In the thread about Steve Irwins death there was a little argy bargy because someone posted a couple of jokes about it.
I remember when the twin towers got hit, within a day jokes were going round about that.
Not getting into the rights and wrongs about it, but is it only the British that do that? And is it a GOOD thing? Is that what kept Londoners going thro the Blitz and did Berliners have the same humour later on in the war?
John
some people deal with bad things with a joke......but we do have a blitz attitude,suppose thats why Hitler in is warped way admired the British for their way of dealing with the worst!
I remember seeing something about some traffic police
they was saying that their only way with dealing with the crap stuff is 'gallows humour'
one of them said one way they use it is for road traffic accidents
one particular instance he gave was in the event of someone going through a windscreen, and for each accident, give points, for one particular accident, they gave "8.5 for artistic merit"
they wasnt being callous by saying anything in front of the public, this was just their personal way of dealing with it
I think it is a very British thing , to all ways find humour in adversity if you like, I dare say other countries laugh at the misforyunes of others as well , but not the way we do.
it can of course seem to some people that it is malicious, but that is not the case, we just laugh , pick ourselves up and get on with it that sort of sums up the Brits to me.
NB; beware the politically correct brigade, who have obviously had a sense of humour bypass.
Yes definatly a British thing i think.
I often wonder if it came about more during the bombings of WW2.
Don't know why i'm thinking that unless i read it somewhere it just rings a bell.
By the way....where is the Steve Irwin thread?
When I was in the Marines, we worked a lot with the 'yanks', who could never understand our humor, let alone the dark humor Brits are known for.
I could relate endless anecdotes from personal experience of gallows humor, let alone the one's told by others. Any one wanna pull up a sand bag and swing the lamp a bit?
The armed forces all share 'Gallows' or dark humor, as do many of the emergency services.
Even now, in my job, gallows humor is big - when you're pulling vehicles apart so the Fire Brigade can extract bodies / casualties it helps deal with the grimness of the events.
Brits and Gallows humor is like Brits and marmite - some like it, some don't, but no bugger else can understand it.
It come into play a lot during my weekend activities as a crew member on a motor sport rescue unit...
Comes in handy when dealing with the aftermath of a particularly grim accident.
It's something I will never understand, I think it's sick, way beyond childish and I just don't see the need for laughing at someone elses tradgedy in order to make yourself feel better about things, and I think that reasoning is just an excuse for someone to feel better about getting a very cheap laugh.
As I often work in intensive care with the sickest patients in the hospital, I can say I have never encountered staff making light of a situation through this kind of humour, and its something I would never do myself.
maz x
I’ve sadly seen and been party to more death and destruction than most of you will see in a lifetime!
The “gallows humour†you refer to is the way that myself and colleagues got through the task of clearing up the mess. I’ve effectively eaten my lunch on a hillside with the most beautiful views next to a bag full of body bits I’ve just poured into a body bag. It aint pretty, it aint clever but there’s absolutely no dignity in death.
The problem with gallows humour is that it is a mask, it stops people from truly expressing the feelings of fear, anger and revulsion that they feel, that they keep deep inside and that eventually come back to bite you when you are at your lowest!
My thoughts only
Yes a britsh thing.
If you think gallows humour is bad, try army humour :shock:
I'm not sure if its a British thing, but I do know that it is very much prevalent amongst those who have to deal with death and disaster on a daily basis.
Serving members of the Armed Forces, Fire Police and Ambulance bods, Doctors and Nurses all seem to have this sense of humour. I think its a defence mechanism that helps us to deal with the shittier side of life.
If you are covered in someones blood and entrails you need it, believe me.
H
Definately not just a British thing. There was a talkshow host in the States who made fun of the tsunami victims of 2004. Played a song on radio which made fun of Chinese people drowning etc (even though China wasn't affected, this individual seemed to not know). So it's at least a trans-atlantic thing.
So it's definately not just us Brits.
british humour is renowned the world over. there's the old adage that 'if you don't laugh you'll end up crying', and this is very true. we can't be precious, and assume that nobody else 'gets it', but at the same time, we should be proud of our comedy heritage. indeed, when i was told i had testicular cancer, the first thing i said was 'oh bollocks'. that, however, is another story...
And anyway I thought they took the mower blades out during competitions... :? 
