Why I make jokes about 9/11

Else-net there were comments around the "Miracle Mattress" marketing debacle. The discussion went something like:

Person A: Too Soon!
Me: South Park determined it needed 22.3 years ("Aids is finally funny") in the episode "Jared has Aides"
Person C: 100 years would be too soon
Person D: It's always too soon, for any sort of tragedy

Culture may play a part of it. I grew up in a country under attack by terrorists (IRA mainland bombing; my Mum was almost killed by a bomb, FOAF died at the Baltic Exchange, multiple transit shutdowns, police closing streets to deal with suspected bombs, etc). This was within living memory of The Blitz and the attitudes that came with it. So we kinda just shrug, joke about it. My Mum's comment; "Ha! Missed me!".

Also http://www.dorktower.com/2005/07/12/comics-archive-697/

We joke about this stuff _as_ a coping mechanism.

I was on Wall Street on 9/11; co-workers and friends came through WTC daily. One guy survived simply because he overslept and decided to work from home that day. If this had happened on a Monday then I might have been there.

So I joke about that day; "Yeah, I moved to New York in July 2001. Two months later they try and drop a building on my head. Friendly people, these New Yorkers!"

You (generic) may find it distasteful and "too soon", but it's how I cope with the horror; how I shield my mind; how I stop myself curling up into a ball and crying.

You probably also don't find it funny; but then I'm not a professional comedian. The joke isn't for you, but for _me_.