Have fun? In a hospital?

A couple days ago, a couple friends and I escorted our friend to the emergency room. I won't say what happened, but he is fine now. When we arrived, it took a while for him to get in, as most of you can relate to. We sat down at the childrens table and began playing paper football. Later, a one legged homeless man was pleasuring himself in the middle of the waiting room. Being college students, we all had a good laugh about it.

We walked out past a few groups of people that gave us questioning looks and then nodded in his direction. People seemed so awkward because of this man, and yet they did nothing to stop him. We found it hilarious watching people come into the emergency room, see him, and freak out.

After we got bored of that, we went exploring the hospital. After getting lost and being escorted out of the morgue by a security guard, we found a couple girls that were sitting far from the man in question, looking incredibly awkward. We talked with them for hours and when our friend eventually came out of the ER, we left.

The question I am presenting here is why people take particular places and automatically associate it with predetermined emotions. IS there anything inappropriate about having fun while we wait for our friend to be checked out by a doctor? We were in the hospital for over four hours, and it would have been unbearable to put up with that.

When people go to the ER, most of them automatically assume a somber mood. When an emergency is happening, and all you can do is wait for a doctor to see you, is there any point in worrying? People walk in, worried about a broken wrist, or their child's cough, but they can't do anything until the doctor sees them. I understand the worry, and by no means do i support the idea of ignoring your problems. However I do think that if you know for a fact that there is nothing else you can do, accept the fact and make the best out of the circumstances.