Schadenfreude
I just finished reading the Newsweek series on the rampant rise of crystal meth addiction in the US. Absolutely frightening. I have attached the link below.
I find these stories of people hitting absolute rock bottom very intriguing. One of the people noted in the attached story was a 30-something suburban Chicago housewife, who was married, earning 6 figures, and had a few kids prior to the nightmare of crystal meth taking hold. By the time she hit rock bottom she had virtually lost everything. It seems like I can read these stories of personal destruction over and over again.
I think there is a degree of Schadenfreude involved. For those of you not familiar with the term, Schadenfreude is one of my favorite German words. The Germans have a knack for creating single words for certain phrases pertaining to feelings - English does not seem to do this. Schadenfreude essentially means "taking joy in the pain of others." I think all people have a degree of this - it makes us feel stronger, better, above the rest. Think of some of the "tough love" shows out there - along the lines of Judge Judy or Dr. Laura Schlessinger. In these shows, unfortunate souls show up in court (in the case of Judge Judy) or call in (in the case of Dr. Laura, and proceed to get beaten up by the main characters over the stupid life decisions they have made. Americans eat it up. Why? Schadenfreude - "at least I am not that stupid or that unlucky."
So, I will continue to read articles of personal destruction (personal financial collapse is another favorite of mine) and actually acknowledge the reason why I enjoy reading them. It makes me feel a little evil and mean, but ultimately I recognize what it is and take comfort in the fact that the rest of the world is pretty much the same.......
As promised, here is the link to the story:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8770112/site/newsweek/
I find these stories of people hitting absolute rock bottom very intriguing. One of the people noted in the attached story was a 30-something suburban Chicago housewife, who was married, earning 6 figures, and had a few kids prior to the nightmare of crystal meth taking hold. By the time she hit rock bottom she had virtually lost everything. It seems like I can read these stories of personal destruction over and over again.
I think there is a degree of Schadenfreude involved. For those of you not familiar with the term, Schadenfreude is one of my favorite German words. The Germans have a knack for creating single words for certain phrases pertaining to feelings - English does not seem to do this. Schadenfreude essentially means "taking joy in the pain of others." I think all people have a degree of this - it makes us feel stronger, better, above the rest. Think of some of the "tough love" shows out there - along the lines of Judge Judy or Dr. Laura Schlessinger. In these shows, unfortunate souls show up in court (in the case of Judge Judy) or call in (in the case of Dr. Laura, and proceed to get beaten up by the main characters over the stupid life decisions they have made. Americans eat it up. Why? Schadenfreude - "at least I am not that stupid or that unlucky."
So, I will continue to read articles of personal destruction (personal financial collapse is another favorite of mine) and actually acknowledge the reason why I enjoy reading them. It makes me feel a little evil and mean, but ultimately I recognize what it is and take comfort in the fact that the rest of the world is pretty much the same.......
As promised, here is the link to the story:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8770112/site/newsweek/
posted by The Random Gay Guy at 11:03 AM
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