This past weekend saw many tragic events unfold in the media, from the mass killing in Norway, to the death of singer Amy Winehouse, to the crash of a Chinese bullet train. Now, I don’t take many things seriously, but I have a certain amount of respect for the subject of death, enough, in any case, not to make jokes about it. Or rather, enough respect to not make tasteless jokes.

With the announcement of Winehouse’s death on Sunday morning came, of course, a slew of Facebook statuses and Tweets regarding the singer’s passing. At first all I was seeing was the standard, “R.I.P. Amy,” “No, no, no Amy :(,” and “We lost a great one today. R.I.P.” But, as the day bore on, and people started feeling a little more confident in themselves, I started seeing things like, “They probably should’ve made her go to rehab. R.I.P.” and, “She shouldn’t have said no, no, no.” Are you kidding me? However funny Winehouse’s vice-filled antics may have been at times, her death is not the time to try being witty for once. I say that only because if you have any sort of comedic sense or integrity, you already know that this is not a place for jokes. A lot of people, however, aren’t funny, or at least aren’t used to making jokes, so when a disgustingly easy opportunity like this one arises, they jump at the chance to try their hand in our craft of wit. Don’t do it.

I even saw a lot of people expressing their lack of astonishment, tweeting things like, “R.I.P. Winehouse #Can’tSayI’mSurprised.” And again, sorry that this real-life death, that happened in reality, did not satisfy your craving for excitement, or apparent need for a surprise, but you need to keep those things to yourself. Her death was not a marker for which you should measure how surprised you do or do not get. It seems on top of the typical pointless idiocy that floods twitter every second, when a publicized death occurs Twitter becomes the frontline for inconsiderate, corny, one-liners.

Any publicized event, really, seems to bring the would-be comedian out of most people. On the subject of what was the deadliest killing in Norway since World War II, I saw comments like, “Norway: Another reason I’m glad I live in America,” and, “What up with that guy in Norway killing everyone? I THOUGHT NORWEIGENS WERE PEACEFUL.” Try to be more ignorant. Just try it. Give it a shot. I don’t think you could succeed. It’s one thing to be proud of your country, or relieved that a tragedy has not befallen your people, but find another way to phrase it.

And as is human nature, no two things can ever happen in close proximity without people picking one as more significant, or better, or even just outright comparing them. One person tweeted, “Amy Winehouse is dead, that’s sad. But dozens of innocent people have died because of a killing spree in Norway. Let’s not forget that…” First, we should thank this user, because there was definitely a chance of every person forgetting what happened in Norway. There was not, actually, and just who is this user that she gets to clarify that one celebrity death is sad, yet not as important as a mass-slaying? She is nobody, and yes, I know that part of the purpose of Twitter is for nobody people to concisely express whatever thought they want, but this is a matter of inconsideration, and really, unnecessary comparisons.

Another user felt the need to educate the Twitterverse in proper English, stating, “Amy Winehouse was a drug addict who died of an overdose [as of this writing that claim is unsupported]. Her death is a shame, NOT a tragedy. The killing in Norway was a tragedy.” Dude. Get out of here. Thanks for the English lesson, but do not take it upon yourself to tell people what Winehouse’s death means to them. Also, just don’t even compare them. They’re both unfortunate events that occurred. Were one to have taken place even a week later there would be no comparison of the two.

But, alas, that is the tendency of human beings. If you give people a means to express any thought they deem relevant, express they will. And fine, whatever; if you want to be ignorant and inconsiderate, by all means, go ahead. That’s not even why I started writing this. I find very little objection to ignorance, because I know that it’s never gonna not happen. But please, leave my craft of comedy alone.

- Elbows