auto-da-fe

I don't know if there is a word for it or not. Perhaps Sadist, or Machieavellan (sp?). But I have decided something. I like mayhem. Especially if I get an up close look at it. And even more so if it doesn't involve me.

Now, I am not talking about people getting hurt, killed, kidnapped, or whatever. I am talking about political and economical mayhem. It pleases me to see some people get what they got coming to them. I consider myself a liberal through and through, but I fucking loved to watch the impeachment hearings (mostly becasue I knew Big Dog would come out the other end unscathed).

My little brother made a series of horrible judgements. I told him all along how badly it was going to end up if he made those choices, and he basically told me to take my opinions and shove 'em. Now all those choices are coming back to bite him in the ass, and I have to confess that it sort of pleases me to watch it. I of course am helping him out in any way he needs, but I still have this part of me that finds it amusing.

Anyway, so does this make me evil? Am I uncaring? Is it even neccassarily bad?

infinity

i'm the same way you are... only i actually *do* like seeing people in physical pain. so, even if you are evil, take consolation that you're not an evil as me

Occams_Razor

locomotivedestructophilism.

I too enjoy the occasional train wreck.

ex-xian

I don't think this really fits in Philosophy...where should I put it?[reaches behind back and presses button marked "~~E~~."

pistonhips

Enjoying mayhem is part of the human condition. Mayhem (and other various lesser states of disorder) is the only thing against which we can measure piece of mind and is actually needed to define those more commonly accepted emotional conditions that most people claim to aspire to.

The more knowledge and ability we acquire in imposing order on our world, the more innovative we consciously or otherwise strive to create outlets for mayhem to come to fruition. As long as most people as well as their immediate family and friends survive disasters, a sense of exhilaration is not uncommon (this may not be true of all those who escaped but were in the heart of the carnage and suffered severe trauma but think of most people's retelling of their "where I was on 9/11" stories). Witnessing someone else's death is the most solid evidence that we are in fact alive and sharpens our own self-awareness.

I also believe that schadenfreude (taking pleasure in other's misfortunes) is a completely normal emotion to have. Of course, a general pleasure in anyone's misfortune other than someone you loathe or who has caused you pain may be sadistic. In a world where violent instincts are for the most part successfully subordinated, taking pleasure in the downfall of one of your enemies is the next logical outlet for these feelings.

Faux incredulity accompanies most people's discussion of matters such as this but I believe all people have these tendencies to some degree or other. People who claim to completely free of these feelings are just engaging in rankism by virtue.

Adora

Sometimes, you just want to make the world fall apart, so you can see what happens...

auto-da-fe

Sometimes, when I am most frustrated at the human condition, I think that what we need is a nice big natural disaster.

Think about the days following 9-11. Everyone became more aware of how trivial their lives had become. The most important things in life are not what the latest fashions are, in the coolest gadgets, or some other pop culture bullshit. It was kind of nice to see people actually care about things other than theirselves, and other than impressing other people.

A huge, chaotic natural disaster would acheive the same thing, only on a more permanent basis. I think this is why I am so intrigued by natural disaster movies (I even sat through the entire "10.5" disaster, and I mean the quality of the movie, not the content). I don't actually want to see thousands of people die, but I do want the ends to that means. Maybe something like "Dark Angel" (man I miss that show, mostly for the goddes of a star), where we are just thrown back several decades.

The feeling after 9-11 didn't last long. Here we are not even 3 years later, and everything is back to the way it was before, maybe even worse. People only care about themselves, have no idea how the world actually works, and worse, most don't care to know what is really going on. They are content being mindless sheep pushed here or their by pop culture, politicians, and big business.

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