do that what he or she think about me? We are human being we have to understand other people pain. So, whenever people had a bad day we shouldn’t laugh.
I have to confess - I do occasionally laugh at others misfortune. My best friend is very clumsy. Sometimes, she will trip over nothing but air. I think it is hilarious since I never thought a human could possibly do that. When they injure themselves in such an absurd scenario, I can’t help but laugh in shock. However, in my opinion, the only time you can laugh at another’s misfortune is when it is something minor and the victim is fine with you laughing. I think it crosses the line when you are laughing in a malicious manner, and you genuinely enjoy their pain.
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The other day my friend and I were on youtube looking at “try not to laugh” videos. Most of these videos are made up of 3-5-year-old kids throwing tantrums. The problem with this is that while these kids are young, they're not going to care about it. But once they enter middle school and someone finds it, that person can use it to make fun of the kid. This can be very problematic because this type of peer pressure can cause many problems for the kid. And all of this would be caused by the parents. So it’s a good idea not to post any embarrassing videos of children online.
The other day my friend and I were on youtube looking at “try not to laugh” videos. Most of these videos are made up of 3-5-year-old kids throwing tantrums. The problem with this is that while these kids are young, they're not going to care about it. But once they enter middle school and someone finds it, that person can use it to make fun of the kid. This can be very problematic because this type of peer pressure can cause many problems for the kid. And all of this would be caused by the parents. So it’s a good idea not to post any embarrassing videos of children online.
The only time I would ever dare laugh at someone's misfortune is if it is a family member or a close friend and only if they trip or do something that does not really hurt them. If one of my close friends falls, I would most likely chuckle a bit while asking, "Are you okay?" and helping them up. If the person is severely injured, I do not laugh. That is just too far. I think it is only acceptable to laugh at someone's misfortune if it is a small thing that does not affect them too much and as long as they are fine with it and are not hurt afterwards.
Sometimes I will laugh at the misfortune others if they end up not being hurt. It’s like the show AFV (America’s funniest home videos). Although people are getting hurt in the show, people are meant to laugh, just so the show can make money. People may find it funny because of the way it happens, like if somebody falls head over heels. As long as they aren’t hurt, I don’t see anything wrong with laughing at somebody.
Do you think it is ever O.K. to laugh at someone else’s pain? If so, in which situations? If not, why not?
I think that in some occasions it’s okay to laugh at someone and some it isn’t. It depends on who it is and how they reacted to the situation. For me if a really close friend tripped I would ask if they are okay and then after we would both laugh it off. But if a teacher tripped and fell and couldn’t get up, I wouldn’t laugh because it’s much different than if a friend fell. If somebody fell and was crying no matter how close we are I wouldn’t laugh, because if it were me and somebody started laughing when I was seriously hurt I would be upset. So it’s a matter of trying not to make the person feel embarrassed or uncomfortable, because an injured person would probably stress the situation but a friend would laugh it off and move on. Therefore I believe it’s based on how close you and the person are, and how they responded to what happened, that helps you decide when and when not to laugh at somebody.
We cannot understand other people suffer until not we are getting into his/her situation. It is hard to say I never laugh any one bad situation or in misfortune but not in front of the person I never do. Now in social media we chit chat with our friend and people really do joke on other persons pain and misfortune, they enjoy to talk like that. Whenever friends’ gets anyone’s embarrassed video they share it to others and they make jokes on it. Without any concern of the suffered person pain our speeding jokes on social media we extent their pain. It is not OK of making fun of lower than ourselves. It spread hate, frustration and aggressive. So we should careful about jokes that it does not hurt other emotionally.
I indeed laugh at the “suffering” of others on both the internet and real life. I think that other people think that the misfortune of others is funny because they themselves went through that experience and are glad that they are not in through that experience again. This is evident because of the fact that there are compilations of “fails” of different people that are meant to make you laugh, filled with videos of people falling in uncomfortable positions and things like temper tantrums. Because of this, I think that the misfortune of others is so amusing to people.
In a society where the need to feel and act perfect is far out of reach, it is almost better to admit the fact that in the behavior of our human nature, imperfection follows us nearby. In order for society to decompose the idea of perfection,the number one priority, laughter needs to become our therapy drug in which relieves us of the pain and embarrassment society pressures these misfortunate individuals to feel. Sometimes in times of others misfortune it is better to comfort and side with that person of pain than to team in an alliance against them by laughing or taunting in their failure. One example of this action can go something like this; there was a kid attempting to get on a bicycle, trying to learn how to ride it, falling down and forming a frown on his face that outweighed the determination to get up. This resulted in a few Snickers and giggles around. But when the kid, post getting up, laughed at himself – others around him began to grin. Suddenly the atmosphere changed drastically – people prodded him to try again and when he overcame his frustration and succeeded others began to cheer! Laughter can result in a largely significant outcome on kids or adults when used in an inappropriate implication. One of the most inhibiting factors leading to our success is fear of failure that can await us; laughter describing failure helps to alleviate from worrying that your failure can’t be fixed.
As a whole I try to avoid laughing at people, because I know that if I was on the receiving end of the laughter I would be incredibly embarrassed. However if I’m with my four best friends we always tease each other or laugh at each other if something funny happens. For example we all play Dungeons & Dragons together and once one of my friends accidentally called Emily, our DM, DEmily. We all laughed at our friend, but because we are so close we all knew it was just fun, and not mean-spirited. My family doesn’t share embarrassing content online, which I’m thankful for. However if it was caught on video we might have a night where we sit around and watch old recordings. And yes we definitely laugh at ourselves.
I don’t believe that teasing entails trust, but I do believe that teasing can have trust intertwined with it. If you trust a friend and they make fun of you because you were talking to them and (not watching where you were going) ran into a pole, you are more likely to laugh with them than get mad at them for laughing at you. On the other hand, if someone you don’t know starts laughing because they saw you run into the pole, you would probably be a little upset they did. I personally have had a friend cross the line when they tease me, but I try to just brush off the insult. I know that when they were saying what they did, they probably didn’t mean to hurt my feelings or make me feel bad about myself. They most likely thought it was a joke and that I wouldn’t be really affected by it. Understanding their intentions, helps me keep our friendship strong and intact.
I do laugh at other misfortune, especially if they knew the situation they were going to end up in. For example AFV, my family and I laugh at kids that fall face first into the pavement. But laughing at a serious injury or a traumatic event is just cruel. I laugh at situations that the person knows that they have done something stupid.
Once a year my family replays old tapes from our childhood. But they have never posted anything online. But we still laugh at the stupid things that my sister and I have done in our childhood. Running from the sprinkles, the ocean, and from each other. It is always the stupid situations that get me.
I think if a person knows that they have done something stupid and they don't mind being teased at, then I think that laughing at them is allowed. People should have enough self control over themselves to know when to laugh and when to not.
@Priya Patel
My family and I have also watched AFV, and laughed at kids being clumsy. But I can relate to you in not laughing at the serious injuries. For example I close my eyes when a person does a backflip and lands on their neck. Nothing about those clips are funny, just painful and as you said, cruel.
I think it is okay to laugh at other peoples’ pain, depending on how bad it is. For example, if somebody is bleeding badly or has possibly broken something and they are in deep pain, they may not find it funny and won’t like it that you are laughing at them. If they fell down in a funny way and aren’t hurt very much and they are laughing, it is definitely okay for you to laugh.
First of all, I do have to confess to laughing at people’s misfortune in real life and online. I think people find others suffering funny because sometimes it’s just so absurd, or the person was so very wrong in their predictions. For instance, we were on a bus and a classmate of mine told a kid a grade below him that he was going to beat him in a fight, and they started fighting. I got a better vantage point like everyone else and watched and laughed as he lost twice in a row (no injuries, just play fighting. The bus was public transit because the school doesn’t provide school buses, and therefore they cannot be legally punished) I do not think it is ever O.K. to laugh at someone’s misfortune because you wouldn’t want to be laughed at if you were them. My parents have shared an embarrassing moment of mine online, and will often joke about it to all of their friends, and sometimes my friends. I don’t think parents should share their children’s tantrums online (in fact, it is, at least in some way if it includes audio it may be illegal in the state of Pennsylvania as it isn’t good for the child and the child doesn’t consent). We at school make fun of everyone. Teachers, classmates, kids in lower grades, janitors, it doesn’t matter. I don’t think status should or usually does play a role. I do think that teasing entails trust, but I do think people have crossed the line teasing me on multiple occasions.
I do sometimes laugh at other people’s misfortunes, but only when it’s absolutely harmless. For example, my friend once forgot to do their homework and was rushing through it at lunch. My other friends and I teased them about it, but we did so lightly and as soon as the friend started to get defensive or told us they were uncomfortable, we immediately stopped. I think people use laughter as a way to cope with misfortune in general, as the two biggest responses to someone falling down is to either laugh or cry. It’s also a very common way to cope, as everyone’s had an experience where they fell out of their chair and started giggling. I think sometimes it is okay to laugh at other people’s pain, as long as the pain or misfortune has no repercussions. How it gets out of hand though, is when people start laughing at an important or painful misfortune, like cancer or mental illness.
I completely agree with the statement that teasing entails trust. I would not mind if one of my close friends teased me a little bit if I did something wrong. On the other hand, someone I don’t know as well or someone I don’t trust as much teases me, I for some reason end up taking it more personally. I believe that this statement is true because when a close friend teases you, you are more comfortable being around them and you are more comfortable with them seeing your flaws, but with somebody you don’t trust as much you are more defensive about your flaws. Because you are more defensive when somebody you don’t trust teases you, the fact that they teased you sticks around more and makes you uneasy. I don’t think anyone has really crossed a line teasing me because what people tease other people about is their opinion, which is not always the truth.
I believe that it is okay to laugh at someone else’s misfortune as long as they laugh laugh at themselves first. It can hurt to get laughed at when you do something wrong, but if you find what your misfortune funny, and laugh at it, than it isn’t as bad if other people laugh at you as well. In this article it talked about parents laughing and posting pictures of their toddlers crying about ”tearing their wrapper the wrong way”. I believe that this is not okay because the toddlers don't have as much power request that the parents stop. So I believe that parents shouldn’t post pictures about their toddlers breaking down.
Do you ever laugh at the misfortune of others — whether in real life or online? Why do you think people sometimes find others’ suffering funny?
I have laughed at the misfortune of others both in real life and online. Online, there are try not to laugh videos that show people getting hurt and funny videos. In real life, people purposely get themselves hurt to make people laugh and I have laughed at it. I think that we find other’s suffering funny because it’s something that’s not happening to us.
Do you think it is ever O.K. to laugh at someone else’s pain? If so, in which situations? If not, why not?
I think that it is sometimes ok to laugh at someone else’s pain in the situation where it is not dangerous and they didn’t get hurt badly.
I think it is okay to laugh at someone’s pain if they are your friends. If you and your friends are goofing around or doing something that you are not supposed to be doing, and someone gets hurt by doing something dumb I believe that it is ok to laugh under these conditions. If you’re laughing with your friends after they get hurt because it was genuinely funny, I believe that it is okay to laugh. However, I think it is not okay to laugh when your friend is severely injured and needs help.
I think that it really depends on who and what you laugh at. If my friends do something clumsy or make a small mistake, but this doesn’t mean I don’t like them. I think that people often laugh at other people’s misfortunes because it might be something they can relate to. However, If someone is in pain then it is unacceptable. I believe that it is disrespectful and mean to find someone being hurt funny.
@Margareth Tanusaputra. I agree with what you think. If you laugh at your friend because they made a tiny mistake, they probably don't mind and it is ok. But, if you laugh at someone crying because they got hurt, it is definitely not ok.
I think that it really depends on who and what you laugh at. If my friends do something clumsy or make a small mistake, but this doesn’t mean I don’t like them. I think that people often laugh at other people’s misfortunes because it might be something they can relate to. However, If someone is in pain then it is unacceptable. I believe that it is disrespectful and mean to find someone being hurt funny.
I think that it really depends on who and what you laugh at. If my friends do something clumsy or make a small mistake, but this doesn’t mean I don’t like them. I think that people often laugh at other people’s misfortunes because it might be something they can relate to. However, If someone is in pain then it is unacceptable. I believe that it is disrespectful and mean to find someone being hurt funny.
I think that sometimes it is okay to laugh at someone else’s pain, as long as you know them and you are sure that, at the end of the day, they will feel ok and be fine. If you know that they are fine with you laughing at their pain once in a while, then it’s ok. It just depends on the seriousness of the situation. If your friend tripped on hard cement and then you just whip out your phone and start recording them, then that’s not okay. I really don’t think you should let your friend suffer just so you can get internet points. However, if something happens like your friend hits their elbow on a desk, then I think that’s okay to laugh at. They know they’re fine, and if someone gets mad at you for laughing at you about that, then you probably shouldn’t joke around at all with them.
I think that status plays a pretty big role in making fun of others. My dad teases and insults me a lot, and I am normally okay with it. However, if I were to tease or insult him, he would definitely get mad right away and I would get in trouble. I don’t think this is fair. Just because someone has a lower status than you, or is younger than you doesn’t just mean that you can basically bully them. Especially when there is a parent and their child, the parent shouldn’t tease or make fun of their child when they start to get older, like middle school.
Okay, this is going to sound super cheesy, but sometimes I do laugh at other people’s misfortunes, and most of the time it is because if I didn’t laugh, I would cry.
In general, I try to stay on the brighter side of life because I find that I can have more fun if I see the world that way. Life can be depressing at times, whether they are private reasons or something that affects the public.
On the other hand, if my friend falls down in a comical way, I might laugh, but then I would help them stand up and make sure that they are okay. Sometimes it’s just small things that make me laugh, but other times, I’m so horrified, I can’t look away and have to laugh as a reaction.
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@Adelaide That is a good way to look at life, always looking at the good parts of it. And when something bad does happen i also have that tendency to laugh or smile in a weird way because I feel weird in that situation. I think a lot of people do because it is a way to avoid the problem/situation. People laugh to cover up the truth or to lighten the mood. When someone falls people laugh to lighten the mood and not make a big fuss about a small problem.
@Ella
I think that you made a good point and i agree with it.
Hershberg and Willingham’s claim that “another person's distress should not be a signal to pull out your phone” holds true when the post affects the health of another person; however, the argument overlooks the opportunity to create a safer environment for people. For example, a video in Mesquite, Texas became viral from three angry women yelling at the cashier at Sears because of an error one of their receipts is making. It is clear that the three women were not wanting to be recorded over repeatedly saying that they will sue if the video ends up on Facebook. These women are now humiliated from being recorded, and the internet now thinks of them as the angry consumers at Sears. This personally hurts the women who may not always seem as rude as they did in the video. Even though it is funny to strangers to watch the video, there are consequences to the video with others being hurt. This does not include whenever the video creates a safe environment for the future. For example, a video that became viral of a woman in distress because of her toddler running around the airport was calmed by strangers helped future people have the need to step up and help others in distress. The bystander who recorded the video and shared it was able to prevent other accidents like these to happen. The video was able to make the environment safer. Recording another in distress is wrong whenever it hurts another personally, but it can help a situation become safer.
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I think that many people take advantage of status to make fun of, or bullies others, just because you have a higher status than someone else does not mean you should deem them any less. They deserve the same treatment as anyone with a higher status. I strongly believe in the saying “Pick on someone your own size” which applies to this situation in the sense that your status means nothing when it comes to yours or someone else's feelings. A parent making fun of their own child is terrible, the two people you should be able to trust should be your parents, they should be able to tease you, along with your friends but hurting your feelings by making fun of you crosses a line.
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No matter the situation, I think that it is unacceptable to laugh at other people’s pain. Instead of laughing you should help them get through the pain. It is very rude to not help and embarrass them from falling or doing something else that caused the pain. If you laugh at other people’s pain, you might get a bad reputation, and not have friends.
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When my friend does something clumsy, usually I'll laugh at them. This doesn't mean I don't love them, though. I think many people find others' suffering funny because it helps them feel better about times when they mess up, too. I don't think it is always okay to laugh at someone's pain. I only really think this is acceptable when you know the other person is okay with it or they are laughing with you. You could end up making fun of someone who does not take it lightly. They could really be in pain or it could make them feel embarrassed.
My family members and friends have shared videos of me in the past, some which are embarrassing. I usually tend to just laugh these off because I know they are not very important. Others, though, might not feel this way. Although, I do not think it is a very big deal to post videos of a child upset over something we believe to be "silly."
Status plays a role in the way people treat others. I do not think it is okay for an adult to make fun of a child if that child does not know that these words are in a joking manner. I also think that adults and children should have respect towards each other. Teasing does infect entail trust because if someone you did not know teased you, this would have a different impact than if your friend teased you. Although, this kind of teasing and any other kinds can be taken too far and end up really hurting someone.
I do not think it is okay to laugh at somebody else’s pain. You could inflict emotional pain onto them and that could damage them. If somebody falls, it would not be okay to record them or laugh at them. The best choice is to help them up. If they are mentally in pain, you should help them to your extent. If you mock somebody, what good does it do? If you bully somebody, how does that benefit you? Does it make you feel superior when in reality, you are just like them? Bad parents would record their children throwing a tantrum. That is not the way. Instead, you should put the phone down and calm them down. It is good to help others, not bring them down.
I tend to see alot of people find others suffering as funny, and to me its somewhat sad since this is our cruel world we live in. Not every person reacts this way but the people who do are cruel, low human beings.
I agree that teasing entails trust, but sometimes people can tease you in a bad way which doesn't “entail trust”. I’ve never had someone cross the line when teasing me, but my friends and I all call each other “nerds” “weird” or “short” constantly, but it’s a sort of friendly teasing. We respond to “your weird” with “weird is just a side effect of awesome” and we have other things we say to make the comments funny and meaningless. They never actually make us feel bad about ourselves like some comments can.
Yes I will laugh at others, both online and in real life. I think that people will find other people’s suffering enjoyable because humans are inherently cruel beings. Many times has mankind been cruel to each other, be it with slavery or subjigation. There are multiple instances of a group of people coming in and taking over, example being the Pilgrims and the Native Americans. Its just in the mind of someone to take advantage of something, especially when it isn’t functioning normally.
Whether it be in real life or online, I do at times laugh at the misfortune of others depending on the situation. For example, such as seeing a funny compilation video of things that have gone wrong including people, or even if my friend trips. However, people might laugh at others' misery as they genuinely find it funny. They can even find their own misery funny. This is because their sense of humour just happens to find things in misery that make them laugh, although it can be a tad off at times and offend others. Often, they find misery on others funny as the expression of the person in misery is simply funny. If they laugh at their own misery, it might be because they find their misery quite absurd and hence is funny. Though, there is a limit to when it is appropriate to laugh. If the person whom the misfortune is happening to is laughing, then feel free to laugh along with them. If they seem in pain, then try to help them, and/or be there for them. It all just depends on the situation, moment, and person
Laughter broken down to it’s simplest is a coping mechanism, used in everyday life as well as life altering instances. In today’s society it is common practice to watch videos online where individuals are suffering either emotionally or physically. When asked why society laughs in the faces of those who suffer, there is one simple answer. It is used to avoid the cold harsh truths that reality brings to light. I can speak from personal experience when saying that the most hurt people often are the ones that make others smile around them, simply because they often make jokes at their own expense.
@Mason Threadgill
This is an interesting view on the subject. Although, I do agree with you and this is something that should be brought to light more often when thinking about laughing at others.
Like many of the previous commenters, I believe it all comes down to the situation. If the person laughs, then laugh along with them. If the person is visibly upset, laughing would escalate the situation. However, I will admit I have to stifle my laugh or turn around in some of the more serious situations. If I've had a particularly bad day, I like to see those who've had worse days. I mainly find humor in technical mistakes, like forgetting to add a negative sign or comma. When it comes to people posting about toddlers causing a scene or whatnot, I don't agree with the jokes made about them. There may be humor in them, but for the parents, it can cause some embarrassment and discomfort.
I personally don’t laugh most of the time when I see compilations of people falling or making a mistake. I don’t find what’s funny about. To me it’s just a person getting hurt. I question myself, “Where’s the joke? Why is it funny?” My 4th grade teachers used to show us these compilations if my class was behaving well. I laughed along to not feel left out, but inside I felt kind of bad for the person getting hurt. Yes, I do laugh at other people’s misfortunes sometimes but only if they are a friend and they do something that we can both laugh at. I know how I would feel if strangers laughed at me because I ran into an obstacle, so I try my best not to embarrass anyone else, too.
Some people find it amusing to laugh at another’s misfortune. I, along with several others, can agree with this statement, as long as the misfortune is amusing to the person with the misfortune. By this, I mean that if the unfortunate person can find some entertainment in their mishap, it is okay to laugh along with them, lightening the mood. Another acceptable circumstance is when it’s your good friend. Your friend knows when you're either laughing with them, or laughing at them. I think that the amusement in others’ suffering comes from rivalry.
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I laugh at other people’s misfortune all the time and people laugh at my misfortune. As long as it’s not something serious like someone tripping and getting really injured. But if somebody does something stupid and messes up, heck yeah l’ll laugh at them. I think people should be laughed at but there is definitely a line. If it is something racist or super offensive then that's just not cool. As far as parents sharing videos of their kids tantrums online I think that parents shouldn’t really share about their kids in general but some embarrassing video isn’t the end of the world and it is pretty funny. Some people just get offended when they’re laughed at and get way to mad. Every one is gonna laugh at you at some point, it doesn’t mean they don’t like you or that you a worse person, it just means you did one stupid thing.
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It is not okay to post your child’s tantrum online. That is private information. Imagine you are a parent for a minute. You have a three-year-old kid who just got mad because he didn’t get desert. He is fussing and having a huge fit over a silly thing. Now think. Is it right to get it on video? If you were in his shoes, would you want to be recording having a tantrum? Or say somebody recorded you having an argument with your boss. You probably wouldn’t appreciate that. On top of simply being recorded, which is bad enough, this video of your child is posted on the internet for everybody to see and make fun of. If somebody posted a video of you arguing with your boss and you saw the comments that were making fun of it, you would most likely feel terrible. Now that is how your child would feel. If you posted a video of your child having a tantrum, and people made fun of it, they would be hurt. Think about that next time you want to post a “funny” picture or video of somebody that is actually embarrassing.
I sometimes do laugh at the misfortune of others but it was a light misfortune. Sometimes in real life but others online. But I only laugh at it when the person puts a funny message or makes it look like its nothing at all. I think that people find others’ misfortune funny because they feel as though their life is boring and maybe they are suffering too. They might feel like the are suffering and want to watch other people suffer just to amuse themselves and to feel like nothing ever happened to them. I think it's okay to laugh at someone else's pain but under certain circumstances. For example, they add funny captions or say something funny about it and we know that it happens to almost everyone. What I mean by “it happens to almost everyone” is that we all share a misfortune and it can be as simple as losing a game. But I feel as though that if it was any other situation, you shouldn't laugh at it.
I don’t think it is okay to laugh at the pain of others. Being in pain, both emotionally and physically, is different from having an unfortunate turnout of events. Physical or mental pain can include the passing away of a relative or depression, and laughing and the pain others are experiencing in these moments is cruel to me. However, depending on the situation, you can laugh if what you are laughing at isn’t a serious topic and if in five years, nobody will care. Laughing at serious and vital topics isn’t right, but laughing at something that isn’t significant and both sides can laugh at isn’t bad.
It is never ok to laugh at someone’s pain or suffering. I mean if you are watching a vine or meme compilation and someone gets hurt, you can laugh if it is funny. But in general, you shouldn’t laugh. If someone falls over, it would be mean if you laugh. If it is your friend who gets hurt, even then you shouldn’t laugh. I mean it is o if you laugh every so often, but if you laugh every time someone gets hurt, you need to stop. Like I was saying before, if it is meant for comedy, like in a vine or meme compilation, you can laugh. Or in a circus or play and someone falls down to cause laughter it is definitely ok. There are times when you can/should laugh when someone gets hurt, but in general, you shouldn’t. And especially don’t if that person is actually hurt and is in pain.
I only laugh at other people's misfortune when I know their ok, or when a kid who is a little older and should know better throws a tantrum. Like my sister, she's almost 8 and she still hysterically cries when her kindle gets taken away. I feel like it could be one of two situations, one person doesn’t like the other person and is mocking them. Or it was a generally a stupid choice and the results were very poor, like take me for example I jumped off a ten foot diving board diving and did a belly flop face first instaed of a dive.
I feel like it is ok, as long as the situation is not dire like someone broke their arm falling on, or doing something stupid, but if two people run into each other with fitness balls and fall back I’m going to laugh.
I have never personally had someone show something embarrassing, but I feel like it could be painful if my own mom posted something very embarrassing about me.
I don’t think that it is ever acceptable to laugh at someone else’s misfortune. That’s because it’s a very mean thing to do, and it can hurt people's feelings. However, I think that people laugh at others misfortunes because it seems “funny”. Also, people think that teasing is fine because it’s not too harsh, but it still hurts people's feelings. I don’t think it is okay for anyone to make fun of anyone, whether they may have a higher or lower status than you. When I was 7 or 8, a bunch of “friends” had nothing to do at a summer camp that their parent’s ran, so they bullied me. When they saw me cry, they just laughed. It left me very heartbroken and wishing that no one would ever feel the way I did: broken, worthless, and incapable of anything.
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In some situations, I believe that it is okay to laugh at other people's pain, but not always. For example, I am missing part of my left hand, and I often like to make jokes about in order to lighten up my situation. I am perfectly fine with people making some jokes about my hand, but sometimes people will cross a line. They will make jokes about me being "handicapped" or incapable of doing something, but for me I hate it when I am doubted or thought of as less than a complete person just because of something that barely makes a difference. I believe that my hand doesn't change what I can do. It just makes most things a bit harder, but that definitely does not mean I am handicapped. It is easy to cross a line like this, but in my opinion people need to think more about their words before they tease someone else.
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@Elizabeth Worthington
Yes, I agree with Elizabeth Worthington 100 percent. I also feel like when you start those jokes to lighten up your situation it starts to make other people feel okay to make even worse jokes and that becomes into a problem because you get hurt.
@Faith Njiru
I also agree with it when people cross a line.
When it comes to laughing at the misfortune of others, I am well experienced. Any time I witness a fall, failure, or accident, my initial reaction is usually to take it in a humorous way despite the pain of other people. The funny thing is that when I experience those failures, I am usually filled with so much embarrassment that I just want to run away and hide my face. For example, last year I was on a train to Hamburg Germany and I was extremely sleep-deprived due to the time change. I kept drifting in and out of sleep, but my head refused to rest on the head rest, so I was sort of swaying back and forth with no support while my mom video taped the entire time. When I woke up and heard the laughs of the people around me, I was extremely confused, but my mom showed me all of the likes, shares, and comments that the video she took had gotten on Facebook. There are still people today that will not let me live that down, and I hate when people bring it up, but I have learned to take it as a joke so that I won’t be offended. I think more people should learn to take failure as a joke. If people do that more, the fear of not being successful would be minimized, and they would be more willing to try new things.
The mockery sometimes can be cruel and humiliating. It depends on the person and the confidence that you and that person have. The mockery can be something positive or negative according to the context. But I do laugh at the misfortune of others, but it's mainly online. I think it might be because of the way it looks, it can sometimes be comedic if they fall in a strange position or if they scream in a different way.
Oftentimes, I'm scrolling on social media like Twitter or Instagram, and I come across a video that has seemingly become viral almost overnight. Extreme boredom streamlined from the monotonous day I had just spent at school for seven hours disconnected from the outside world then leads me to open the video. When watching, I immediately noticed that I shouldn’t necessarily be laughing at what I’m seeing, but I can't seem to help myself from laughing uncontrollably. As bad as it is to say, I often find the misfortune of others oddly comedic. However, when the situation is reversed and it is me on the opposite end of others laughter, I feel humiliated and utterly insecure. I think that when I watch viral videos of others falling down or making a mistake, I don't think about how it makes them feel or if I would want to be in their position. I believe that is is sometimes okay to laugh at the misfortune of others, but in today’s society we tend to take things too far, not caring about who we harm in the process. Overall, I think laughter is okay in most instances, but we as citizens must distinguish where to draw the line.
@Kamryn Rogers
I completely agree. Sometimes in the middle of laughing at a video of someone's fail, I think about how it doesn't make sense for me to be laughing, but yet I can't stop laughing.
As bad as it sounds, I do admit that I laugh at the misfortune of others. I don’t know what it is about it, but videos of people falling or in some cases getting hurt are absolutely hilarious. Sometimes I feel like a horrible person for laughing at such things but I just can’t help myself. I remember one time I was on my phone scrolling through social media, when I came across a video that made me laugh to the point of tears. It was a montage video of an adorable French Bulldog who happened to be paralyzed in its back legs. At the end of the video, it cuts to a clip of the dog walking but since its back legs are paralyzed it was just an awkward waddle motion (I swear I’m a good person). I sat on my bed for ten straight minutes dying laughing at the video to the point where I couldn’t breathe (again I swear I’m a good person). Sometimes I hate myself for my dark humor and my inability to hold in a laugh at things that aren’t funny. I think also other than laughing at videos of people failing, I find myself sometimes laughing in situations that are flat out uncomfortable. For example, if one of my friends randomly announced some sad news like their grandma passed away (I’m not a terrible human being). Now personally I wouldn’t laugh at that but I know some people who would because it’s the only way they can react in the moment.
@Meredith Doherty I think that it's very cool how you just completely changed your behavior. It's definitely the right thing to do, and you're a very good role model!
In my opinion, it is okay to laugh at someone else’s pain. However, there are certain situations in which it is inappropriate to laugh at someone else’s pain. For instance, I slammed my finger in a car door and, at first, we were all really concerned, but soon after, my family and I were all laughing at what had happened. Another example is when my friend burned her hand on the exhaust of a pressure washer. I could not stop laughing because that’s a pretty funny way to injure yourself. A moment in which it is inappropriate to laugh at another’s pain is if they are in the hospital or seriously injured. In that moment, you should not be laughing and instead you should probably make sure that they are okay. In some unfortunate events or incidents, there is humor to be found, but you need to choose your moments carefully because laughing in serious moments probably is not a great idea.
I don’t usually laugh at others when they do something wrong, but I often find myself hating people when they do something well. I often feel as though there are so many people who have a leg up in life, but I sometimes don’t see how lucky I am. When someone wins a competition, gets a good grade, or makes a really beautiful art project, I don’t usually feel annoyed or mad. I don’t feel happy, but I know that they worked for their prize, and I respect them for that. However, what probably gets me most annoyed is the personalities some people have. It just seems as though some people are born and raised to have incredible outgoing and confident personalities, and are just a magnet for friends, or as I sometimes think of them, “fans”. I know they probably work hard to develop and maintain such personalities, but I can´t help but feel annoyed. I think I mostly feel this way about ¨perfect” people because they remind me of everything Iḿ not, and without seeing their thoughts and lives, it seems as though they didn´t have to work for it.
I do laugh at the misfortune of others, but it's mainly online. I think it might be because of the way it looks, it can sometimes be comedic if they fall in a strange position or if they scream in a different way. I think it is sometimes ok to laugh at other people's pain, but only if the person is alright with it, maybe if they're retelling the story or showing a video. Yes, they have. I think they make some valid points, and it can make people feel humiliated or insecure. You can also end up losing a lot of trust in the person, and this has happened to me, when friends or family post pictures that I don't want to be posted. The role of status can end up making people feel like its ok to make fun of people who are lower than you, and this happens extremely often, but not as often the other way around. Many parents and adults ask for respect, but don't give any respect back, and this is just generally accepted. I do think that teasing can entail trust, especially with a friend, it can sometimes help to lighten a mood or create a bond between people through joking. People have crossed lines when teasing, and I think it can actually be quite easy to cross a line for many people.
I do laugh sometimes when other people struggle, only because they know that I am joking. If im laughing at the misfortune of others online, it is because they are like a youtuber and they make funny videos for the entertainment of their subscribers. I don't think it is okay to laugh at someone who is in actual trouble like if they are choking on a piece of food. They may actually need help and if you are just sitting there laughing, they could get harmed. My parents are not really social media people so they have never shared an embarrassing moment online. I think that their argument makes sense because children can become scared when they grow up and find out that their embarrassing moment is posted online. It is never okay to make fun of someone that is higher than you unless you have a good relationship with your parents and you guys are always joking. I agree with that statement because if you trust a person and you guys are just joking, it is okay to make fun. Someone has crossed a line while making fun of me and then I get mad at them and then they say, "dang, you can't take a joke". There are certain things that can be made fun of and then there are somethings that cannot be made fun of.
I do not find funny any misfortune of others, unknown people or family. Actually, I do not understand why people laugh when someone falls or suffers a bad moment. Nowadays, it is common to watch videos or photos online from people
I have never found it fun to laugh at the misfortunes of others. Even when I was a child, I didn't understand how my friends laughed at each other when they couldn't give a lesson in class or when someone fell out. Nowadays it is common to watch videos and photos on social networks of supposed "funny videos", with pre-recorded laughs, based on other people's accidents. I think we are at a time when social networks have led people to try to be popular and find and these people find in the networks the way to look for the sympathy of others. I do not find this behavior acceptable.
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Feeling schadenfreude about the misfortune of others is not nice or funny, unlike it is horrid. Normally, human beings feel envy or pleasure seeing how bad things are occurring in others’ lives because they may know that even though this person fail he/she has the potential to grow up and be more successful than they are. I think we have to feel pleasure and happy for the well-being and success of our friends and others because life is about self-improvement and not a competition with others, or who is more successful than you are. Your blessings are yours, and blessings for others are theirs. I do not like feeling bad or someone makes fun of me, and I try do not do that to someone as well. For this reason, I do not laugh about bad things that occur in other’s life.
Laughing at people when something bad is happening, it is not nice. I think that people who find funny the suffering of others have mental problems. We should never make fun or rejoice about other people’s suffering because this can make them feel worse. I disagree when parents use to share videos of the children’s tantrums because this is something that should be taken seriously. Parents should teach their kids how to behave either at home or anywhere. We must think carefully before laugh or making funny at any person who is suffering or having difficult situations because we do not what will happen tomorrow and we can have severe situations too.
I have never laugh a problem of bad situation that another person that is happening. The mockery have a lot of effect in the person help that they feels worse. Teasing can be taken as something positive or negative according to the form that you do. When you have confidence with another person is that right, but sometime the people used mockery for bother another people. The mockery can become dangerous when you do this for humiliate to someone. I think that is not good laugh to another person because that they happen today tomorrow can be you. Sometime people use the social media like a joke in they do not see the big bad effect that have in people.
I think that in very specific situations it is okay to laugh at someone's pain. The only situation where I feel it’s okay to laugh is if someone is telling you about an incident that happened to them as a joke to make you laugh. If you don’t laugh it will be awkward and you may discourage them from telling jokes. Other than that it is not okay to laugh at someone about a mistake they made or did just then. It may make them feel insecure and uncomfortable around you and whoever else, if anyone, is laughing.
I do laugh sometimes at the misfortune of others. I only do this if the misfortune is very insignificant, or if they are a close friend. I think that people find others’ suffering funny because the suffering isn’t happening to them or a loved one. I think that there are situations where it is acceptable to laugh at someone’s misfortune. If they are able to laugh with you about it, then it is okay. It’s also okay to laugh at someone else’s misfortune if the misfortune is very minor, or if they are a close friend.
I do think in some situations it is okay to laugh at someone else’s pain. The only situation where it is okay is if the other person is not badly hurt, their your best friend and they let you laugh at them, or the person who is hurt is laughing or is fine and wants you to laugh because it was funny. Other than that laughing at another person especially if you don't know them is bullying.
I do not think it is okay to laugh at anyone's pain whether they are close to you or not. Even if you don’t like that person, you still shouldn’t laugh at their misfortune. It could be as small as someone tripping and you laughing. I don’t laugh at people who are sensitive or people who actually got hurt while falling or anything like that. I might laugh at someone accidentally only if they didn’t actually get hurt physically. I try to take into consideration that certain people are really sensitive even to small things like falling and they could take it to heart. I have seen some people post embarrassing videos or photos of someone else without their consent and there would be people laughing and commenting saying things that they might not mean. I think that's the worst thing ever because first off, that person won’t trust you anymore or even might not want to be around you anymore. Second of all, that person could easily be hurt by either the comments or the fact that their friend or family posted something without his/her own consent and it could be pretty upsetting. Sometimes people don’t show that they are hurt and that makes it worse since they are now keeping everything inside and that can lead to self-harm. I never laugh at the misfortune of others, especially when it's something really big or important to someone and I wouldn’t want someone laughing at my misfortune either.
The mockery sometimes can be cruel and humiliating. It depends on the person and the confidence that you and that person have. The mockery can be something positive or negative according to the context. Laugh at the misfortune of others is unfair because now is that person but later can be you and make public at social media is give the opportunity to other people make fun of the person and enter on your private life. I think that laugh at the misfortune of others people depend on how is the person his/her personality, how they treat at other people so if he/she are bad people maybe they deserve what they give to others.
For me watching people fall or start doing something stupid that hurts themselves makes me laugh but watching someone die of poverty or real world problems don’t humor me. Online I usually look at Reddit and sometimes they have people doing stunts or falling down their stairs and that just cracks me up and when these situations happen in real life they make me laugh too. I find other people falling funny because they failed miserably at what they were trying to do and their faces after falling and how they fall just makes it funnier. When it comes to real life situations though like homelessness I don’t take it so lightly. Someone's problems if they are psychological or are inflicted with any hardships is funny because these people are hurting and in pain without help.
@Izel I agree.
For be honest I will say yes but not in a malefic way just for fun when I forget that is not right to do it. Sometimes me and my brother are just chilling and we start to laughing about something that happen or somebody and then I realized that is not right and I say “Malcom no stop God is going to punish us for this” and then we stop. When we are in family we can laugh of each other pain just for fun but when it comes to a stranger sometimes they can get hurt even in your family if the person have sensitive feelings. I would recommend to not do it because I have bad experiences about joking at someone and that cause me troubles so it is better to be polite and not get involved when somebody is joking or talking about somebody misery, it is just not right.