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Why Do Some Laugh When Others Get Hurt?


WoIverine

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I'm undercover FBI and I am soooo busting you for this lol it's pretty funny!

I'm pretty graceful so I fall quite often...and usually in front of crowds(read my post in the confessions thread)and its not funny at the time but it cracks me up to think of the many times now. I laugh at other people when they fall to and I'm not a mean person but there is just something about a good fall that is humorous. I watched the video of Beyonce falling down the stairs like 10 times and laughed every time! It's good times lol

Well we have that in common, my clumsiness is famous. It is a common family dinner table fodder. "You should have been at the shops today, Aunty fell on her face". "OMG can't believe I missed that, never mind it'll happen again soon enough". :P

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It's not people getting hurt that's funny

Could never figure this out. Thought it might be a good topic. Ever see someone fall and hurt themselves? Ever find it funny? Sure if the circumstances are funny, like stepping on a rake or something like that, but why is this? Is it sadistic? I don't really think that's it...

Hey Spid3rCyd3,

It's not people getting hurt that most people find funny, it's how they hurt themselves that's funny.

In many cases with videos we've all seen, the people involved can be only mildly hurt or maybe not at all - and these videos are still funny.

Now show a video of someone in pain without the comical scene and it would be distressing for most people to watch.

Now people that find the pain funny may be a bit sadistic...

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idk i like watching things get hurt leave me alone D: !!!!

Hey notoverrated, can you post a video of pain you find enjoyable please?

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I think for it to be funny, you have to believe they aren't really hurt.

Itchy and Scratchy, from "The Simpsons", was a twisted coment on cartoon violence that removed that safety net with graphic results. I remember how strange it was to hear Bart and Lisa laugh at that show.

Years age Steve Martin had a featured interview in Rolling Stone, one photo showed him with a street systematically strewn with banana peels.

Here is a transcript from a scene of an early 60's show:

‘I would like to discuss with you the development of comedy in this country today, and I’m very happy to report to you that it’s reached a level of sophistication of which we can all be very, very proud. You know, we no longer laugh at the things our grandparents laughed at. By that I mean low humor and slapstick comedy – that humor which gets its laughter from cruelty and physical pain. Now, there’s nothing funny today about people in pain. Back in ancient times, I suppose that primitive man used to laugh at somebody in some kind of physical pain. But today modern people won’t fall for that kind of humor. The modern comedian gets his laughs by using his intellect. And, you see, he doesn’t stoop to low, physical kind of comedy. Only an infantile mind, ladies and gentlemen, would laugh at a man who was in some kind of pain, possibly blood poisoning. Probably a little child would laugh at that, but you and I wouldn’t. Today’s modern day comedian comes out in front of his audience with a relaxed manner and approaches them intellectually with a stool or a chair. As Professor Sigmund Freud once said, “Laughing at people in pain is a manifestation of a deep-seated hostility.” Professor Freud would not have laughed at a man who hurt his foot. Thank goodness we have reached a point in our civilization today where we no longer laugh at people destroying themselves. I’m very happy to say that you’d have to look all over the world to find someone who would laugh at, say, a man falling down.’

 

Edited by HDesiato
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it is just human nature .. to laught . at stupid things .. i would never laugh at someone else ... i find it childish .. thats all to it . !

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I love doing it to others.

Just as others love doing it to me,

Cant beat a good fail.

Thanks.

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About 10 minutes after my last post I was cutting up a jalapeño to make chili and I got squirted right in both eyes! Blinded me for 5 minutes.

I had to laugh!

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Years ago I smashed my left thumb with a 22 oz. mill-faced framing hammer. My boss, who happened to be right there, burst into laughter.

In my pain, I had to remind him that my good hand still held the hammer.

He stopped laughing.

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I never laugh when I see people get hurt...............BUT.... Any time my young daughter fell and I could see it was just a bump or scrape..she would be crying.. I would sort of laugh..but not because of the fact she fell or got a bit hurt.. no..I do it to calm her down...I do it to make her laugh it off and to know that she is ok.. it worked !! This happened more when she was learning to ride her bike.. She asked how come she falls off? I said because you are like me..I always fell off when I was learning at your age..You will fall off a few times before you get used to your bike...Once she heard her mother was the same.. she felt better ..I figured if I made a bigger deal over a bump or a scrape and acted like my sister, the sec a child falls , my sister would cry and that made her child cry louder and for longer...Then by doing that, can make it worse... If I see she is ok..I see no need for me to make a bigger deal out of it..

Edited by Beckys_Mom
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Exactly. Years ago, a cousin's son got nailed in the nose, and came screaming. My cousin, Grant, immediately diffused the situation by smiling broadly, grabbing his camera and making a 'big deal' about Scott's first bloody nose!

Grant had a picture of his six year old son, smiling broadly, bloody nose and all.

Once Scott realized that bloody noses were 'normal', he didn't have a problem with it.

/these days maybe, somebody would call the cops on Grant

//long story short, apparently Scott makes a good living making and selling tie died T-shirts down on the islands. So it's all good.

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I've always wondered. Personally my friends and I laugh and feel bad about some terrible stuff. lol

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I can tell you why i would laugh seeing someone slip,fall down or have a minor accident. If i was to dissect the incident of seeing someone slip and fall down moment by moment then this is what would be going on in my head.

1.The very moment a person is slipping in front of me would first surprise me and make me anxious and would probably entice a reaction of me plunging forward to try to stop it if i can

2.After realizing that i cannot stop it i would stop my forward thrust and anxiously wait for the person to finish their fall or tumble.Predominant emotion in my mind at that point would be anxiety with probably a slight fear.

3.After the person completes their fall/tumble i would probably stare for a short span while my mind tries to assess the damage suffered by the person at the same time i would be concerned about the person.

4.a) If i realize that the fall is not very hurtful or damaging i would be suddenly relieved and the clumsiness of the person will probably incite me to laugh

B) If my mind computes that the fall might have hurt the person but has not caused any serious damage i would still laugh but in a less obvious manner to not seem insensitive. The reason for my laughter here will probably be due to seeing someone be clumsy and also probably a slight touch of feeling ridicule for the person who fell.

Also a reason for laughter in the above two situations can be partly due to the contemplation of the embarrassment felt by the other person.

c) If the person falls down and breaks a bone or cracks his/her skull then it wouldn't make me laugh but probably make me feel horrified and distressed at the event and make me rush to aid the person

So if i extrapolate what i would feel to what a normal person might feel at someone slipping and falling then probably it depends on how the mind assess the damage done to the other person.if the damage done is not great then people would just laugh or smile depending on their disposition.

Also there is the outside case of a 'bastardo' who would laugh any which ways.

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Age probably has a lot to do with it. As a teen I would find people getting hurt funny, be it in real life or movies. A bit of growing up and now I sympathise during those situations. If the person is okay I may make a few funny comments on the nature of their accident but sympathy is the first expression.

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Because I don't like some people.

Plus some people get hurt under ridiculous and easily avoidable circumstances. Lots of times I just laughed at the stupidity of what just happened. When I get hurt stupidly I usually end up laughing at myself too despite the pain.

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If the incident happens in such a way as to startle me, I'll laugh uncontrollably even though I don't find it funny... and even though I'm concerned about the person I still have trouble stopping the laughter for a while. It's totally a nervous reaction and it usually happens after my adrenaline has spiked and once I've found out the person is ok.

One time my bf jumped up and started grumbling and shuffling around, and he wasn't talking or responding to me. I tried to patiently wait for him to let me know what was going on but my panic was building. Once it passed he told me it was just a really bad cramp... I couldn't stop laughing for an hour and for the rest of the day when I remembered it that nervous laughter came pouring out again.

I'm trying to hold back the laughter now... even the memory is enough to cause it. It's almost like I'm laughing at how freaked out by it I was. Or if I wasn't laughing, I'd be screaming.

Then I felt horrible for laughing at him even though I couldn't help it.

Edited by karmakazi
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About 10 minutes after my last post I was cutting up a jalapeño to make chili and I got squirted right in both eyes! Blinded me for 5 minutes.

I had to laugh!

OOOOOWWWWWWWCCCCCCCCCCCHHHHHHHHHHH! Hey I know that burned,but have you ever been gassed?At least you laughed.
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OOOOOWWWWWWWCCCCCCCCCCCHHHHHHHHHHH! Hey I know that burned,but have you ever been gassed?At least you laughed.

I was at Great Lakes for Navy boot camp in the dead of winter 92/93. We skipped mustard gas, I guess due to the sub zero temps.

I did 6 years, honorable discharge.

Thank you for your wartime service , btw.

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