An Abuse post - Pranks as abuse

I have always been repulsed by the idea of playing a prank on someone else. They can be the cruelest things and the prankster takes upon himself, the role of bully. It doesn't matter how trivial the prank is - a farting cushion or a "surprise" party. Any idea of something fun (to you) but disconcerting to another is abuse.

I can't imagine why it is deemed to be funny to watch another person discomforted in any way. Pranks are abuse. Pranks are ABUSE of someone else.

Why this should appear amusing, clever, or funny eludes me... "One man’s airborne proposal took his girlfriend’s breath away when he pretended that their small plane was in trouble and asked her to read an emergency checklist that contained instructions for a “ring engagement procedure.”

People who set up pranks like this should be arrested on assault charges. "After the person steps onto the elevator, men dressed as death-care workers board afterward with a casket, which they place upright in the corner. Then they leave to fetch a funeral wreath, but the elevator door closes before they can get back in time.

 

First the victims of the prank deal with the unsettling thought that they are sharing the ride with a dead body. Then comes tapping from within the coffin just before it opens and a body falls forward, hanging limply." etc etc

This is funny? To whom is it funny? At whose cost is it funny?

Pranks can go horribly wrong as we know. This prank is one with the most tragic consequences.

Duchess of Cambridge hoax call nurse found dead

Its a horrible start to a pregnancy for any new Mum, and an unimaginable

 shock for the nurse's family and co-workers.

I hope it pulls all pranksters up short - pranks are really not funny. They are simply abuse of another human being. What a pity some folk enjoy this kind of abuse, doing it and watching it, quite unaware that they are committing an emotional/physical harm to someone else for a cheap laugh.