Monday, May 15, 2006

no guilt here

I keep seeing the word "schadenfreude" come up in blogs lately. Here's a definition:
[n. SHAW-den-froy-duh] Schadenfreude is a German expression (from Schaden: damage, harm; and Freude: joy) meaning pleasure taken from someone else's misfortune or shameful joy. The word is often capitalized, however since all German nouns (proper or common) are capitalized it should be possible to spell it lower case in English.
I understand the use of this word. Not only is it just a pleasurable word to say, the use of it speaks to a certain feeling of guilt that any decent person must have when taking pleasure in the misfortune of others. But what we're seeing in the crumbling of Lord Bush's Cabal is not "misfortune". It is "comeuppance", or "justice", or any one of a dozen other words expressing a boomeranging effect in bad behavior.
If Big Brother Bush were a decent human being, then perhaps "schadenfreude" would be the appropriate word. But no one who has brought as much suffering to the world while supposedly serving it, as American officeholders are ideally supposed to, deserves the word schadenfreude to be applied to public reaction to their stumblings.
The Bush Administration has behaved in a criminal manner, with criminal intent, and any glee on the part of observers, whether from the Opposition, or just those who've been sideswiped during Dubya's joyride is not schadenfreude, but "just deserts".
just deserts: poetic justice: an outcome in which virtue triumphs over vice (often ironically)

8 comments:

Unknown said...

Guilt? The Shrub? We know he feels nothing but contempt for the little people. I have to admit, I was going to look it up since I had no clue what it meant, thanks Dave.

Unknown said...

Oh, yes I love the word Schadenfreude-it is a new word for me. But you're right, it should not be used in context of Bush and co. not fitting at at all. just deserts, however as you point out, is fitting. so is Karma--what goes around comes around. It hope it comes around to kick them in the ass.

daveawayfromhome said...

"Karma"! That was the word I couldnt come up with. I knew I was missing the right word, but the damn thesaurus was letting me down. Thanks.

United We Lay said...

The problem is thazt I don't really think he's crumbling. I think he's going to recover from this unless this hurricane season is really a doozy, and his big, fat, stupid brother will run ina few years.

daveawayfromhome said...

It'd take a helluva public relations coup to pull the Bush name out of the mud, but then, Karl's still walking free, so anything is possible. Still, I dont see Jeb having the chance he once had.
Keep using the term "Lord Bush", and maybe that'll add enough to the general malaise around the Bush name to make having another Bush in the White House seem not only like a bad idea, but also a little too much like a royal privilege for American comfort.

United We Lay said...

I think we've seen that he cam manufacture anything he wants, evidence, the end of a war, a town meeting, an election, etc. I don't think a public relations coup would be that difficult, they just need to find a way. He's slimy, and I don't think we've seen the end of his evil just yet.

Omnipotent Poobah said...

True,
but it is joyful isn't it?

daveawayfromhome said...

"Joy" at Dubya's troubles? Joy doesnt quite describe it. Glee. Satisfaction. Frustration (that it just keeps go on and on). All these and more.