Hang on, I just want to take a moment to figure out when it is and is not okay to make fun of dead people on Twitter.

Last July, Amy Winehouse died. Within minutes of the announcement of her death, jokes appeared on Twitter at her expense, followed by an overwhelming reaction that those jokes were not okay, that they were in bad taste.

Amy Winehouse was a drug-addicted pop star, who contributed nothing to society, consistently flaunted her wealth and addiction on national television, destroyed her family, and ultimately killed herself with alcohol poisoning. She seemed to have no remorse for her actions. She had a song written about her. 

Joe Paterno was a family man who contributed 60+ years to a single university, donated millions to that institution, helped countless young men and women, and helped make Penn State one of the most treasured public schools in our nation, but made a huge mistake involving an inhuman former colleague. He publicly apologized numerous times, but the stress of knowing the consequences of his lack of action likely contributed to his deteriorating condition and ultimately his death.

So it is okay to mock Joe Paterno on Twitter, but not okay to mock Amy Winehouse.

Got it. Thanks, Internet!