Hey, internet?

[author_by_night]

I know saying the meanest, edgiest thing you can think of is the thing online, that's why we have CollegeHumor and peopleofwalmart.com, but even if that is your thing... there is a time and a place to make jokes about things that actually aren't funny. A disaster that has killed thousands of people is not the right time. (Not to mention that even sites like CollegeHumor and peopleofwalmart.com wouldn't sink that low, although CH did make a Grease parody that involved someone being date raped.)

What happened in Japan was a tragedy. It wasn't a celebrity saying something stupid. It wasn't a butthurt idiot. It was a tragedy that has left thousands of people dead, missing, and otherwise displaced. Bringing up Pearl Harbor doesn't make you look witty or funny, it makes you look like an asshole.

And to the people who mean it: Ever notice that America's done horrible things too? Did you know many people hate us? How would you feel if someone told you we "deserved" a tragedy because of something those affected had nothing to do with?

Mostly though, I think the people saying that Japan deserved it are trolls. And while no, they don't mean it, it's still ignorant and wrong.

Screening comments because it's a public entry and all that jazz.

Comments

[r-a-black.livejournal.com]

I figured sooner or later someone would say something assholish, but I'm almost afraid to ask where this was done...

[author-by-night.livejournal.com]

A few people on twitter, who knows where else. Hopefully that's it. :/

[lokrur.livejournal.com]

I saw a collage of Facebook statuses where Americans said they couldn't feel sorry for Japan because of Pearl Harbor. And I was appalled - not because I think that is the general notion (I think and hope that it's just a tiny minority and/or trolls), but that there are people who actually believe or find it right to mention that innocent people can deserve something terrible because of something that happened decades ago.

[author-by-night.livejournal.com]

Oh, I definitely agree that it's worse when people mean it. Yeah, joking about it is bad taste, but people actually believing it is ignorant and sickening. Trolls and borderline trolls, at least, are probably high on internet drama and may even realize in the morning that their "joke" was a bad idea.

[steampen.livejournal.com]

My god, are people really saying that??? I can't even begin to imagine the mindset of someone who believes any country "deserves" a natural disaster regardless of what it did in the past (or present for that matter). That's right up there in the absolute bullshit zone with people who think God brought this upon them because they aren't Christian, or the lunatics who think this is an early sign of the end of the world in 2012.

[author-by-night.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I don't get it. Innocent human lives are innocent human lives.