I was reading the news online, and I read a story about a person who was trapped in some ice (or something to that effect). I know it was wrong, but at first I chuckled at this…I know it was a bad thing that happened, and I’m not one to wish that on anyone, but it just struck me as funny…
I’ve had many discussions with my friends over this one, and I want to find out what others think…Is it wrong to laugh(albeit for a short time) at other’s downfalls. I’m a firm beleiver that you have to laugh at your problems or else they’ll be worse then they are.
I’d say it depends on the kind of laugh. If you have an involuntary chuckle because of the comic effect, but then go to help the poor guy, it seems quite natural. The kind of laugh that is called with that oh-so-English word, Schadenfreude, I find less attractive. But that might be me personally. (that is the part of the movie Amelie that I didn’t like).
I cannot really rejoice in someone else suffer serious harm, especially if it is of a physical nature. I can have fun if I see an odious person get his come-uppance. But if he becomes really miserable I’m prone to empathize. I’m not sure whether this is common. Indeed, given what is popular on television and in movies, it seems my standpoint is rather unpopular.
TTT - you standpoint may be unpopular, but at least it’s moral.
kevo4us - you are right, you do have to laugh at your own troubles. Laughing at others… that’s a bigger issue. This trapped in the ice story sound funny - and it doesn’t sound like you are without compassion for the goofball who was trapped. So that’s okay.
Enjoying the misfortunes of others becomes a problem when the unfortunate is not, in fact, an odious person (even though they may have better luck than you, or have won the heart of your crush) and is merely a victim of circumstances.
Depends when you do the laughing. Laughing at someone who is in some sort of danger is probably not a good thing. But after the danger is gone and if you find humor in it, I don’t see a problem with it.
“At the time, it wasn’t funny when Aunt Bertha fell down that flight of stairs, but we all laugh about it now.”
My dh always laughs when someone gets hurt, I think it is some strange psychological problem he can’t control…case in point, we were playing You Don’t Know Jack (the really outdated one) and suddenly my chair collapsed out from under me, and does my gallant hubby help me up, offer to kiss my owie tenderly? No, he laughs out loud and then tries to hold it in, thereby snorting and turning red. Meanwhile, I get angry, I mean really…it was funny, but could he not laugh after I was helped up? He does this when the kids get hurt too, he cannot seem to help himself. I told him he could never be a dr, can you imagine? Hello Ma’am and how did you hurt your arm…bwahahhhhhhhhhaaaaaa…lets just take a look…snort…um, oh, it looks like a compound fracture…giggle, chortle, convulse…
Margo
Margo, I’m totally the same! I’ll be helping the poor sucke…errr…victim recover from whatever misfortune has befallen them while at the same time holding back tears of laughter
Having had many years of practice at laughing at my own klutziness and general blundering, I feel that I am eminently qualified to laugh at others. Others do not necessarily agree.
There’s nothing wrong with laughing at an absurd situation that someone has landed in (though it is good form to help them get out of it first), but laughing/enjoying someone’s suffering is downright nasty and (as Lady Callahan put it) gets your soul all sticky.
I myself laugh at myself on a daily basis. As far as laughing at others misfortunes, I only revel in others misfortunes if they have screwed me over, then not only do I laugh heartily but I point too.
People who work really hard at getting themselves into trouble need to be laughed at hysterically in order that they may best remember each newfound opportunity to learn from their mistakes.
While they may think that something bad is happening to them, in reality it is very good. They are obtaining precisely what their actions demand and the object lesson should not be lost in whatever wailing and gnashing of teeth ensues.
I refer you to the following incident that occurred to me the other day:
It was close to rush hour and things were getting pretty crowded as I approached the metering lights. The freeway onramp starts out with three lanes that quickly collapse into two. In my rearview mirror I could see a BMW driver squeeze past several cars so she could save fifteen microseconds of her time by cutting into line. I pulled my car over to straddle the two lanes thereby preventing her from cheating anyone else.
Just before the metering light gave me the go-ahead, I heard a muffled thump behind me. The pickup truck following me pulled aside to reveal the crumpled front end of the BMW, whose driver was so busy talking on her cell phone that she rolled into the vehicle ahead of her. Guffawing out loud, I proceeded home …
What happened to this lady was a Really Good Thing[sup]®[/sup]. All of us, including herself can only hope that this incident will serve several purposes. Some of these could be:[ul][li]She might learn to be an attentive driver, thereby possibly avoiding a much more serious accident in the future.[/li]
[li]She might learn to refrain from using the cell phone quite so much while driving, which could save her life and that of others she might collide with when her attention is at such a deficit.[/li]
[li]She might learn not to tailgate people while her vehicle is in motion, thereby improving her driving skills immeasurably.[/li]
[li]She might learn how to prevent avoidable accidents that increase her insurance premiums and deplete her disposable income with deductibles for needless body work.[/li]
[li]She might even learn that obnoxious driving habits are symptomatic of a larger malaise involving a willful disregard for fairness on the road and in life overall.[/ul][/li]I know, that last one’s a long shot but one can always hold out hope.
As you can see, there are myriad benefits she can garner from her experience. The least of which is managing to avoid having people laugh at her while she is damaging her precious automobile. It is utterly impossible for me to feel sorry for this chump. Let us all hope her life is improved by this fortunate turn of events.
While I do not wish for or particularly seek enjoyment in the misfortunes of others, especially if there is bodily harm involved, neither will I refrain from hoping that a self-absorbed moron receives some guidance by nature’s hand when they desperately need it.
I’m a bit of a maven of misfortune. The “Strange Deaths” column in the Fortean Times is something I don’t like to miss, and I used to make an effort to be home on Saturday nights in time for “Maximum Exposure”, which was kind of like “America’s Funniest Injuries”. The Darwin Awards have their place in my bookmarks.
It’s not always funny, especially when death is involved or if you think about it too much, but there are times when you just have to laugh.
I’m thinking in particular of a clip I’ve seen where a guy was doing his audition tape for one of the “Survivor” series. He’s at the top of a 30 foot cliff with his rope, he’s going to rapel down. He makes sure that his friend has the camera rolling, and leaps out into space. As he hits the ground you see that there is STILL slack in the line.
This was not an “accident”, it was not a spur of the moment thing, buddy actually gave himself 40 feet of slack on a 30 foot jump.
I’m sorry about the reconstructive surgery he needed, and I feel sympathy for the possibly never ending therapy that the head injury will require, but there is no way I can react to seeing that in any way other than gales of laughter.
For me to find it funny, it has to involve the victim taking steps to get involved in the tragedy. Falling asleep while fishing and having a fish leap out of the water and into your mouth, where it chokes you to death, that’s ironic but not funny. Firing a shotgun into a giant saguarro cactus until it collapses and crushes you, on the other hand, is hilarious.
