Ah, comedy. This small thing that is capable of wiping the tears of
sadness and the burden of life in a form of laugh and fun. There are many forms
of this activity that the masses can enjoy, whether as a performance
broadcasted on TV or various streaming services (Stand-up comedy, Comedy roast,
sit-com, or sketch comedy routine) or pranking some unsuspecting member of the
society just for the sake of it. I have to admit, I love a good prank. My
absolute favorite pranking methods is by either an air horn or a big loud noise
(train horns and other forms of big horns), although I mostly carry out my
pranks by sneaking into the back of an unsuspecting friend of mine, and basically
jump scaring them. It's all for good fun, but by pulling a prank on someone
with possible heart issues or something that can trigger a fatal chain reaction
can be quite a handful, to say the least. Some of the victims might lash out,
some might faint, or some might resorted to law enforcement officers. Even
worse, few of them even killed in the process.
Recently, some teenagers set out to prank the entire neighborhood by
dressing up as pocong (a ghost
wrapped in the shroud, the soul is said to be trapped inside it. Also known as hantu bungkus (wrapped ghost).
Predominately found in Malaysia and Indonesia) and recorded the reaction to be
posted on YouTube. One famous and viral example of this is a YouTube channel Erlanggs, owned by Erlangga Alfreda
Davian, who posted the act last year on April 5, 2018. The prank in question
was set in an area near the cemetery in Pondok Labu, South Jakarta. What they
didn't know was it turns out that one of the victims of the scare is a woman
with alleged heart conditions. She lashed out to the teenagers, citing that if
her heart acts up, she would end up dead. The netizens offered similar opinions
as the woman in question. Some even say along the lines of "joking out of
bounds" and "shame on you, you could have accidentally killed
her." Six months later, a mob arrested 6 young boys, two of them dressed
up as pocong in Sukmajaya, Depok.
They didn't turn those boys in to the Police, but instead punishing them to
sleep at the cemetery, with the boys crying in the process. The Makassar City
Police Force carried out the recent arrest of similar complaint on November 3,
2019. The Police Response Team arrested two teenagers on Banta Bentaeng Street
and surrounding areas. The arrest was carried out based on the complaint about
some teenagers dressed up as pocong
scaring the living being out of unsuspecting passerby either on foot or by
vehicle (usually motorbikes). After interrogating those jokers, the police
established a motif of "pranking the passerby just for the sake of good
laugh and fun."
By this time, we can all see that although pranks can be fun for the
perpetrators, it can cause a major discomfort to the surrounding areas, and
more often than not, these innocent pranks could turn into a disaster of lethal
proportions. There is a story when a High School boy put on a mask and hid
inside a dumpster bin to scare the living hell out of unsuspecting victims. The
story goes, a High Schooler of African descent was interviewed by a schoolmate
when that same guy jumped out of the bin with the mask on. But instead of
jumping back, the victim instead punched him in the face, possibly knocked the
prankster out cold (now that is what I call instant karma). I did mention jokes
turn lethal, didn't I? In 2014, an innocent teenage girl lost her life because
of a simple toilet paper, egg and mayonnaise prank on a car in Little Rock,
Arkansas. The victim, a 48 year-old man then opened fire into the group,
killing that poor girl and injuring some of her entourage in the process. The
shooter was later sentenced to 30 years in prison. Another instance of fun-turned-sour
happened in 2017, when a series of prank messages about girlfriend who killed
herself led an 11-year-old kid to suicide. His girlfriend was, in fact, alive
and well and was charged with malicious use of telecom devices. During the
pranks, his friends never told him that it was a joke, and nobody told an adult
that the boy was threatening to kill himself. They were simply carried out the
prank and assuming that he either wouldn't kill himself or simply didn't care
any less. Many even say that despite starting out harmless, this plan was
already cruel from the get-go.
When it comes to comedy, pranks are always considered as the cheapest and
the easiest way to execute, although with the expense of surrounding masses.
When executed correctly and safely, this activity will surely be a lot of fun,
but if the perpetrators execute the prank with malicious intent, it can turn to
the worse in the matter of seconds. Even if those pranks are safe and
non-lethal, there are several circumstances that might turn an otherwise fun
and harmless prank into a deathtrap. Some of the targeted victims might resort
to force, either by fisticuffs or the use of weapons. Some people just don't
have any sense of humor. And if they do, most of them wouldn't necessarily find
it funny if the prank involves something that have excessive shock values or
something with the intention of harm and discomfort. It's okay to let loose and
laugh, there are many mediums of comedy to do so, but just make sure that it's
safe, harmless and tolerable for the masses.
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