Cruel jokes can leave us conflicted about whether to laugh or cry. I argue that it can be better to laugh. I get there by showing that the content of a joke, what or whom it picks on, cannot fully explain whether it is morally permissible to be amused by it. In doing so, I reject many ethics of humor that attempt to establish the permissibility of amusement based on the content of a joke. Instead, it is the context in which it is told, and specifically, whether empathy is required of us in that situation, that determines whether we may laugh. To support my view, I show that cruel jokes seem innocent when there is no requirement to empathize with the victim. I end by discussing Internet humor, partially explaining why dark humor seems to thrive on social media.