Dr. John Gartner makes a terrifying prediction 😵‍💫

[ShazzieB]

6. I agree that it's a coping mechanism.

I also agree that it can come off a little oddly, especially when you're not used to him, but that is how some people cope with horrible realities. There's a name for this phenomenon: gallows humor, a term that refers to the idea of laughing in the face of death.

It's not everyone's cup of tea, and it can be taken too far, but it can be an extremely effective stress relief mechanism and is said to be quite common among those who have to constantly confront the dark side of life, including soldiers fighting a war, medical professionals, and first responders of all types. I see Gartner as one of those people. Not only is he up to his neck in closely following Trump's craziness and warning people about it, his "day job" is listening to people talk about their worst traumas and deepest fears as a practicing psychotherapist.

Sometimes a person a person like Gartner can get so used to using dark humor as an outlet for stress and a shield against despair that they don't even realize they're doing it, or that it can make some people uncomfortable. That can lead to some awkwardness for those whose sense of humor doesn't run in that vein, but for those who "get" it, there's nothing like it.

Satire is a popular form of dark humor, and so are political cartoons and the sarcastic memes some of us like to post here at DU. I'm a fan of both myself.