Karma Cleanser - Did bad karma cause the house fire?

Dear Karma Cleanser:

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A house in my neighborhood burned almost to the ground a few weeks ago. We, my husband and I, were not particularly friendly with the family who lived in the house. They were a rude middle-aged couple who never did their yard work and were known as complainers to the rest of the neighborhood.

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My husband has greeted the news of their tragedy with something close to glee. He and our 12-year-old son have started a running joke about how “hot” the real estate is in our part of the county, and they laugh every time we drive past the burned-out home. I am mortified by anyone taking pleasure in such a calamity. I confronted my husband about it and he just shrugged off my concerns. Their house burned down because they were such lousy neighbors, he says. I don’t agree. Please tell me I’m right.
-- Fire with Ire

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You’re both right. In an era when it’s verboten to crack jokes in an airport lest you be hauled off to Guantanamo, your husband’s simply participating in a centuries-old tradition of off-color humor. All comedy comes from the misfortune of others (think about it).

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But what’s questionable is his enlisting your son as laugh track. At 12, the boy’s probably not quite old enough to realize how serious and devastating something like a house fire can be. You should force both of the callous men in your life to personally visit the family in need, and then see how long their jocundity lasts.