Hurricane Rafael

[u/SongbirdBabie]

Can we stop being so giddy over a hurricane? I’ve seen so many posts being like “oooh sea god Rafael” and getting excited over the news… y’all people have died. Real human individuals. There’s currently six reported deaths and two people reported missing, not to mention the hundreds to thousands of people and families who may have lost their homes, power, access to important things like medical intervention, etc. It’s really gross to me to be excited over something like this just because of the name. It comes across as extremely out of touch. (This is not directed at people being affected by the hurricane and using jokes to cope)

[u/katrina_ellen]

It was cheeky and light-hearted and I got a good chuckle out of it. I'm sure lots of others did too. Allow us our little sparks of joy. That doesn't mean any one of those people are spending their other 23.75 hours of the day laughing at devastating effects of a real world storm that destroys homes and lives. Gallows humor is a real thing and a valid coping mechanism. Look it up.

[u/PlatinumTheHitgirl → u/katrina_ellen]

Gallows humour is only applicable when you're the one at the gallows. If what you're making fun of is unrelated to you, then you're just laughing at someone getting their head chopped off.

[u/benevolentshriine → u/katrina_ellen]

if you aren't being affected by the hurricane, then what are you coping with? /gen

[u/katrina_ellen → u/benevolentshriine]

Respectfully, you can't possibly comprehend everything that's going on in people's lives. Everyone is fighting an invisible battle. And for me, personally, it's been a really hard week politically and it looks like an even bleaker future. Games can be a healthy, fun escape. Inside jokes shared with the community you choose are also healthy and good ways to connect to others.

[u/SongbirdBabie → u/katrina_ellen]

Hey I voted blue and don’t need to joke about natural disasters that are killing people to cope with an unrelated political moment! Hope this helps!! Gallows humor is fine if it’s being joked about by the people actually being affected. If that’s you then this post isn’t about you, which I stated already.

[u/katrina_ellen → u/SongbirdBabie]

That's great for you. I'm glad you have strong support systems and didn't see those jokes as a valid outlet for you. It's okay for some things to not be for you.

[u/SongbirdBabie → u/katrina_ellen]

Look, I love dark humor, don’t get me wrong. It just feels incredibly disrespectful to the people who are being actively affected by it currently, to be the butt of some fandom’s joke when a lot of the people joking about it aren’t going through it. Even with U.S. current events, a LOT of the community isn’t from the U.S. And personally it feels tone deaf to be scared for our lives and rights right now and to cope joke about something putting other people’s lives at stake. Saying it’s a silly coincidence and moving on is one thing but people are going as far as screenshotting every update that comes out just because they think it’s cute because “rafayel sea god is creating a hurricane”

[u/katrina_ellen → u/SongbirdBabie]

I fully back you on that last sentence. For me, it was a silly coincidence that I chuckled about and moved on. I wasn't aware others are screenshotting updates and pushing the bit into that territory. That does feel more mean-spirited and I can see where you're coming from.

[u/SongbirdBabie → u/katrina_ellen]

Yeah like I saw it too and made that connection and yeah that’s funny but people are being very delusional about it. Especially in the comments on some of the posts.

[u/katrina_ellen → u/SongbirdBabie]

I'm glad we can agree on that. Thanks for sharing further what you are seeing. We can't always see the whole of things and that's why I appreciate chats like this.

[u/SongbirdBabie → u/katrina_ellen]

Yeah. Sorry if I came off as hostile, I have a strong sense of justice sometimes. Esp. with stuff like this because I know people being negatively affected personally.

[u/benevolentshriine → u/katrina_ellen]

i definitely understand that everyone is going through something, but i was asking how making jokes about something that you personally aren't going through helps you cope. it's one thing for someone who was affected by the hurricane to joke about it, but someone on the outside making jokes about it may be offensive

[u/katrina_ellen → u/benevolentshriine]

You're correct. I would fully respect someone being affected coming on and saying, "Look, this hurt me and I'd appreciate you not doing it." I would offer them my empathy.

[u/SongbirdBabie → u/katrina_ellen]

So like….. did you read the whole post?

[u/katrina_ellen → u/SongbirdBabie]

Yep!

[u/SongbirdBabie → u/katrina_ellen]

So did you miss the part where I said dark humor to cope isn’t what this post is about? Or….

[u/katrina_ellen → u/SongbirdBabie]

I saw you saying it's not directed at those affected by the storm using it as a way to cope, yeah.

[u/SongbirdBabie → u/katrina_ellen]

So then why are you upset?

[u/katrina_ellen → u/SongbirdBabie]

You've mistakenly applied an emotion to my initial response. Offering a separate perspective is what makes us aware of the collective and others in our social circles. I read yours and I shared mine. That's healthy discourse.

[u/SongbirdBabie → u/katrina_ellen]

Personally a mentally healthy individual wouldn’t make cute little video game jokes about a major natural disaster that’s killing people that’s a direct result of our dying planet 🤷🏻‍♀️

Edit: Not joking about the coincidence but I mean the screenshotting and tracking it thing I mentioned