One of my favorite episodes of the television series “Boston Legal” aired on October 4, 2005.
Attorney Alan Shore (played by James Spader) is defending Kelly Nolan (played by Heather Locklear), a beautiful young woman who is charged with murdering her much older and wealthy husband.
The publicly perceived evil Nolan allegedly poisoned her husband by mixing Nitroglycerine in his wine.
The trial was a media circus.
Television commentators had convicted Nolan in round-the-clock fashion.
During Shore’s closing argument, he stated that the police had offered no solid evidence against his client and only arrested her because somebody had to be arrested.
He then pauses and utters the word schadenfreude.
Everyone stares at Shore with befuddled looks painted on their faces.
He explains.
“From the German words, Schaden and Freude, damage and joy. It means to take spiteful, malicious delight in the misfortune of others. We used to dismiss this as simply an ugly side of human nature, but it is much more than that. Recently a Stanford professor actually captured schadenfreude on a brain scan. It’s a physiological medical phenomenon. When we see others fall it sometimes causes a chemical to be released in the dorsal striatum of the brain which causes us to feel pleasure. If you watch the news or read the papers, which of course you don’t because the Judge said not to, but if you did, you would see the undeniable delicious joy of the media and the public over Kelly Nolan’s plight. I have no doubt that you want Kelly Nolan to be punished. She’s cold, materialistic, unlikable, and it might bring you all pleasure to see her go to jail. But as for evidence to establish that she committed a murder beyond all reasonable doubt? It just isn’t there. The only possible route to a guilty verdict here is schadenfreude.”
After deliberations, the jury finds Nolan not guilty.
Schadenfreude. It’s in the dictionary.
Why do I reference this word?
For the past month or so, facebook has exploded with comments and ugly references of the Kansas City Chiefs receiving preferential treatment from NFL officials.
The Chiefs are supposedly guilty of bribing officials. That the officials are directed by the front office to give the Chiefs any benefit of the doubt.
Television commentators, especially Troy Aikman of FOX, have criticized the officials for throwing flags when KC Quarterback Patrick Mahomes gets hit.
Most armed-chaired quarterbacks, including Aikman, have the benefit of the seeing super slow-motion replays four or five times from several angles, while officials must make a flag or no flag decision within a second during live time play.
After the Chiefs edged the talented Buffalo Bills Sunday night, 32-29, to return to the Super Bowl for the third consecutive year, I saw a facebook post from a lady who asked, “why do so many people hate the Chiefs?”
The answers of cheating, bribery and favoritism reared their heads again.
My response was schadenfreude.
Think about it.
Over the years, some sports teams have dominated the field, court or diamond.
The New York Yankees, the New England Patriots, the San Francisco 49ers, the Alabama Crimson Tide, and the Nebraska Cornhuskers.
Remember when the Nebraska football teams were hated by so many?
Success of others sometimes leads to schadenfreude.
I doubt that Jesus used the word in the bible, but I’m sure in his own way it was something he preached against.
I’ve heard people spew negativeness against successful local people and businesses with no merit to their criticism, other than they simply don’t like Business A or Person B.
After the Chiefs victory Sunday night, CBS’s Nate Burleson said to NFL Fans: “Resist the urge to fall for the narrative that we’re tired of seeing [the Chiefs] win, that we might be fatigued of watching KC go to the Super Bowl. You are witnessing greatness. And just be happy that you are alive to be there to see it.”
In other words, the only possible route to a guilty verdict here is schadenfreude.