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this post was submitted on 15 Mar 2025
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Leopards Ate My Face
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I think the only reason people ever say things like this make them 'happy' is in the absence of a more accurate label.
In a country devoid of legal justice, we've basically just been confronted by a thug who, while attempting to mug us at gunpoint, shot his own dick off when he was attempting to pull the firearm from his pants.
So for the victim, there's a degree of relief that the threat from that specific thug is now over (unfortunately we're being simultaneously mugged by thousands of other identical thugs...), a complete lack of empathy for the thug from the victim (if you put my life in danger, I suddenly don't give a single fuck about the quality or preservation of yours); and a recognition of the comical irony of the thug's own weapon being the thing that disabled him.
Against the contrast we've grown accustomed to of getting mugged and watching our assailants face zero consequences, the above stands out as uniquely positive, albeit morbid.
Another angle: if you've persisted on dirty, sewage contaminated water your entire life; then get the opportunity to drink a glass of pure, clean water, you might call it sweet even if it isn't literally so; it just seems that way relative to the vile biohazard you're used to.
So, happiness? No. The closest we'll be able to get to happiness? Yeah, probably.
Schadenfreude? Commonly translated to English as "joy at seeing other's misfortune." I hope in most cases it is more associated with seeing someone in the wrong receiving their comeuppance. The joy of watching your enemy suffer a setback or even defeat.
Kinda, but again I think 'joy' doesn't really hit the mark. We're all trapped in the same gas chamber; there are some trapped with us that we'll take the opportunity to tell "We told you so..." and when they complain that it hurts to breathe, we tend not to give a shit about their suffering cuz they literally asked for it.
It stands out as a silver lining, but only because the situation we're in is so shitty that it's the least negative part of what's happening.