# Have we stopped making tragedy jokes? I haven't heard any about the Surfside collapse tragedy **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 16, 2021, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-stopped-making-tragedy-jokes-i-havent-heard-any-about-the-surfside-collapse-tragedy/946658 "2021-07-16T18:02:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2021, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-stopped-making-tragedy-jokes-i-havent-heard-any-about-the-surfside-collapse-tragedy/946658/1 "2021-07-16T18:02:16Z")
After the Challenger explosion, 9/11, Fukushima, etc, there would quickly be jokes about the tragedy, which is how some people cope. I haven’t heard any about the Surfside collapse. Have people stopped making them? Or am I just not hearing them? I guess I should check Gilbert Gottfried’s Twitter. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2021, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-stopped-making-tragedy-jokes-i-havent-heard-any-about-the-surfside-collapse-tragedy/946658/2 "2021-07-16T23:28:09Z")
Somebody tried to start a joke thread in the Quarantine area, and a moderator stomped on it. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2021, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-stopped-making-tragedy-jokes-i-havent-heard-any-about-the-surfside-collapse-tragedy/946658/3 "2021-07-16T23:33:09Z")
In the late 1990s, I saw a newspaper or magazine article about tasteless humor, and someone told the story of being in a chat room with other people who shared his attitude, and just to see what would happen, asked if anyone heard any Princess Diana jokes. Let’s just say that he was almost kicked off the site for even suggesting such a thing. A couple years earlier, someone told me about a poster in an Oklahoma City chatroom, just one about the city in general, and the same thing happened when that person typed “boom.” ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2021, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-stopped-making-tragedy-jokes-i-havent-heard-any-about-the-surfside-collapse-tragedy/946658/4 "2021-07-16T23:37:19Z")
I suppose one could make some sort with “Surfside Six” joke. Great theme song, BtW. But I am not a fan of this sort of humor. ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2021, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-stopped-making-tragedy-jokes-i-havent-heard-any-about-the-surfside-collapse-tragedy/946658/5 "2021-07-16T23:46:22Z")
I tried making a 9/11 joke to someone six years after the tragedy, and it was dubbed too soon and I’m lucky he didn’t kick my ass. I don’t try that anymore. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2021, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-stopped-making-tragedy-jokes-i-havent-heard-any-about-the-surfside-collapse-tragedy/946658/6 "2021-07-16T23:51:40Z")
Just recycle some old [Hyatt Regency](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyatt_Regency_walkway_collapse) jokes. Holy crap, that was 40 years ago tomorrow. (Too soon?) ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2021, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-stopped-making-tragedy-jokes-i-havent-heard-any-about-the-surfside-collapse-tragedy/946658/7 "2021-07-17T01:22:20Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > Just recycle some old [Hyatt Regency](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyatt_Regency_walkway_collapse) jokes. > > Holy crap, that was 40 years ago tomorrow. (Too soon?) Oh man I’d forgotten about that one. 1981, in KC MO. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2021, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-stopped-making-tragedy-jokes-i-havent-heard-any-about-the-surfside-collapse-tragedy/946658/8 "2021-07-17T03:09:22Z")
Some events almost write their own jokes, some don’t. I can’t come up with something about the collapse that seem jokey, can you? And I don’t mean can’t because of the tragicness of it, I mean the dryness. (If dozens of people died because they were in a bus swerving to avoid a chicken crossing the road, that’s another matter.) ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2021, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-stopped-making-tragedy-jokes-i-havent-heard-any-about-the-surfside-collapse-tragedy/946658/9 "2021-07-17T03:39:36Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > I can’t come up with something about the collapse that seem jokey, can you? … gnarly wipeout … ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2021, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-stopped-making-tragedy-jokes-i-havent-heard-any-about-the-surfside-collapse-tragedy/946658/10 "2021-07-17T05:33:34Z")
I don’t remember any jokes about that. (I had just graduated from high school, and lived a few hours away.) My brother moved to KC a few years after that, and he vaguely remembered it and asked someone about it, and was told in no uncertain terms not to bring it up in polite conversation; if a local wanted to talk about it, they would, because you don’t know who had a friend or relative who was a victim. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2021, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-stopped-making-tragedy-jokes-i-havent-heard-any-about-the-surfside-collapse-tragedy/946658/11 "2021-07-17T05:52:41Z")
Fear stalks the land. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2021, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-stopped-making-tragedy-jokes-i-havent-heard-any-about-the-surfside-collapse-tragedy/946658/12 "2021-07-17T06:18:12Z")
I was in college at the time Waco happened, and days after that in a writing class we had to invent some product ads. One of mine was for Texas-Style Roasted Nuts. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2021, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-stopped-making-tragedy-jokes-i-havent-heard-any-about-the-surfside-collapse-tragedy/946658/13 "2021-07-17T12:13:12Z")
_South Park_ did an episode where there was a set amount of time before you could joke about a tragedy. Obviously there’s no set number, but eventually there will be jokes about it. Humor is one coping mechanism. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2021, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-stopped-making-tragedy-jokes-i-havent-heard-any-about-the-surfside-collapse-tragedy/946658/14 "2021-07-17T13:14:11Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > I was in college at the time Waco happened, and days after that in a writing class we had to invent some product ads. One of mine was for Texas-Style Roasted Nuts. - God spoke to Moses through a burning bush. He spoke to Koresh through a burning Branch. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2021, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-stopped-making-tragedy-jokes-i-havent-heard-any-about-the-surfside-collapse-tragedy/946658/15 "2021-07-17T14:54:17Z")
A joke about a tragedy has to be really funny to be forgiven. Miami House of Pancakes isn’t going to cut it. ---
**Author:** ![GWF\_Hefel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/898d66/32.png) [@GWF\_Hefel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GWF_Hefel)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2021, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-stopped-making-tragedy-jokes-i-havent-heard-any-about-the-surfside-collapse-tragedy/946658/16 "2021-07-17T19:05:56Z")
I have always thought this thread was one of the board’s bright moments: > [@Possible ONION Headlines (Warning: WTC Humor)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possible-onion-headlines-warning-wtc-humor/82091): > > My friend and I were discussing what we thought the ONION was going to post this week. They’re legendary for never holding back, and for incisively finding the sometimes-unpopular insight behind our tragedies. Examples: “Columbine Declared Safe For Bullying Again” and “McVeigh’s Execution Brings Oklahoma Bombing Victims Back To Life”. But Tuesday’s events represent a new challenge for them, a tragedy of unprecedented proportion (in the USA). Will they say something funny? Of course they will. … Many of the jokes seemed funnier at the time. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2021, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-stopped-making-tragedy-jokes-i-havent-heard-any-about-the-surfside-collapse-tragedy/946658/17 "2021-07-17T19:25:55Z")
I remember jokes about the Challenger, but not about the other two events. ETA: in reply to the OP, ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2021, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-stopped-making-tragedy-jokes-i-havent-heard-any-about-the-surfside-collapse-tragedy/946658/18 "2021-07-17T22:53:31Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > Miami House of Pancakes isn’t going to cut it. Why did the residents have breakfast so early? Because the surf was flat latter on … ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2021, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-stopped-making-tragedy-jokes-i-havent-heard-any-about-the-surfside-collapse-tragedy/946658/19 "2021-07-18T00:02:48Z")
Making jokes about David Koresh was okay. Making jokes about any other victims was not. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2021, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-stopped-making-tragedy-jokes-i-havent-heard-any-about-the-surfside-collapse-tragedy/946658/20 "2021-07-18T00:22:56Z")
Thank you for providing me with your absolute declaration of propriety. Of only I could have consulted with you before I made my error. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-stopped-making-tragedy-jokes-i-havent-heard-any-about-the-surfside-collapse-tragedy/946658.md?page=2)