There are many videos and pictures of random persons misfortunes, but why are they funny to so many people?
I will admit I am one of the people that find these videos hilarious, and am not ashamed of it. I feel that it is normal in a way, for people to laugh at each other because once someone does it, the victim feels a need to get even. If they laugh at you, why shouldn't you be allowed to laugh at them as well?
Whenever someone trips, their friends are guaranteed to burst out in laughter (my friends at least). It seems that the less likely the fall or whatever it may be brings more entertainment to others. The classic example of the construction worker who was trying to lift a barrel of bricks but then realized that he was not heavy enough and was dragged to the top of the pulley, only to realize that some bricks had fallen out of the barrel upon impacting the ground, making him again the heavier object. Even more chaos follows, as hes falling he meets the barrel half way, and when he finally reaches the bottom, the barrel lands on top of him.
Even something that is wonderful can be hilarious. Something from this category that I boldly remember is from a t.v. show, where they were interviewing a man who won a car from a scratch off lottery ticket. He is showing them how he won, by buying another $10 ticket, to find he just won $250,000.
But there is a line between funny and too harsh. When something causes serious injury to a person, its not funny anymore but instead is a "I feel sorry for that person" thing. Some things are just too painful to watch. Some strike fear that the same thing will happen to you.
Those events aren't funny to me because they can change a persons life for a long time if not forever, in a bad way. Its not funny when someone experiences something that they don't deserve such as being hit by a drunk driver, or do deserve such as loosing an arm while attempting a stunt with a sharp blade. Those are not the things that someone would look back upon and laugh.
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