Why do people laugh when someone gets hurt.....?

Question

why do some people feel compelled to laugh when someone gets hurt/injured....? why is this.....?

Answer 1

well, usually when people laugh, it's a reaction to pure stupidity...
if someone gets hit in the face with a rake because they stepped on it wrong,---pure stupidity---then people will laugh

but sometimes people laugh just because they are being cynical, and that's rude..

but if you laugh due to the stupidity of the other, eventually the you will stop laughing and say, "Hah, sorry man, i didn't mean to laugh, are you okay??"

or at least, that's what i would do..

Answer 2

Admittedly, it's sometimes hard not to laugh when someone else falls down or does something clumsy. For some reason, many people are programmed to think that stuff is funny. From now on, you should probably try to remember to assure that the person is okay. Also, try to refrain from laughing as much as possible. The person is probably already embarrassed. It's best to not add to their discomfort.

Answer 3

This very question was addressed in Robert Heinlein's "Stranger in a Strange Land." The explanation made sense since it was simple, yet profound at the same time.

In a nutshell, humans laugh upon witnessing the pain of others because we know pain. And in witnessing someone else's pain we are granted an opportunity to be thankful that it's not our turn to be in that position. At the same time, our laughter serves as both a form of empathy and a defense mechanism. Laughing at another's pain can be likened to whistling as one passes a graveyard.

Answer 4

sometime when people brought up from different environments, their understanding and living attitudes are difference too....one think that it should be a joke, the other one may think that it is an offence.
Most of the time, to say something not to hurt anyone is not easy....before say out, should observe whether they can take it or not.
That is why there is chinese saying "never build your happiness on top of others' pain"...........

Answer 5

All humor derives from witnessing somebody else's discomfort due to a defense mechanism that creates a feeling of slight discomfort at the expense of another person, or as a result of feeling embarrassed for that person.

Answer 6

Becuz itsfuni cuz it makes you feel like 4 a moment u are not the lowest thing in the room and that givs u a instant high.

Answer 7

Because it's so dang funny! lol I laugh, but I feel bad for laughing at the same time

Answer 8

Epicaricacy, schadenfreunde, whatever you call it, it is nearly universal. Even the Martians think that it is funny.

Answer 9

hmm i have always wondered that myself, i guess it just naturally happens... it happens to me alot ill laugh at people getting hurt n ill catch myself doing it and be like "ohhhh im so ****** up"

Answer 10

Sometimes, the way it happened, looks funny.