Why Do People Find Pleasure in Other People's Misery?

SpeedoGuy

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Does anyone have any experience or theories on this? Is it just part of human nature? Is this why tabloids and celebrity gossip is so interesting to so many?

Getting a bit of a thrill out of someone else's misfortune seems to me to be just one of the less dignified parts of human nature. I see it far too often and it rarely fails to disappoint me whenever it occurs.

I suppose it helps some people feel superior or gifted or "better" or lucky than their fellow humans. Its one of those traits I challenge myself to rise above.
 

earllogjam

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Maybe it goes back to the prehistoric days when the men (who survived the day's risks) returning from a hunt told or acted stories around the fire. Humour is a great relief valve.

I think guys still do this. Just shows how little we have evolved in all these millennia.

I always thought the root of humor is in the unexpected, new, twist on things, seeing the world differently that makes the ordinary laughable - not always at the expense of others. Cruelty to others in and of itself isn't that funny, slapstick needs that quirk.
 

DC_DEEP

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:biggrin1::biggrin1::biggrin1: Yes that booberang is really attractive to straight guys instead of the other boomerang.
Sorry, tallbig, I just couldn't pass up such a juicy opportunity to tease you a bit for your schadenFreudian typo.
 

ZOS23xy

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My take is to see people who have done wrong time and again and try to get away with it one more time.

Hence, my nod towards Mike Tyson and OJ Simpson. What is it with all these arrests? Can't they just simply "be"?

I will add I don't like it when friends and family fall under the weather and feel bad.