TLDR: Snidely Whiplash-esque ex boss and his sons are facing seizure of assets and possible felony charges; I’m dancing a jig (inside).
Prior to working where I am now, the last company I worked for was a total clusterfuck. They treated their customers like shit, and their employees worse. My boss, the son of the company owner, was a particularly loathsome little shit. Nothing anybody ever did was good enough, and if you so much as looked at him the wrong way he’d loudly threaten you with all manner of discipline. People in my division, as well as elsewhere in the company, were routinely screwed out of pay and/or benefits; had our paychecks bounce; and were subject to continual harassment such as arbitrary discipline and random job assignments. Vendors were treated equally as poorly- many had bounced checks, as well.
Needless to say, it was not a good situation for anybody who worked for or did business with these shysters.
As of Wednesday, the company completely shut down for good. The owner’s problems with the IRS and various state Attorneys General are well-covered in the local press. Several dozen company vehicles are behind a barbed-wire fence. And the scuttlebutt from a former employee in the know is that the owner is going to be indicted soon and will face 8-10 years.
I’m bordering on being overjoyed. Does this make me evil?
I couldn’t judge anyone as evil based on their feelings. You can’t control how you feel. He sounds like a terrible person that needed to be shut down, and it’s quite normal that you’re pleased to see his actions have consequences.
(Though I can gaurantee you he will never acknowledge that he was wrong.)
But I always end up feeling sorry for these types of people because they have no clue as to how to live enjoyably. These people have carried a misery inside them, trying to survive financially at a high emotional cost for a precarious level that even they know is doomed to fail long before the rest of us find out. They are simply losers.
My question would be, “Am I weird for feeling this way ?”
I’d feel bad for the former employees who have to find a new job, but no, you’re not evil at all. I’d feel exactly the same way in your place. There’s even a term for this, schadenfraude.
I’ve never been a fan of kicking people when they’re down so you might be a little bit evil if you’re actively adding to their troubles. I wouldn’t worry about it though. Everyone is a little bit evil and that’s a good thing. The trick is to get your payback and then get on with your life.