Consent is needed, but not the point

Russ makes a good point about a nuance of practical jokes that makes them special, the characteristic of involving a third party which is the target of the joke, and how that relates to consent. He is right, consent is an important fact, I acknowledge that. Russ also says at the end of his post that being an asshole doesn't make you responsible for somebody else's decisions, I ackowledge that, too. I even somewhat agree to the position that the employer might fire you on assholery reasons, but in this particular case, I think that's a hypocrite position. If assholery was an issue, it should have been before, too, and I don't think the employer thought of it before this sad even, as long as it meant more money for them. I think this only shows how cynical they are, the cost analysis for them showed them they now might lose more money by not firing, than by keeping them. It's just cynical.

In spite of that, my initial post, just as I wrote, was not about the DJs, the people involved, the assholery, the taste or lack thereof of the joke. That's why I was intentionally leaving out names or specific context. It was about the bigger picture, irrational reactions and how in the face of a tragedy we surrender our thinking capabilities and react in an irrational manner to the least significant things.

I have had quite recent unfortunate events happening to people close to me, and, invariably, I observe this loss of rational faculties in the face of sad events. Even when this kind of disproportionate response is shown for what it is and how it is harmful in itself, people still refuse to give up on being irrational or they do after a long struggle with the facts.

I'll finish my article with a similar question: can we, as a species, go beyond our condition and make a conscious effort to keep calm and think things through before making decisions in the face of tragedy, or are we incapable to do that?

And no, I am not advocating to drop feelings and affection, I find it sad that I have to say that again, but I am almost sure that in spite of it, I will be wrongly understood by somebody.