Dark humor revolves around a lemons to lemonade mentality. Everyone has heard a joke regarding a sensitive topic – maybe it was about a natural disaster, mental illness or something else. These jokes can definitely be offensive to someone who relates to its subject matter, but with the right audience they can be playful and harmless.

But there are reasons people dislike this kind of humor. Some people are just offended by dark humor, and as some like to put it, “can’t take a joke.” But the research might explain why.

Based on a study published in the journal Cognitive Processing, enjoyment of dark humor is an indication of higher intelligence, better education and generally happier and less aggressive behavior.

Jokes can definitely miss their mark. To avoid this, timing and audience are key. Comedians make hundreds of tragedy jokes every year. These jokes can be perceived as funny because of the amount of time elapsed since the event. However, a survivor might find the joke disturbing.

So if a joke is made with respect to the proper factors, there is no harm in making the joke. If someone takes offense to a joke, so be it. They do not have to listen. The first amendment states that one can say whatever one wants, so all an offended person can do is feel bad about a joke someone made. If something does not have the ability to change, should people be angry about jokes made toward it or embrace the comical potential surrounding the dark subject?

Disabled comedians make jokes regarding their disabilities constantly, so arguing that disabilities should have a moral force field of correctness is absolutely absurd. A paralyzed person should not spend their life sulking in despair, but rather use self-deprecating humor, which has been linked to healthier mental conditions.

Do not take that as permission to single out someone; words do affect people and the last thing anybody wants to do is actually hurt someone. There are serious issues people have to deal with and suffer through every day. Everyone afflicted has the ability to find fun in whatever problem they have.

However, outsiders to the issue may not understand certain aspects of the topic and make a distasteful joke about something serious. This is something that people should avoid. One should always think carefully before making a joke regarding something that would otherwise be offensive.

Maybe dark humor should be avoided, but something that makes most people on Earth laugh will not die easily, especially due to free speech, which guarantees dark humor will always be legal in the United States of America. So,

the worst that is going to happen is the shunning of dark humor, which is paradoxical considering that the “wrongness” of dark humor is why it is so funny.

Dark humor is not going to go anywhere anytime soon, so the only reason to continue to be scorned and offended by it is if someone is being singled out or if someone is just a downer who gets offended by everything and whose existence is devoted to the recognition that a joke is offensive.

News flash: that is the point Again, words evoke feelings.Words definitely can hurt someone. This is why dark humor has faced scrutiny in the first place. Singling out one person is almost never funny, and should always be avoided. However, dark humor is a fact of modern life and should be embraced rather than hated.