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In the wake of an assassination attempt on former President Trump’s life, thousands of people came forward with (public) hot takes, and some of them were at least intended to be funny, which are my personal favorite kind of hot takes.
While it’s nice to be moved by a sincere statement about the weight of the world, it’s even better, in my humble opinion, if I/we can laugh about it. Laughter is my favorite way to process information, handle stress or strife, and get through hard times. It always has been. It’s why I became a comedian.
That includes both laughing at other’s jokes and thinking up my own.
If you jumped into (or want to jump into) the cold pool of Trump shooting jokes, or anytime you intend to publicly turn tragedy into comedy, give yourself this quick test:
SHOULD I WRITE A JOKE ABOUT [INSERT CURRENT TRAGEDY HERE]
Are you truly inspired?
Are you willing to possibly get into hot water / go viral / get fired / face the consequences of your joke?
Is it a fresh / unique point of view that offers something of value?
If you can say yes to all three, give it a go.
Worst case scenario, you can always take it down later, although the spirit of the bit may live on via the magic of screengrabs, internet algorithms, AI, etc.
Let’s analyze a few jokes I saw while wandering the internet wastelands, trying to make sense of Saturday’s events.
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