“schadenfreude” is an noun and defined by the English Oxford Dictionary as “pleasure derived by someone from another person's misfortune”
It’s a German word which comes from Schaden (“damage”) and Freude (“joy”), it’s used in the English language without translation so perfectly valid for the game of Scrabble.
Nietzsche wrote about it saying…
"The serpent that stings us means to hurt us and rejoice as it does so. The lowest animal can imagine the pain of others. But to imagine the joy of others and to rejoice at it is the highest privilege of the highest animals."
A modern day example of schadenfreude which instantly comes to mind is the “Anyone But England” sentiment in Scotland during the Euros football tournament.
I can understand and collude with supporting Scotland when they play again England but don’t understand why anyone on these shores would support any another team outside of our wee island. The caveat being of course being if you have some ties with the country opposing England or perhaps a wagers on the other team but if not the question remains why?
We (Scotland) support Team GB at the Olympics so why can’t we support the individual nations of these isles when they complete!
Some elements will be of a different view but we don’t need to assert our Scottishness by rooting for any team that plays against England, we can be fiercely Scottish and comfortably British too without contradiction and support our neighbours when they compete.
There is some banter involved with the majority, that’s perfectly fine and fun but what I am picking out here is the pure Anglophobia that that rears it’s ugly head which is caused by the few not the majority (saying that as a disclaimer as not to raise too many of my friends heckles who are already flying their banners for Italiano in the final over England and advertising their passion for pizza despite it being Boškarin earlier this week prior to a confessed love of Boškarin then Danish Bacon…they would love maggot cheese, bull penis and mouse wine if they were the National dishes of the teams competing again our “auld enemy”
Of course schadenfreude does not only apply to Scottish football fans against the English team but for the purpose of this post that is what I am concentrating on and I am Scottish and can see this happening blatantly here during the euros since and prior to Scotland’s early departure some Scottish fans shouted out their support to any subsequent team posed to play England.
Similar of course happens elsewhere in the world, Brazil and Argentina for example but there it’s a rivalry because both teams are great and on (usually) are more even footing but here in the U.K. Scotland is shit at football (if we are honest) and England are much superior (of course also a bigger country so more players to pool from) but if Scotland is put out would it not be nice to consider the next best thing to Scotland lifting the trophy would be for our neighbours England to win (or of course Ireland or Wales if they were in contention, but this is not the case, schadenfreude…we want to take comfort during our impotence to succeed at football by wanting to see England crash and burn! It really is a Wee Man Syndrome and it’s ugly to see, it’s a unhealthy compulsion like an inferiority-superiority complex that says “it’s crap being Scottish but our shiteness makes us better than you”
If it were Scotland in the final I am pretty sure the majority of English fans would throw their support behind us so why can’t Scotland do the same?
This is one of the many reasons I hate Scottish nationalism. It’s the last resort of people who have little else in their lives to brag or gloat about so they will take comfort from England’s misfortune.
