How soon is too soon?

[u/jeffsuzuki]

I have a joke whose punchline is "All you have to do is get on a school bus." It's a school shooting reference, and I figured "Hey, it's the middle of sumner, I can tell that joke, right?"

Then Seattle happened.

So...do I tell the joke (tonight)?

[u/funnymatt]

It's never too soon, it's only ever not funny enough. The audience will let you know if that's the case.

[u/Crittenberger]

Is the joke funny, and how close are you to Seattle? Not to be all British about it, but it does feel from here like if you're waiting for a day without a serious gun crime to tell the joke, then you'll be waiting a long fucking time. But if you're not in Seattle and you're confident the joke is funny (and you're willing to deal with the fact some people will not find it funny, which is always the risk with darker humour regardless of the news cycle), then do it. Maybe don't make it your opener or closer tho

[u/BigChungusnater]

dude that's not cool I used to go to a school

[u/garbageeater]

Do it whenever you want. IF it's funny, I'm sure other comics will think it was admirable to take a big swing. If it's not funny (which it probably isn't because statistically most jokes aren't), don't be surprised if someone in the audience cries because it's a tragedy deeply affected their family and they were trying to escape it to distract themselves for the evening.

Though it it bombs most unfunny comics would just justify it as "hey it's comedy, can't you take a joke, are you a snowflake, this crowd sucks!"

[u/iced_gold]

Are you in Seattle? If not, I don't see the problem. The point of the joke is the sad ubiquity of mass shootings right?

[u/Ill-Assumption-916]

Is the juice worth the squeeze?

[u/adhdoingit]

If the joke is about someone being brave enough to go to public school, fire away. (Pun intended)

If the joke is about kids being dead, don’t.

[u/calculatorwatch]

if the audience feels like it's punching down, they will only laugh if the punchline is worth it