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How much schadenfreude is appropriate? Someone is coming down...
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<blockquote data-quote="SuZir" data-source="post: 652946" data-attributes="member: 14557"><p>I too amn really surprised that you really do not have a word for this emotion. It is part of basic vocabulary in both of my native language. And it covers an wide spectrum, from very innocent to something rather dark but still very human.</p><p></p><p>The more innocent example: 15 yeas ago we had our winter vacation in ski resort. We did mostly cross country skiing that time because kids were still very young. Learning to cross country ski is not easy. It takes a lot of coordination, is tough exercise and little ones tend to fall down a lot and get frustrated. So we, like every other family around here taught our kids little by little, skied together as a family, encouraged trying, made sure the distances were right for our sons' current skills, routes were not too challenging, praised their effort a lot, reminded them that for every uphill there would be a downhill soon, made sure that middle of the trip there was a nice break with bonfire and hot chocolate, kept telling them, that no one knew how to ski when they first tried, but everyone just has to train a lot to learn the skill, distracted them with other things when they started to get tired and so on. And when everything else failed, we bribed them with candy ("-When the reach that next hilltop, we can stop and you can get a candy... (and little later) And if we can reach the hilltop without further whining, you can get two! -Three!!! -Okay, deal, but not a word more!") And then, low and behold, it was dad who staggered in one downhill, fell out of the route, sank to the snow so badly he had hard time getting back up without help and was totally covered with snow. You can't believe the mirth that caused. Last five miles back to cabin we were staying were skied with constant giggles and the mirth didn't get any less during the rest of vacation. We had to send a second post card from the trip to grandparents to describe this happening. Still, fifteen years later, someone just has to mention a name of that ski resort, and you will see the mirth in my sons' eyes. "Yeah, that is a cool place! Dad fell in that one downhill there!"</p><p></p><p>That is a power of Schadenfreude for you! <img src="/community/styles/default/xenforo/smilies/Graemlins/rofl.gif" class="smilie" loading="lazy" alt=":rofl:" title="rofl :rofl:" data-shortname=":rofl:" /></p><p></p><p>But there is a darker side too. And I really do need to think hard, how much I can let myself enjoy a misfortune of others in cases like this person I was telling you about. He is a human being after all. Has a family. Is it wrong to feel good, that he is ridiculed? He kind of deserves that. There are probably hundreds youngsters, who are, or are about to enter the he** of gambling addiction partly because what he and other like him have done, and unfortunately way to many of them will end up to prison because of that or end their life by themselves. And more who will start their adult lives heavily in debt and nothing to show about it even though they have escaped addiction.</p><p></p><p>Still it not good for you to hope bad things to happen to others or enjoy their suffering too much. But at least I decline to be sorry for tax audit. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite2" alt=";)" title="Wink ;)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=";)" /></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="SuZir, post: 652946, member: 14557"] I too amn really surprised that you really do not have a word for this emotion. It is part of basic vocabulary in both of my native language. And it covers an wide spectrum, from very innocent to something rather dark but still very human. The more innocent example: 15 yeas ago we had our winter vacation in ski resort. We did mostly cross country skiing that time because kids were still very young. Learning to cross country ski is not easy. It takes a lot of coordination, is tough exercise and little ones tend to fall down a lot and get frustrated. So we, like every other family around here taught our kids little by little, skied together as a family, encouraged trying, made sure the distances were right for our sons' current skills, routes were not too challenging, praised their effort a lot, reminded them that for every uphill there would be a downhill soon, made sure that middle of the trip there was a nice break with bonfire and hot chocolate, kept telling them, that no one knew how to ski when they first tried, but everyone just has to train a lot to learn the skill, distracted them with other things when they started to get tired and so on. And when everything else failed, we bribed them with candy ("-When the reach that next hilltop, we can stop and you can get a candy... (and little later) And if we can reach the hilltop without further whining, you can get two! -Three!!! -Okay, deal, but not a word more!") And then, low and behold, it was dad who staggered in one downhill, fell out of the route, sank to the snow so badly he had hard time getting back up without help and was totally covered with snow. You can't believe the mirth that caused. Last five miles back to cabin we were staying were skied with constant giggles and the mirth didn't get any less during the rest of vacation. We had to send a second post card from the trip to grandparents to describe this happening. Still, fifteen years later, someone just has to mention a name of that ski resort, and you will see the mirth in my sons' eyes. "Yeah, that is a cool place! Dad fell in that one downhill there!" That is a power of Schadenfreude for you! :rofl: But there is a darker side too. And I really do need to think hard, how much I can let myself enjoy a misfortune of others in cases like this person I was telling you about. He is a human being after all. Has a family. Is it wrong to feel good, that he is ridiculed? He kind of deserves that. There are probably hundreds youngsters, who are, or are about to enter the he** of gambling addiction partly because what he and other like him have done, and unfortunately way to many of them will end up to prison because of that or end their life by themselves. And more who will start their adult lives heavily in debt and nothing to show about it even though they have escaped addiction. Still it not good for you to hope bad things to happen to others or enjoy their suffering too much. But at least I decline to be sorry for tax audit. ;) [/QUOTE]
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