As much as schadenfreude is enjoyable (and rightfully so in cases), it is also the kind of dopamine hit that animates fascist tendencies. Too much enjoyment of the suffering of others doesn't lead to good places.
I told my middle school students that Lessons are being taught and that it was their responsibility to Learn the Lessons. Given that this was in rural Tennessee, I was probably teaching future trump voters.💔🙄
I thought schadenfreude could be a balm against the malignancy of this regime, but no. Although it's hard to care about those who were indifferent (or gleeful) to the suffering of others, I've found that empathy isn't something that can be switched off at will. I'm not actually sorry that callous, selfish voters are facing the same consequences they assigned to "them", but I'm not gleeful either. That said, I wouldn't mind if someone punched Steven Miller in the face.
This is an excellent argument. Taking joy in someone else’s misery is exactly what the ICE-loving crowd does. But that doesn’t mean you have to validate their values that led them to vote for a fascist.
I see a lot of ‘welcome them into the tent’ but we have to acknowledge that Trump voters thought he was going to make the economy better for them by making it worse for other people. If, in your scenario, the former Trump voter is open to making sure others don’t suffer, that’s growth. Sometimes people learn through suffering but it’s not a sure thing.
I think you’re a better person than I am. I know that part of the evil plan is to pit us against each other, and I totally see your logic and agree with it. My emotions, however, are another story altogether.
As much as schadenfreude is enjoyable (and rightfully so in cases), it is also the kind of dopamine hit that animates fascist tendencies. Too much enjoyment of the suffering of others doesn't lead to good places.
I told my middle school students that Lessons are being taught and that it was their responsibility to Learn the Lessons. Given that this was in rural Tennessee, I was probably teaching future trump voters.💔🙄
Facts are facts. And solidarity is key.
Excellent writing, Berlatsky. And as I’ve always told my students, “Clear writing is clear thinking.”
I thought schadenfreude could be a balm against the malignancy of this regime, but no. Although it's hard to care about those who were indifferent (or gleeful) to the suffering of others, I've found that empathy isn't something that can be switched off at will. I'm not actually sorry that callous, selfish voters are facing the same consequences they assigned to "them", but I'm not gleeful either. That said, I wouldn't mind if someone punched Steven Miller in the face.
This is an excellent argument. Taking joy in someone else’s misery is exactly what the ICE-loving crowd does. But that doesn’t mean you have to validate their values that led them to vote for a fascist.
I see a lot of ‘welcome them into the tent’ but we have to acknowledge that Trump voters thought he was going to make the economy better for them by making it worse for other people. If, in your scenario, the former Trump voter is open to making sure others don’t suffer, that’s growth. Sometimes people learn through suffering but it’s not a sure thing.
I think you’re a better person than I am. I know that part of the evil plan is to pit us against each other, and I totally see your logic and agree with it. My emotions, however, are another story altogether.