Dark Humor Among the Military : Understanding Its Usage & Need
Book One was attacked by a small but highly vocal minority who have never been closer to war than a Netflix video, yet felt entitled to create a battle between their lowest‑star reviews and military veterans’ five‑star reviews. This was over the veteran characters, particularly their humor and what appeared on the surface as casualness towards the situation. Some of these people even decreed that the author invented this kind of humor, which would require the author to be at least a century old, dating back to a minimum of World War I, because it’s existed for a very long time.
But they weren’t knowledgeable enough to comprehend something known as gallows humor!
Helloooo, gallows, that means hanging people for capital crimes, which would mean back in time.
That ilk insistent on the Hollywood‑bogus, clenched‑buttock, bravado‑spewing combat infantrymen who say trite things, and never banter or joke.
Who knew that crap had a target audience?
Apparently, they also believed that 75th Ranger Regiment, Delta Force, and Marine Corps Scout Sniper, multi-combat-tour veterans should scream like teenagers in a slasher film, as the only “human psychology” to exist—that’s quoted from one of that ilk on Goodreads.
Oops, guess there is an audience that this movie was aimed at.
Navy SEALs vs. Zombies was panned as bad for even bad movies.
It goes into the same category as this one:
Our ‘action girl’ beloved ‘Sarah Connor’ (Linda Hamilton) was in Osiris, which had an opening scene of “special forces” guys spewing bravado before they were slaughtered left, right, and center.
(I couldn’t go more than a couple of minutes before I turned it off out of psychological self-defense and gag reflex.)
(What bad movies should be is funny, which these aren’t … unless you are inebriated, at which time an amazing amount of dumb shit is funny.)
Did you feel that Peter Sullivan and the other veteran characters were unrealistic due to their joking and banter, or for their cynicism?
In reality, they were very lightweight, because the story is intended for a mainstream audience.
Getting closer to the real deal.
Since that aggressive ilk made it pretty obvious that they would not accept any information from the author or the military veteran reviewers, how about third party who are totally disconnect from these books?
In the words of other people, the quotes you are about to read tell you the pervasiveness, reason, and meaning behind the military (and first responders) using humor.
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From Devon Stavrowsky on Quora, a Former Army SF [Green Beret] Medic, Cal [California National] Guard Officer, Retired Cop (1968–2005).
“Dark humor is a way in which people who have to deal with horrors and atrocities anesthetize themselves to them. Because you can’t be effective in what you are doing if you don’t inure yourself to them. In short order you’d just become essentially useless, unable to go back in and deal with the situations that generated the dark humor to begin-with the next time you encountered it.
“You find it among soldiers and commonly among first responders as well. Civilians see horrors on TV or in the movies… read about them in books… but really don’t encounter them much. At least not in this country. And encountering the real thing is very different and profoundly affecting. All you have to do is look at the shock people go into when they occasionally do…. like around a bad car accident or after an earthquake or tornado.
“When you have to deal with that sort of thing on a routine basis, you had better find a way to harden yourself to it, or you’re going to be in trouble… and not able to do your job.
“Dark humor is just such a coping mechanism… and civilians don’t get the joke because they really haven’t been there, and you cannot explain it to people who haven’t been there.
“It’s the same reason cops, after a while tend to hang out only with other cops, and combat veterans are very reluctant to speak of their experiences with anyone not a combat vet. If you haven’t been there… you are just not going to understand… and it cannot be truly explained to you in words that will make you understand. Words can get you sympathy (which is something you don’t want), and maybe respect, but they are never going to convey true understanding.”
“There’s a reason that dark humor is such a consistent part of the work culture among those who serve in the military, support their communities as first responders or provide care in a hospital setting. Individuals working in these fields, as well as those who share tragic or traumatic experiences, can connect by taking a lighthearted, if a little irreverent, approach to the difficult topics and circumstances they’re forced to confront. Going through difficult times can be isolating, but humor combats that by providing people with shared experiences an opportunity to bond.”
Source: FHE Health Restore, “The Psychology of Comedy as a Defense Mechanism.”
“Life’s toughest moments often leave scars, whether it’s battling addiction, enduring a divorce, or losing a loved one. Everyone finds their own way to cope. For many of us, humor becomes an unexpected lifeline. It’s not about trivializing the seriousness of these events, but about offering a momentary escape from the heaviness. This allows us to survive and, in time, heal.”
“Military members use dark humor and banter as a coping mechanism for dealing with extreme stress and trauma. This unique form of communication also helps forge powerful bonds, reinforce group identity, and maintain psychological resilience under immense pressure.”
Psychologically speaking, I confirmed with practicing psychologists, including VA therapists, the psychology of all the major characters throughout the book installments to verify the realness of their behavior, and make sure I hadn’t gone down some weird rabbit hole. For Phebe, in particular, who we get to see go from safe civilian into elite fighter, I used my observations of my own internal changes, such as emotional numbness. Later in the series, when the group is interacting with non-Zoners, we get to see their changes highlighted. But not really before then, because people rarely notice how they are changing if everyone around them is having the same changes. It feels normal then.
I confirmed with therapists regarding Eric Wong in Charleston, South Carolina. He was having a “mental vacay” from the guilt and trauma regarding his sisters, with disassociation from his surroundings, but then he snapped back when the Army invaded. This was legitimate psychology and very much does happen to people. His snap-back was triggered by a change of his situation—he was suddenly without the protection of his “tribe”—and his survival instinct kicked back in to deal with the invaders. Obviously, the 19-year-old has a strong survival instinct, based on things he had told of what happened during the Wilmington outbreak regarding his parents.
It’s all real. Whether some people like it or they find it uncomfortable, it is the real world. And the series is based on plausibility and realism.
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