There is something ugly happening online that bothers me. It’s called schadenfreude, and it’s coming to a blog near you.  What is schadenfreude, you ask? Quite simply, it is the act of taking pleasure in someone else’s pain or discomfort, and as my two-year-old niece would say, "dats not nice".

I have noticed it particularly in blogs and comments posted online regarding celebrities or other people who have committed a no-no in the public eye. Yes, I am going to bring Up Paris Hilton, to the distress of many I am sure.

I could not avoid seeing her bloated, tear-stained face plastered all over, and I could not help reading the incredibly ugly comments regarding her plight. For example, "Paris Hilton deserves to be raped in jail".

Wow!  As I read those comments, I was annoyed to find myself wanting to defend her (I am no fan). What terrible thing has this girl done to warrant such hatred and ugliness? She was clearly unhappy and in pain, why the delight in her misery?  I don’t get it.

Paris isn’t the only target these days; overweight people, underweight people, anyone who is unfortunate enough to err in the public eye is held up for ridicule and contempt, and their pain becomes another’s pleasure. We are becoming a nation of psychic vampires, gorging on others.

Reveling in someone else’s misery is wrong and somewhat sick. At the risk of sounding preachy, we are all human beings, even the worst of us (Paris is by no means the worst). We are all deserving of compassion (well, most of us … I can think of a few exceptions …  

Human beings should be lifting each other up, not tearing each other down. It diminishes us all when we behave in such an ugly manner.

Posted by Wendy.