The reception of such content has undoubtedly set many a mind whirring about whether laughing at death and tragedy is appropriate. The Huffington Post recently ran a piece on humor in the wake of solemn events, for one, and every late-night host seemed to have a joke up his or her sleeve after the news of bin Laden's death.
A case can be made for laughing in the face of darkness as a way to overcome obstacles, for sure, but there do seem to be some cases where the revelry can go too far.
For example, Next Media Animation released a characteristically bizarre video Monday depicting bin Laden's gruesome death, soldiers urinating on his body, and, finally, his spirit being gang-raped by pigs. That video has since been taken down. We've reached out to NMA for comment.
Those who feel we shouldn't laugh at or celebrate a death can go too far, too. Witness the partly mangled, partly fabricated Martin Luther King Jr. quote that spread across the web in a bid to urge others not to succumb to hate.
What do you think? Are these memes a way to release tension after a monumental and cathartic event? Or are some of them beyond the pale? We've included a small sampling below. In the comments, please share others you've seen.