To meme or not to meme

2020 started off with a bang—rumors of World War III. The United States killed Iranian Major General Qasem Soleimani on January 3, sparking the fear that the US would soon go to war with Iran.

Gen Z seems to cope with fear by poking fun at serious topics on various social media. Twitter became the perfect outlet to let their fears out online by joking about “WWIII.”

UHS students disagree about the appropriateness of joking about WWIII. On the one hand, humor is a way of coping so as to not feel too overwhelmed. On the other hand, people are dying, and that’s not something that should be joked about.

“I think they’re funny because [WW3’s] not going to happen. I see how it could be offensive though,” explains sophomore Lanie Scott.

As long as the jokes are not hurting anyone, many people believe they are okay to make.

Park Mitchell, sophomore, believes “they can be interpreted as offensive but our generation makes jokes about serious topics. It’s our way of coping.”

Others believe that the jokes are insensitive, even if they are not aimed at offending anyone.

“Our generation has become desensitized to everything. We uses dark humor as a coping mechanism” sophomore Hannah Null explains.

The situation in Iran is much different than the situation in the United States.

Sophomore Macy Wirtz says “I don’t think people realize the effect it has on people in Iran. It’s funny but people are dying, innocent people who haven’t done anything.”

Even if the jokes are funny, people still should think of those who are struggling right now.

The jokes may be funny, but one must always be wary and “know where to draw the line between comedy and reality,” according to sophomore Maisie Pines.

Most people do not make jokes about WWIII and aim to be insensitive, but that is often what happens. In unstable times like these, it’s important to reflect on where it is time to draw a line between what is appropriate and what is not.