Photo by JJBers (Flickr).
Sometimes there are things that you simply shouldn’t joke about especially when it comes to violence. To do so isn’t edgy or playful trolling; it’s just flat-out malevolent.
A prime example of this is the countless celebrities who have “joked” about assassinating President Trump. If you want to be angry with Trump, great. This is America and that’s your right. But violent threats like that are an abomination.
And this doesn’t only apply to politics. It happened with Walmart recently and they just issued an apology after “joking” about this famous actor’s death.
One of the most bizarre things about the current state of social media is how the company’s Twitter or Instagram handles have taken on a personality of their own, typically comedic.
Wendy’s, Moon Pie, Burger King, Chipotle, DiGiorno, Denny’s and Netflix are just a few of the examples that utilize comedy in order to gain more followers. Occasionally, they joke around with each other to compete for the funniest Twitter handle. Right now, Wendy’s is the undisputed heavyweight champion.
But what’s weird about it is that all of these accounts ultimately boils down to one person tweeting jokes and comebacks. These individuals have free reign to Tweet on behalf of the company’s brand.
However, people are flawed, and sometimes they get their hand caught in the cookie jar like Walmart’s recently when they “joked” about actor Paul Walker’s tragic death.
A Twitter user named Lauren Miles subtweeted a news story about Walmart selling Pillsbury cinnamon rolls with pink frosting for cheap.
She wrote, “me racin to the nearest Wally World,” with a video of a car zig-zagging in-and-out of lanes on an interstate. “Wally World” is the name of the amusement park in the National Lampoons’ film “Christmas Vacation” and has been adopted as the slang nickname for Walmarts.
Walmart replied in a since deleted tweet, “Hey Paul Walker. Click it, or ticket,” with a siren emoji.
Paul Walker was an actor known primarily for the “Fast and the Furious” franchise and tragically passed away from a car crash in Los Angeles in 2013. Walker was a passenger in a Porsche that was going over 100 miles per hour when the driver lost control of the vehicle and it crashed into a concrete lamp post, killing them both instantly.
It’s weird to even call it a joke because what about it was supposed to be funny? As said before, some of the people behind these company’s Twitter handles will say anything in hopes they strike social media viral gold.
Walmart apologized in a statement saying, “We apologize to Paul Walker’s family, friends and fans. The tweet was posted in poor judgement and has been removed.”
But before you think of Walker as just another entitled actor, think again, because he was very generous with his charity work and did one extraordinary thing for an Iraq war veteran once.
Walker anonymously bought the veteran a $9,000 engagement ring for his wife-to-be after overhearing the couple say the piece was too expensive for them when he was window shopping in the jewelry store.
The store employee who witnessed the generosity had no intention of revealing the secretive purchase but wanted to bring light to the star following his untimely death.
He also notoriously known for philanthropic efforts like founding the disaster-relief charity Reach Out Worldwide, which helps bring first responders to disaster areas.
There are some things you just shouldn’t joke about and this was definitely one of those times.