this post was submitted on 04 Aug 2026
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Because humor is a survival mechanism. Joking about extremely serious things helps us through hard times.
That's why some people laugh when they're upset or angry. That's why people mime blowing their brains out. That's why people make suicide jokes or "Don't come to work tomorrow" or fucking 9/11 jokes.
Like, you wanna be upset about a school shooting joke that was told to people in confidence, that's fucking insane. Fuck off.
Seriously. I'm tired of the haughty Puritans pretending they don't know what morbid humor is. At my grandfather's funeral, my whole family was doing it. It's a way to grieve. For example, he was a farmer. He literally bought the farm. at several points in his life. One of the jokes I remember making was, "he bought the farm, and later he bought the farm!"
My younger brother lived a very troubled life. Struggled with a lot of mental health and related substance abuse issues. Served time in jail after committing armed robbery for drug money. Died in his late 20s from an OD. But he was still my brother, and I still loved him. At his funeral:
"HE'S ROBBING ANGELS NOW!"
Frankly, if someone can't appreciate morbid humor, I don't want to be friends with them.
I'm sorry but this "extremely serious thing" that required this "survival mechanism" was a student closing their laptop lid. That really qualifies for you?
Or are you arguing they were using this moment to alleviate the stress they have about constant school shootings across the USA?
I joke about running over children and families for multikill bonus points when they walk in front of me while I'm driving.
I joke about calling in bomb threats when I want to have a day off work.
I joke about killing myself instead of taking the garbage out.
So, yeah, I don't really think anyone should be arrested for making a private joke. Like, who are you trying to convince?
This person wasn't impacted legally in any way. A threat of school shooting had to be investigated. They shouldnt have said what they said whether in "private" or not. Theres literally no defence to it besides "I should be able to say anything", which makes no sense because that would imply words and thoughts have no impact or meaning.
This person was subject to a whole FBI/local law enforcement team showing up to their place of work, questioning, arresting, and holding them overnight. They not only no longer have a job (you clearly didn't read the article), but they also will likely not be able to enter the profession they spent 4 years in college to get into.
The closed laptop erased her lesson plan. I don't know if you know this but teachers don't get paid for overtime. They do a lot of overtime including writing lesson plans. There's a lot of unpaid labor that goes into being a teacher and she wasn't even a full fledged teacher (she's basically an intern).
She has a bad day and it ended her career before it even started. Because a company that propagates it's brand by marketing it's private messages as private decided to surveil it's users.
I'd argue cops showing up is, in fact, a legal impact, unless you believe cops are an extrajudicial force, which is not an inherently incorrect statement.
She was surveiled secretly. She said something in private that she would not have said publicly. It was a joke, even if it was a joke in bad taste to you.
It just feels like this is a really bad way to stop a school shooting, especially considering it did not stop one.
Its a stupid way to catch a school shooting. Especially because its in the news now, potential future shooters know not to post anything or message about anything. I'm not arguing that point, but we can't talk about real ways to stop mass shootings so we are stuck with this conversation instead I guess.
I think being in private isn't an excuse to say anything you feel like. There should be social consequences to what was said, but it should likely just be her friend giving push back to the joke even just as distasteful.
... I did not say she shouldn't face social consequences. I said she shouldn't face legal ones. Her friends didn't care about the joke, and thus, her social consequences ended there. That's why she told a joke that was acceptable within the group she told it to.
This is usually how groups work, so I'm lost on what your problem with this js. Like, if you tell a racist joke to your friends, I don't think you should face legal consequences for that, either. But you should face the social consequences of that. Same deal.
In my opinion legal consequences are social consequences, so that's likely where we disagree. The social structures in America are pretty fucked though, so I understand the apprehension.