Joy at Others Expense

We have all done it, laughed at events like someone who has slipped and fallen on an icy or wet surface. It’s not that we aren’t concerned for the person, and we check to make sure they are okay, but we can’t help ourselves. There isn’t an English word for this feeling, instead we adopted a German word, schadenfreude, to describe it. It combines the German nouns Schaden, meaning "damage" or "harm," and Freude, meaning "joy."

The dictionary defines of the word simply as the enjoyment obtained from the troubles of others

From my earliest memories as a kid, I experienced schadenfreude. I can remember sitting on the floor in our basement with my brothers watching Saturday morning cartoons. Bugs Bunny always got the better of his adversaries. Elmer Fudd, Yosemite Sam, and Marvin the Martian each had multiple misfortunes in their pursuit of Bugs, and it made us laugh. Then there is Wiley E. Coyote. The repeated catastrophes that befell him while chasing the Roadrunner never failed to entertain us. Schadenfreude.

I wonder if it may be instinctual for us. When babies are crying inconsolably, often some antic like bonking yourself on the head, or falling down, will make them laugh. Schadenfreude.

In football games, there is that momentary joy when the star player on the opposing team gets hurt and is taken out of the game. We are not happy that they are hurt, but there is exuberance at having a better chance of winning. Similarly, interceptions or sacking the quarterback is someone else’s misfortune that makes us happy. Competitors bragging that they will win, then stumble near the finish line make us smirk a little. Schadenfreude.

I can think back to the days of America’s Funniest Videos or Jackass TV, when we laughed at the misadventures of others. When I am in a bad funk and not interacting at all, Tom can turn on Car Crash TV, or play a particular YouTube video of Simone Giertz and her toilet problems from several years ago, and the ensuing laughter changes my spirit. The tension is released and the outlook is better. This is where the emotion can be most helpful, as a mood-changer, and I would be well served to remember it. Schadenfreude.

Even saying the word schadenfreude makes me smile, it’s a fun word... one I didn’t know until recently.

Now for an update. Last Friday, we moved from Hereford to Quartzsite, still in Arizona. We’ve been helping a friend with her camper van, making sure the heat & air are working, fixing a couple leaks in the water supply, and will soon be installing a replacement refrigerator as the old one went kaput. She now has running water, hot water, and forced air heat, which makes van life better. Today, she rode along with us through some bouncy terrain, seeing the varying types of camping available in the area. We also drove out some narrow trails that pinstriped the truck, but with the recent wax we put on it, they should buff out easily. We stopped at the ruins of Scadden House east of town. It had impressive stone walls, but sadly it has lost its roof and time will only turn it into a pile of stones. I’m guessing it will be getting a whole lot busier here next weekend as the big RV show will be in town. It’s a good thing the big exhibit tent is up already, as it wouldn’t have been fun erecting it in the winds we had today. We made the best of the windy day, enjoying some time with our friend, browsing through the junk stores that are set up in small tents near the big show tent.

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