on Schadenfreude

The Morrissey song goes "We hate it when our friends become successful".  We also delight in seeing people get their comeuppance.  So often a politico who stands firmly on an ultra-conservative "family values" position gets publicly outed when they are caught with a rent boy or as in the recent case of the Mississippi mayor who was investigated for shopping at a gay porn store.  The more these kinds of people set themselves up as moral pillars of the community, the farther they fall from grace when their hypocritical truth is revealed.  We eat it up with a spoon.

A good friend of mine has been working at an incredibly difficult job; a position that typically takes two or more people in other locations.  The board this friend has to deal with is impossible.  For instance, my friend has to do all the preparations for the board meetings and even take the minutes, even though there is a board secretary.  The board continually "tasks its members" to do projects, but they continually shirk their responsibilities and tell my friend to complete these tasks for them.  It's a ridiculous situation.  None of this was in the job description.  Therefore it is not surprising my friend is looking for work elsewhere.  My friend and I both wish the entire board will collapse in my friend's absence, but we both know they will persevere without a single lesson learned.  But oh what delight it would be if the whole organization collapses!

I blame television, books and movies.  These mediums always show us cause and effect.  If an evil doer causes problems, they will certainly end up badly.  Life, however, doesn't always go like that.  I guess that is why people cling so much to the concept of Hell and Heaven.  In this life evil people seem to get away with all their evil deeds while good people get punished with being poor or disease ridden.  People must believe that evil doers will be punished AFTER this life and good people will be rewarded.  It helps categorize things, makes sense out of a topsy-turvy world.


I know it is wrong to wish evil on someone.  Jesus turned the other cheek, but then he was Jesus.


A decorative plate hangs on our kitchen wall.  Printed on its face is a different take on the old 'serenity prayer' : "God grant me the serenity 
to accept the things I cannot change; 
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

And God turn the ankles of the people

who would do me wrong so that I 

may know them by their limp."