The Schadenfreude is Real
There are occasionally moments that make you smile. They are hard to explain. We shouldn’t smile in these moments and we often feel guilty about not feeling guilty about someone else having a hard time. The Germans came up with a name for it. They called it schadenfreude. The closest English translation I have heard when describing this uniquely German word is “shameful joy.” It seems the notorious MTG was wielding the gavel for some stupid reason and she was trying to bring the House to order. As you might suspect, it went about as well as any of us could imagine.
I’m usually not one to laugh at other people’s misery. It’s like watching someone stumble down the stairs. You want to make sure they are okay first. After all, none of us really aims to be that big of an asshole at the end of the day. We aren’t rooting for bodily injury here. However, if someone just has a bruised ego we find ourselves unable to suppress at least just a tiny chuckle at their expense. The beauty of schadenfreude is that others feel it about us in equal proportion. Paul McCartney once said, “the love you take is equal to the love you make.” In this case, the bad vibes you take are equal to the bad vibes you create.
MTG is the kid in the back of class that heckles the teacher every day and makes his or her life a living hell. Then, suddenly when the teacher is gone the assistant principal gives her a dose of her own medicine and puts her in charge for a day. Suddenly, she gets to feel the way that just about every other adult in that room feels when they have to deal with her performance art. Normally, I wouldn’t condone this kind of behavior from anyone. Normally, I would say you need to rise above it all and show the world you are the adult party. That would ignore the fact that these are not normal times.
I couldn’t tell you how all of this ends. A part of me wonders whether this is just the natural course of things. I have to wonder if my parents, grandparents, and great grandparents felt the same way about their elected leaders. Did they see a few statemen mixed in with a whole group of performance artists that couldn’t care less about doing actual good? Was it always like this? Were we always somehow represented by the worst among us? Deep down, I know this isn’t true, but I keep holding out hope that we can somehow bypass these idiots to keep this thing going. In the meantime, enjoy a good laugh.
Thanks, Nick!
This is the one and only time I didn’t cringe at hearing that voice! I laughed out loud!
“Abide by the decorum of the House!” Coming from MTG!
Priceless!
1I haven’t seen any video about how she reacted to this.
It is impossible to know if she even understood what was happening or why.
2Perhaps this is a proper time to remind us all that what separates man from animals is that animals don’t put their dumbest members in leadership positions.
3Ha ha ha! If you look up Shadenfreude in the dictionary you will see this video
4What a time for late night comedy to be off the air – can you imagine what they’d do with that!
5Very funny. Wish the gavel would have broken apart on her last whack. And this reminded me of the following:
6Picture of MTG decorum, like a howling baboon.
https://www.rollcall.com/2023/02/14/the-unchangeable-marjorie-taylor-greene/
I always thought Schadenfreude was best translated as “joy at (other’s) misfortune”. But it doesn’t make the situation any less enjoyable. Muah hahahaha…
7Steve from Beaverton @6
8Lol perfect!
As Old Fart says, “Schadenfreude” is better translated as “joy at [someone’s] misfortune/damage.”
9And I had a real giggle over MTG’s misfortune too. As others remark, I wonder if she even realized what that laughter was really all about.
Speaking of some schadenfreude, how about this, finally:
https://www.rawstory.com/ken-paxton-2660618008/
Then, indict him and try him and convict him, Texas.
10I saw that Steve. There is no greater sight than Republicans eating their own.
11Nick, I also read that their actual justice department (not sure what to call it because he’s the head of it) is contemplating more action on the Paxton’s law breaking (finally). His disgust with the house speaker being drunk was just to shift attention away from his pending legal problems. Couldn’t happen to a more deserving politician, unless you count trumpf.
12I couldn’t find what I had read, so looks like it’s just the Texas legislature that’s investigating so far. That’s a start, I guess. Doubt Paxton would recuse himself. Duh
13