Rush Limbaugh's recent comments about Japan caused a bit of a stir. Although the Japan commentary may not have been his most offensive display, it was perhaps ill timed. He used the disaster to make a joke about environmentalism, since the nuclear emergency is happening in a country with high environmental standards. He also joked about Diane Sawyer's interviews with refugees, giving his enemies another excuse to call him insensitive or worse. But given all the politically incorrect comments, Limbaugh may be a low level offender this time.
For some reason, the crisis in the Far East has inspired a lot of unpleasant comedy. Gilbert Gottfried made off color jokes about it on Twitter and got fired from Aflac commercials. 50 Cent also came under fire for questionable Tweets, and Glenn Beck was criticized for saying the tragedy was a "message from God."
Making jokes and incendiary comments too soon about a tragic event is ill-advised, at least in public. Controversial political commentary is to be expected, however, as the Tucson shooting helped prove. But it stands to wonder why there have been more jokes after a disaster than usual.
Few jokes went around right after the Tucson shooting in spite of the heated rhetoric. However, it might have been easier to get away with jokes about Japan - or at least easier than it would have been if this happened in America. Journal of Media Psychology editor Stuart Fischoff told the Los Angeles Times that this may reflect some remaining "culturally accepted prejudice" against the Japanese.
When the Haiti earthquake and Indian Ocean tsunami took place, there weren't any controversial jokes or jabs. If people were joking, they did it away from their computers or behind closed doors. But those who aren't doing that this week may not have done it to reflect prejudice nonetheless. Since the backlash against them was immediate, it shows that only a small minority thought they were funny.
In this social media age where everyone types in their every thought, a few off-color ones are bound to get out. Rush Limbaugh used a more traditional tool - which let his foes follow their tradition of calling him hateful. But for some reason or another, others set the bar for questionable commentary before he got there.
