Prompts for the Promptless – Ep. 3 – Schadenfreude
Schadenfreude is pleasure derived from the misfortune of others. An English expression with a similar meaning is Roman holiday, a metaphor from the poem Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage by George Gordon, Lord Byron, where a gladiator in Ancient Rome expects to be “butchered to make a Roman holiday” while the audience would take pleasure from watching his suffering
( opposite word- mudita, “sympathetic joy” or “happiness in another’s good fortune,” is cited as an example of the opposite of schadenfreude.)
Whenever I watch DISCOVERY CHANNEL or National Geography Channel and come across films on lion, tiger or other carnivorous animal hunting deer, antelopes or other lovely animals. Then enjoying while watching these films seems to me as if I’m a Schadenfreude. Or, when we pluck flowers to decorate our homes aren’t we getting pleasure from their pain.
There are people who get pleasure from, pigeon fight, cockfight, bullfight and to me getting pleasure from boxing and wrestling is also indulging in Schadenfreude act. there are several examples of this. Some people get pleasure in being cruel to others, by terrorizing others, by killing, rape or other heinous crimes.
In communal riots, I have watched people killing, beating and burning alive people of other community and enjoying. It was so devilish act.
Sometimes senior students in the name of ragging do inhumane behavior with junior students and enjoy their activities.
Some people enjoy wealth earned by selling spurious milk, medicine, food items etc. They enjoy while others suffer from their actions.
In every country, we can find some example of Schadenfreude act.
