Why do we rejoice when others suffer?

[Bertha Venation]

I rec'd an email entitled "hold your laughter -- if you can." It's about Rush Limbaugh's divorce.

Why is this funny? AFAIC most divorces are a tragedy. Even if the parties agree amicably that it's over, it can take years to sever financial ties, and I bet some emotional ties are never cleanly severed. And divorce is clearly stressful, and jesus, who needs more stress?

Already, many reading this are thinking, "fuck 'em." That's your prerogative, but I don't agree. I don't give two shits for Limbaugh. He's a lying, hateful windbag. But he is still a human being. I don't have to love the guy, but I do have to acknowledge his humanity.

The Limbaugh divorce is just the catalyst for this post; this conflict has been running through me for a long time. The bigger picture is this: many of us rejoice when other people suffer. More specifically: many of us liberals rejoice when conservatives suffer. I do it, and it's wrong. In my opinion it only divides us more. This is supposed to be one nation. I don't want to be divided.

An old friend is fond of saying, in the context of the relationship between the gay & the straight, "We are more alike than different." If that is true -- and clearly, it is -- why do we laugh when a conservative endures something painful, some ironic humiliation, or even the death of a loved one?

"Because they laugh at us!!" That's not good enough. It's okay to lower ourselves to that kind of behavior? I say, bullshit. Whether you believe in Jesus or not, the words attributed to him have merit: Turn the other cheek. "<The sun rises> on the evil and the good, and <rain falls> on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others?" (snipped from Matthew, 5)

We think we're better, and we think we're smarter, and we think that, without question, WE, the liberals, the progressives, are RIGHT about politics. Conservatives think exactly the same thing about themselves. We can't remain so polarized and both be right, so somewhere we must find some common ground. Are we going to let our differences split us again the way they threatened to -- and ultimately did -- split us in the mid-19th century? Isn't a war of rhetoric as costly -- if not in lives, then in spirit -- as a civil war?

I don't have an answer. These are musings I've been enduring for months -- for years. There's an important conversation in here. Let's have it. And let's have it outside these boards, too, those of us who have conservative friends with whom we can discuss such things.

[freetobegay]

1. Hypocrite comes to mind.

[Bertha Venation]

2. So what?

Because one's a hypocrite, that makes it okay to dance on his grave? No.

[freetobegay]

3. Some people can't see the forest because of the trees

This I will not debate. You want to feel sorry for that fat son of a bitch, go right ahead.

[Bertha Venation]

6. You have missed my point entirely.

[laylah]

20. I agree with you, Bertha

I have been especially taken aback with the venom directed at Reagan. I did NOT like the old fool...he started this great country on a path we have yet (if ever) to recover from. He was despicable in his apathy towards those less fortunate, among many other horrible things; HOWEVER, he was a human being. When I heard of his condition 10 years ago, I was saddened. While watching (what little I did watch)this last week's bruhaha over him, my heart broke for Nancy...her soul mate has moved onto their next meeting. I rarely, if ever, celebrate other's misfortunes...it is karmically wrong, IMVHO.

Jenn

[Spinzonner]

5. Because people are hypocritical

they apply their efforts to criticizing others for the same failings and weaknesses they themselves have instead of applying their attention and energy to addressing those characteristics in themselves.

"Let he who is without sin ..."

[Roaming]

68. But isn't someone who spews hatred towards someone else

by making fun of their misfortunate also hypocritical, if they belong to a party (Democrat) that stands for justice, decency, tolerance, etc.?

[Tomee450]

25. I have no sympathy for Limbaugh

I am normally a very sympathetic person but sorry, I cannot feel any sympathy for Limbaugh. He is greatly responsible for the divisiveness in this country. He has turned large segments of this society against minorities and women referring to the latter as feminazis. He has trashed the word liberal making it one of scorn to many people. He spoke ill of the drug addict knowing that he himself was an addict. I don't hate Rush but neither can I bring myself to feel one ounce of pity for him. He has turned millions of people into haters simply because of their race, gender or views.

[salib]

4. It is just the Golden Rule

Treat others as you would want to be treated by others. However, oftentimes it becomes "do it to them because they will do it to you."

Sad.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

7. Rush Limbaugh has RANTED for years about family values, single...

...mothers with one or more children, divorce, etc., and ALWAYS in terms of how the LIBERAL Democrats are ruining the country because THEY are the ones who are having those problems.

Well, the shoe's on the other foot, and Limbaugh has been revealed as the as the MAJOR HYPOCRITE that he has always been...a drug abuser, and now getting divorced for the 3rd time.

I have NO common ground with Rush Limbaugh or anyone that thinks like him. The NeoCons have to go, and they have to go VERY soon before THEY tear this country apart.

[Norquist Nemesis]

8. You reap what you sow.

I feel sorry for his wife. I'm sure she feels some terrible guilt of being had by the blowhard. As for the Limblow, I could not care less either way. He'll get what he has sown which is sympathy from his Dittoheads and chuckles at the irony of it all from the other 99% of the world.

[Eric J in MN]

9. If people are happy to see a lying creep face some bad news,

If people are happy to see a lying creep face some bad news, big whoop.

By the way, if a famous liberal announces his divorce next week, and some people at a conservative message-board are happy about it, I won't care.

[terrya]

10. You're a better person than I am, Bertha.

That you can see the humanity in people like Limbaugh is special indeed. I don't see it, myself. In time, maybe I will.

:hug:

Terry

[H2O Man]

11. Interesting post.

I do not think that we will be able to make progress towards becoming a civilized nation as long as large segments on various "sides" take pleasure in human suffering. I learned a long time ago inside the Longhouse at Onondaga that when you gather the good force (which includes good people, trees, clean water, plants, and wild animals) that if you look closely, you will find the bad force is gathered there, too. If we want to change society, we must change ourselves. It is foolish to think that we can do more without having to become more. Negative emotions, and we ALL have them, hold us back. We need to confront the demons that hold us back. Thank you for your post.

[DemExpat]

12. Hypocrisy is something that brings out the worst in me.....

so when an evil hypocrite gets bitten with his own karma, I can do nothing but smile.

:D:D:D

Yes, I am not perfect!

But I do understand your musings on this, it would be a wonderful world if we were all like Jesus, or Buddha.

DemEx

[Eric J in MN]

13. my position :

My position:

I want everyone to be treated humanely, and to have necessities like housing, and to receive the due process of law if suspected of a crime.

But if someone I dislike, such as Rush Limbaugh, faces bad news like divorce, I'm not sympathetic towards him.

[RBHam]

14. Rejoice?

For most of us its just more confirmation of the hypocrisy of the
New Republican movement.

But it's long past time to stand up to these cowards and bullies, and start giving it right back at them.

Ever since Watergate, and as a form of pathological revenge, the Right Wing propagandists have launched VICIOUS attacks on anything or anybody advocating living wages and social justice for the working poor, the disenfranchised and the ever eroding middle class, while advocating more and more tax cuts for the wealthy, undermining social programs and draconian laws that target the poorest and most vulnerable of its citizens.

Your country is rapidly descending into the moral quicksand. you have little time to save it. Appeasing the right only made them bolder. The time has come to draw your allegorical sword of truth and say, "We will take no more! From now on, no more Mr. Nice Guy!"

Too much is at stake.

[Selwynn]

15. Two reasons I think ...

1) in some cases like this, when someone has caused so much hurt, there is a part (however large or small) in all people that wants to see that person stopped and punished. When there is no just punishment forthcoming, people see personal misfortune as punishment, etc. That doesn't make it right, but the side of human beings that wants retribution is real and clear.

2) in other cases, where we are reveling in the downfall of a moral leader or someone who has advocated x kind of behavior, the reason we gloat is because we feel better when a person living a better and more respectable life than we feel we are living is "taken down a peg." There are many times when we rejoice in the failings of others so we feel better about our own failings. When we've stopped trying and somoeone else is still trying, we feel guilty about it, and when the fail have a tendancy to feel better at their expense. This happens all the time.

You know how this goes - someone confesses that they want to live by principles of peace and compassion. Rather than supporting them and encournaging them along the way, some people just wait to see them slip up and fail to meet those goals then pounce on them with almost sadistic glee "oh I thought you were supposed to live by principles of compassion, hmmm? Ha ha ha!" That kind of attitude totally comes from a person who feels "guilted" and defensive about another person's stiving committments.

So many times when people say "you think you're so much better than me!" what they really mean is "I think you're so much better than me, and that makes me angry and guilty."

Anyway, obivously #2 really doesn't apply to Rush but a lot of why we rejoice at others suffering has to do with how we feel about ourselves.

[debm55]

16. And on the third day, he shall rise from the dead! Rejoice

I'm getting ready to rejoice tomorrow when St. Ronald will rise from the dead!

[sadiesworld]

17. Sorry, I disagree.

I think the passion and, yes, anger felt by many on the left is productive. I don't want Kerry to be thanked by the republicans in November for giving a "gracious concession speech" after they have stolen another election. I want Kerry to know that not only are we behind him, but there will be hell to pay if he doesn't fight for this.

The damage done over the past 15 years by Limbaugh and his progeny is incalculable. The hypocrisy should be pointed out at every opportunity. If this board can give provide even a smidgen of support to Franken, Stern, and the writers who scan these pages, we have done something. These people ARE making a difference.

Dems haven't lost power b/c we are "haters", we've lost power b/c we haven't been fighters, IMO.

[Cheswick2.0]

31. how is hating Nancy Reagan and laughing at Limbaughs divorce

going to help Kerry win in November? I agree that we need to fight back....but reveling in other's misfortune is not fighting back. Get away from the computer and go canvas for a campaign. That is fighting back.

[sadiesworld]

35. If laughing at Limbaugh is part of pointing out his hypocrisy, fine by me.

If pointing out his hypocrisy undermines his credibility, better still.

I didn't say anything about Nancy Reagan. Did you include her b/c you realize that Limbaugh alone wasn't providing much support for your point?

Finally, I can participate in a discussion here AND help with the Kerry campaign. I'm not sure why you seem to find these activities mutually exclusive.

[Cat Atomic]

18. PLEASE tell me you're not looking for sympathy for Rush Limbaugh.

After all the compassionate bullshit I saw around her when the fat man's drug addiction was exposed, only to see him take to the air once again, castigating "liberals" as traitors and worse... I truly can't stomach anymore compassion for Limbaugh.

Seriously- we kick men like Limbaugh when they're down for a reason. They'll get back up again if you don't.

Save your compassion for people who fucking deserve it. Like all the HUMAN BEINGS who are being victimized by policies that Rush Limbaugh helps to sell.

You bet your ass I take pleasure in Rush's pain. I look forward to his next relapse, and I hope it's a very public, very messy fall. And I hope to god I don't hear another round of "he's just a human being" when it happens, because I don't know if I can take it.

[Bertha Venation]

48. I am NOT. Jesus Christ, people. READ. MY. POST.

Everyone who espressed a thought similar to freetobegay's -- READ THE GOD DAMNED ORIGINAL POST.

Reading about Limbaugh's divorce was the CATALYST FOR THE POST.

The post is NOT about Rush Fucking Limbaugh, okay?

Christ!

I am not better than anyone. I'm not on some higher plane because of my thoughts. I don't transcend the base emotions of all humans -- I feel them all. I don't WANT to dance on an evil man's grave -- THAT is the point.

If you do: fine. That's your prerogative. Just fucking quit pissing on me for making my opinion known.

[Cat Atomic]

52. I did read it.

You used Limbaugh as an example, as did I.

Look, you want to be the eternal doormat in the name of "compromise and moderation", you go right ahead. In my experience, turning the other cheek gets you a matching bruise on the other side of your face.

I feel a bit of pleasure when I hear about assholes in pain. I admit it.

[rucky]

19. Apparently the suffering part was when he was married

the first, second & third time.


if at first you don't succeed...

[quinnox]

21. good post

I wonder the same things sometimes that you eloquently expressed.

[War Pigs]

22. Could it be because he gleefully rants on about the demise of labor

unions, public schools, the Democratic Party, etc., etc.? Or that he forced his way (with Bob Dornan's help) onto Armed Forces Radio, to pollute he minds of those much braver than he or his chickenhawk idols? He spews 100% unadulterated, unobjective, non-stop vitriol which somehow passes as "news" and "unbiased" to his minions. This makes 3 times now this asswipe has broken his vows taken before God, and the brainwashed moralists who WORSHIP this turd just keep listening. He is Joseph Goebbels reincarnated and his worshippers are the Fourth Reich. He wants a winner-take-all society and we're well on our way if his people stay in power much longer. Fuck him and the repulsive idiots who listen to him.:toast:

[crossroads]

56. Hear Hear!

Welcome to DU! :hi:

[Bluzmann57]

64. Good points all

And thank you for your thoughts. Limbaugh deserves what's coming to him because he brought it on himself. I did not, nor will I ever, rejoice in Reagan's death. I feel badly for his family, but he was a lousy president and should be remembered as such. And while Goebbels was a truly evil man, I'm not sure Limbaugh is anywhere near as smart as Goebbels was. Limbaugh's dittoheads are most certainly not.

[Astarho]

23. In the words of Homer Simpson

"Sometimes the only way to feel good about yourself is to see someone worse off than you. I'm tired of making other people feel good about yourself."

I think we (the left) have those feelings direct at us at various levels over the years (example "it's the LIBERAL's fault that families are breaking up") one of the first things we do is turn it back on them when we have the chance (example "ha ha Rush!").

Americans (left and right alike) have been conditioned to respond to base desires for years and this is the result. It feels good to insult the others so we do it.

[UGABrother]

58. Homer's right,

although I don't think it has to be conditioned into us or is particular to Americans.
There's no absolute measure of success or happiness, so a lot of the time we measure our own worth by comparing ourselves to other people. Naturally when other people mess up, the comparison is more favorable towards us and we feel satisfaction. If the victim is an asshole, so much the better because we don't feel so guilty about it.

[indigobusiness]

24. There's word for it....'schadenfreude'

3 entries found for schadenfreude.
scha·den·freu·de ( P ) Pronunciation Key (shädn-froid)
n.
Pleasure derived from the misfortunes of others.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


schadenfreude

schadenfreude was Word of the Day on May 10, 2000.


Source: Dictionary.com Word of the Day


schadenfreude

n : malicious satisfaction ====

It's bad thing. ---Martha Stewart

[philosophie_en_rose]

27. Schadenfreude

GARY COLEMAN:
The world needs people like you and me who've been knocked around by fate.
'Cause when people see us, they don't want to be us, and that makes them feel great.

NICKY:
Sure!
We provide a vital service to society!

GARY AND NICKY:
You and me!
Schadenfreude!
Making the world a better place...
Making the world a better place...
Making the world a better place...
To be!

GARY COLEMAN:
S-C-H-A-D-E-N-F-R-E-U-D-E!

[ClassWarrior]

26. Did you realize that "Birth of a Nation" is perhaps...

...the first American hate media of the modern media age? It was a technologically magnificent but thoroughly racist film about the Civil War, made in 1915 by legendary filmmaker D.W. Griffith.

Just thought I'd point that out.

[mitchum]

28. Because we are only human (and we are not innately "good")

We have to be conditioned into empathy and compassion.
Rousseau was an idiot.

[Cleita]

29. You are a compassionate person to think this, but in Limbaugh's

case I don't think he will shed too many tears and those will be for the money he has to shell out to send Marta on her way. Save your sympathy for those who are going through real traumas.

[Mnemosyne]

30. AMEN.

If we have no compassion for those that have none, then we become the one's without compassion. I think Gary Zukov is the source of this truth.

[PaDUer]

32. Rejoice when others suffer?

it's not that..people are simply telling the truth.

[Skittles]

33. I challenge you to listen to that hateful gasbag for a week

THEN tell us about his "humanity".

[Solly Mack]

34. I'm not the super good person I could be

and I can live with that.


Rush is not worth my consideration.

[fishnfla]

36. I so agree with you Bertha

I am starting to think there is a problem with our culture, the internet culture included. I too have been mulling on it lately, I started back when Drudge did the Kerry/intern affair story.

For instance, when that student wrote the email that got misanthrope fired, I wished purely evil thoughts and actions upon him in an initial overreaction, along with the rest of the lynch mob. But then after an afternoon of introspection, I wondered how that would be any different than what they did, in fact it would be worse! I wondered why I had become this way.

I dont have the answers either, but I'm starting to think there is a problem too.Maybe its just me.....

[Dorian Gray]

72. The internet problem

Is one that gets abused by both sides. Here we have a somewhat anonymous medium to rant and rave about our thoughts. Our ids can go wild, with few repercussions.

I also agree that it's best to fight hate with love. That's just me and my take, and I know other people will disagree.

[Red State Rebel]

37. Well Said Bertha....

It is when we begin to think of people as things - i.e. Those Repugs, etc. we dehumanize them and it makes it ok to be hateful.

We constantly tell ourselves we are the better party but when we allow ourselves to be dragged down into that gutter, we lose our high road. If we try to contain our frustration and anger on issues instead of people we will be the better party.

[Blue Wally]

39. Attack the Thought, Not the Messenger

Thomas Jefferson is one of our great Democratic icons. He did most of the writing of the Declaration of Independence, one of the key documents in the evolution of democracy in this country. Are his thoughts invalidated because he was a slave holder and regularly boffing a servant (Sally Hemmings) in contradiction to his thoughts on liberty and the equality of all men??

Are the gospels less or more true because Jimmy Swaggert preached them and Jimmy was a flawed man?

Limbaugh's words need to be invalidated by the arguments of logic, not by ad hominum attacks on the man personnally.

[JNelson6563]

38. what of us who couldn't give a shit?

When I read the news I thought something like "Color me shocked" with an eye roll and moved on. Haven't given it another thought till I read this post.

I mean really, WHO CARES??

I urge all who spend any time on this or other various insignificant matters to direct their efforts to more productive things.

Julie

[TexasBushwhacker]

40. Well, in the words of James Carville

"We're right and they're wrong"

We think we're better, and we think we're smarter, and we think that, without question, WE, the liberals, the progressives, are RIGHT about politics. Conservatives think exactly the same thing about themselves. We can't remain so polarized and both be right, so somewhere we must find some common ground.

In order to find common ground, in order to compromise, both sides must be willing to participate. Traditionally, the Democratic party has been the party of inclusion, that welcomes people of all colors, religions and lifestyles. We've been the party that pushed for progress - funding education, research, protection of our environment for ourselves and future generations, etc.

The Republican party is the party of the status quo. We've become a nation of haves and have nots, and they like it that way. They don't really want to do anything about the "war on drugs" because it mostly affects the lower class. Drugs are one of the things that keeps the lower class low. They don't really want to do anything to stop illegal immigration, because they still want someone to mow their lawn, clean their house, and work in the sweatshops for less than minimum wage. They don't do anything about outsourcing because their jobs aren't being outsourced and it keeps the CEO's happy. They gleefully support tax cuts for the rich and pay for them by underfunding programs that we need, or they just let the deficit pile back up and let their grandchildren pay for it.

If you're going to bargain, both sides have to be flexible. We are, they aren't.

[Toots]

41. Do you honestly think Rush is suffering?

Get real... Rush has no feelings especially for anyone other than himself. He hasn't been living with his wife for more than two years. If he is suffering at all it is because he thinks she will get some of his money. He has no feeling for her. He has never tried even once to accommodate her. I read an article about how she was very allergic to smoke and asked Rush if he would smoke in a certain room for her benefit. Rush said he would smoke any damn place he wished. You want me to feel sorry for that POS. I'm sorry but it isn't in me. I am no Christ. He has singlehandedly done more damage to America than any other single person. He is despicable beyond description.

[Bandit]

69. I could not have expressed my feelings any better ~ You rock

:thumbsup:

[Mrs. Venation]

42. Bertha's Point Is NOT About Rush Limbaugh!

Her point, in a few words, is that finding pleasure in another person's pain is wrong. It doesn't matter if it's Rush Limbaugh, Nancy Reagan or Richard Nixon.

When we find joy in another person's sorrow, pain or tragedy, we have become part of the problem. We dehumanize those people with whom we disagree because it makes our despising them easier; if we recognize them as fellow humans, with all the frailties of being human, hating them becomes more difficult.

I despise the ideology of Rush Limbaugh; same goes for Ronald Reagan, the Bush empire, and Richard Nixon, to name a few. There is a difference, however, in despising the ideology of a person and despising the person. It takes a lot of energy to hate; I'd rather use my emotional energy in more productive ways.

If one needs to demonize those who disagree in order to feel superior, then, IMHO, one needs to spend some time in introspection to find the cause of the darkness from whence hatred flows.

[fujiyama]

43. Look

People on this board didn't create the climate of hostility and anger.

It was the right that did that. Through the media, for the last several years they have pretty much blamed the left for most of the country's ills.

Schools shooting? God and morality was removed from schools. Damn the left!

9/11 and terrorism? Damn those liberal appeasers.

Remember those psycho fuckers Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell blaiming gays, the ACLU, and other liberals for 9/11. Are you saying that I have to have sympathy for someone like Robertson were he to die? He made implicit threats against certain supreme court justices.

Every problem in society is now the left's fault. Those on the left are called traitors and worse. Unfortunately, their line is carried by the mainstream media. Our's is NOT.

For many, this board is the ONLY place for us to express ourselves in this difficult environment.

I have not been one to have "rejoiced" over Reagan's death. I have however made it clear that his death doesn't affect me in any real way...and that I am indifferent. I have also made several threads that discussed his policies.

Limbaugh on the other hand, really is a worthless human being. He's a talking pile of excrement, who, if he died, I wouldn't feel even the slightest bit of remorse let alone sympathy for a FUCKIN DIVORCE. He says that gay people shouldn't have the right to get married, however, he has the right the get married however many times he wants. He's a moral hypocrite in the extreme. Limbaugh also DEFENDED TORTURE AT ABU GRAIHB. That alone is enough for me to spit on his grave.

Where has the high road got us? We have lost congress, the senate, the presidency, the supreme court, the media...We've lost everything.

Fuck the high road.

[Mrs. Venation]

54. So, Because People Who Oppose Our Politics

practice demonizing us, we are justified in debasing ourselves similarly? I think that is what we do when we adopt their tactics, and skew our rhetoric to be as hate-filled and intentionally inflaming as theirs.

And, once again, Bertha's point was not about Rush Limbaugh! Frankly, I don't want to be like Limbaugh in any way, shape or fashion. His tactics disgust me; his ideology is, IMHO, shallow and self-indulgent. To find joy in another's misfortune is classic Rush; I won't stoop to that level.

You can wallow in the same level of indecency as those whom you despise if you wish; I will not follow you, nor anyone like you, into that darkness.

Pointing out the hypocrisy of the extreme right wing mouthpieces is fair game; finding joy from their travails, IMHO, isn't.

Edited to correct typo.

[fujiyama]

57. Some people

deserve to be demonized. Rush is one of them.

Yes, I take pleasure in their fuck ups, their follies, and their failures. I have no sympathy for them or their cause. You make the mistake of believing they are just people that "oppose our politics". That's extremely naive. The split is MUCH deeper than that.

Limbaugh, Robertson, et al. are forces of evil as far I'm concerned.

[Mrs. Venation]

67. I Am Most Certainly Not Naive!

I just happen to totally disagree with you about finding joy in another human being's misfortune. I think that when we allow ourselves to do that, we become just as evil as those people whom we oppose.

I believe we cannot claim to be the more enlightened, the more caring, the more compassionate people if we allow ourselves to wallow in this kind of emotional cesspool!

Take all the pleasure in the suffering of others you wish. Knock yerself out! Frankly, I think that's putting out some pretty bad karma, and I do believe that what goes around, comes around.

While my "mistake" may be in being too forgiving, I'll take that "mistake" any day over being too filled with hate to see the humanity in others.

[Bertha Venation]

71. "Fuck the high road." Nope.

Not gonna do it.

[buddhamama]

44. we all suffer, some of our suffering is imposed on us

through outside influences. it is rare though, for those who cause the most suffering to face justice. the same justice that us peons would have to face if our suffering were to lead us down unlawful roads.

when a mother or father steals a piece a bread to feed their hungry child, are they a thief or a mother/father?

when a president leads his country into a war for profit couched in pretty platitudes and smiling lies,
where thousands have died, and millions of lives will be destroyed,
who will deliver his justice. will he be tried for the theft, the murders, the lies?

poetic justice has a nice ring to it.

Rush et al pass judgement on folks without ever walking a mile in their shoes. He is a hypocrite.

it is unfortunate really, that Rush will most likelt not be changed by his suffering.

hurt and suffering cannot be meaured by econonmic and social status.
money does not take away suffering nor the pain felt after a loss.

i do not celebrate the suffering of my fellow human beings
but i understand those who do, and in the end i think it comes
down to one ideal: Justice.

[x-g.o.p.er]

45. Eloquent....

Very nicely put.

[noiretextatique]

46. rush is not interested in common ground

the tragic flaw in your thesis. how can you find common ground with people who consider you irrelevant?

[gulliver]

47. One way to look at it.

We rejoice when our enemies suffer, and we sympathize when our friends suffer. And we do both when a person is both a friend and an enemy.

[AlCzervik]

49. Maybe some do rejoice

but i look at this way, when someone famous or powerful is in the news because of something personal and embarrasing it actually imho makes them more human instead of some being that we see on the news or hear on the radio. Limbaugh's a huge piece of dung but i think his 3 failed marriages reveal an almost human side to him. while i have no pity for him whatsoever i'm not rejoicing, he cheapens marriage.

[hiphopnation]

50. All the "rush stuff" aside...

This is a political forum for progressive liberals forced underground by a prevailing conservatism that's largely become the order of the day. We can (I would argue many of us do) befriend Conservatives and talk openly about our views, be cordial, respectful and friendly with them out there.

Here, OTOH, we are free to be as bitter, vitriolic, and pissed off at the current state of things as any other meme-specific chatboard allows their participants to be. Lighten up! There's a hell of a lot of decent, intelligent, thoughtful people on this board whom know the importance of respecting all people, whatever their political affiliation.

But you can bet, the current bitter divisions that exists on Capitol Hill and beyond between both "sides of the aisle" are due to a strident and dividing set of policies adopted by conservatives. They've made a legitimate conversation all but impossible and thus given credence and legitimacy to boards like this one. No wonder they come here as much as they do. :eyes:

[Spider Jerusalem]

51. Why do we rejoice when others suffer? Because they are our ENEMIES.

Because they represent all we find loathsome and despicable. Because only by the broadest and most charitable definition may we recognise them as fellow humans. Because they, by their words and actions, stand for hatred, intolerance, and selfishness, and deserve no better.

[notadmblnd]

53. It's that old saying...

misery loves company.

[crossroads]

55. He did unto mine as I'll do unto him...

He had no mercy so why should he expect any?... he needs to learn a great lesson...
and that is he is gonna reap what he sowed...from the great justice system -- Karma -- the just return of his own evil...
:eyes:

[nomaco-10]

59. I look at the chaos and death that this admin....

has inflicted on innocent people and it makes me angry. I feel the paranoia of living in a social climate that makes me shudder with anxiety. I have zero trust in most of our politicians and even less in our media. I am sickened to the point of becoming anti-social by the empty eyed, brain dead, lock step "morans" that are taking over our population.

I used to be a kinder, gentler democrat, the bleeding heart variety, but I'm just a little too angry and tired of being pushed around and made to feel irrelevant in today's political landscape. I just don't feel like being magnanimous anymore, it doesn't seem to have gotten us anywhere anyway.

Common ground, I don't think so. The differences between us have become far too vast and the stakes too high to find any meeting of the minds between dems and pubs at this point in time.

[the_real_38]

60. Because some others aren't really human...

... they're barbarians who think nothing of having people killed to further some financial or political objective - in short, THEY GOT IT COMING.

[Terran]

61. It's good of you to have compassion for such people.

That is truly Buddha-like, Christ-like. I personally find it difficult to muster such compassion for people as low as I consider Limbaugh to be. I have to wonder if you feel a similar sense of sympathy for Charles Manson and his ilk? This is a serious question, I'm not trying to mock you.

Dirk

[the_real_38]

63. I don't have sympathy for Manson, but he has an excuse....

... he's some crazy little fu**er! Reagan consciously sent people, innocent people, to their deaths in Central America when he backed those death squads down there.

[Bertha Venation]

65. It's neither Buddha- nor Christ-like. It's just who I am.

Do I have sympathy for psychopaths? I don't know that what I'm expressing is sympathy. But on some level, they, too, have suffered. That doesn't in the least mitigate their crimes. That doesn't excuse them at all. That doesn't even mean that I feel some obligation to reach out to them. I don't.

Same goes for hypocrites. Because they are hypocrites does not mean they have not suffered; because they have suffered does not mean they're excused.

But because they are hypocrites does not excuse me from trying to accept their humanity even as I abhor their crimes or faults. It is possible to do so.

If this doesn't answer your question, let me know and I'll try again.

[Dees]

62. Because in this case the bogus piece of shit deserves it.

I'm not your run of the mill turn the other cheek don't kick them when they're down liberal. When I'm attacked I will get right up your nostrils and fight. The bastard has gotten his jollies and millions crapping on Dems, liberals, feminists, environmentalists, Bill and Hillary and on and on. It's bad karma for you Limpballs. If there was ever a Repuke who needs to be turned out it's this piece of feces. If it opens the divide further then may it be as wide as the wounds he has helped create. I want to hear the gavel hit and the jail door slam. Normally I live and let live. People have personal lives and I don't condemn misfortune except in this case when Oxyballs has been so public about his comdenation of others.

[CBHagman]

66. I don't recommend Schadenfreude, but...

...given the fact that so-called conservative talk show hosts spend their days scorning other people and sitting on their butts in the studio while their calls are screened, it's pretty hard not to indulge in a snort at news of the Limbaugh divorce. Any guy who publishes a book called "See, I Told You So" more than deserves a few hoots when his personal foibles are on display.

Also, look at the track record for both the husband and wife. They're serial marriers at this point. Perhaps they're making the same mistakes with different partners.

[MallRat]

70. It's not rejoicing. It's setting the world right.

Bertha wrote:

Why do we laugh when a conservative endures something painful, some ironic humiliation, or even the death of a loved one?

"Because they laugh at us!!" That's not good enough. It's okay to lower ourselves to that kind of behavior? I say, bullshit. Whether you believe in Jesus or not, the words attributed to him have merit: Turn the other cheek. "


Speaking for myself here, I don't extract any joy out of watching people like Limbaugh suffer through drug addiction or repeated marital failures. What I do take from these events is comfort.

Anything that weakens the moral authority of these holier-than-thou hypocrites is another step towards saving the world. And I'm not exaggerating.

The hate and intolerance that people like Rush spew to their listeners every day is a slow, steady poison which is eating away at our nation's insides. Without RW hate radio constantly hammering away at the American public, do you think there would have been ANY support for the war in Iraq?

I can't turn the other cheek anymore. Believe me- I certainly don't wish bad on my enemies. But if a slew of indictments on drug charges will get that smug motherf*cker off his pulpit, then all the better.

-MR