CRUELTY
What are we doing?
Why are we allowing the propogation of so much cruelty in this world? And I want to be clear on the point that this is on all of us, including myself. As I make my way throughout the day, reading social media, consuming various news sources, I am seeing an almost overwhelming amount of cruelty.
I’m not talking about the usual incel horseshit or the old style internet flame wars. Those are bad enough, and societal ills of which we may never rid ourselves. But what I’m referring to is an aggressive, weaponized, now systemic form of schadenfreude.
To feel envy is human, to savour schadenfreude is diabolic.
I’m no fancy psychiatrist, psychologist or social anthropologist, but I suspect that most if not all people experience schadenfreude at one point in time or another. Are there people who have never or will never experience it? Sure, probably. Are there also people who are only capable of experiencing joy through the suffering of others? Yes, I think. Fuck, I’m pretty sure I’ve met some of them. And while I certainly am extremely concerned about that group of people, I’m more focused on the rapid increase in this phenomenon amongst the average person.
I don’t have data to back up this assertion (see above re: not a scientist), but I think more people are mean-spirited than they used to be. I’m trying very hard not to be “old man yells at cloud,” and I hate it when people invoke “nowadays,” or even “back in my day,” but doesn’t it just feel like people are more sour, unpleasant, and vindictive? I can’t put an exact moment on it, but my current theory is that the COVID pandemic taught a lot of people that they could ignore societal norms (especially new ones), the safety of others, and basic human consideration and there would be virtually zero consequences. So, now that the pandemic is ostensibly concluded, too many people seem eager to flaunt or enjoy this unearned “freedom” to be rude.
This appears in everyday interactions, where I’m noticing an increase in basic lack of decorum. My current pet peeve is the behaviour of drivers in the Toronto area. I don’t think it was that long ago that people were aware, and generally compliant with regards to which lane was the correct lane for making turns. However, during rush hour at least, it seems like an increasing number of drivers are not content with waiting in a line of cars to turn left or right, race up an adjacent lane on a green light, and make the turn around the line of cars. It’s like an announcement that says “you have to wait in the line, but I don’t have to.” I do not fully understand this antisocial horseshit.
That example is just the tip of the iceberg; a microcosm of a much more severe issue. It seems that our society is spiralling to a model where cruelty is the norm, even celebrated.
Need examples? Look no further than our neighbours to the south. How the hell did so many people vote for such a vile, disgusting individual as Donald Trump? Especially knowing his assemblage of incompetent, mean-spirited, selfish cronies. Clearly, not all 77.3 million people who voted for him were cheering for cruelty, nor are they all addicted to schadenfreude. But certainly a critical mass of them are. A cursory review of social media, televised interviews, and even the published works of the time make it clear that actually punishing your enemies, especially if they are marginalized, is encouraged, celebrated, and joy is derived from it. And if you vote for that, even if you’re suffering from economic hardship, I can’t help but think that you just don’t care much about other people.
Doubt me? Ask yourself this question: in the last decade or so, how many times have you seen some MAGA-adorned boomer, asked by a reporter about critical race theory or DEI, angrily answering in a way that convinces you that they hate the “queers” and the “browns” and live in a cave where they sharpen their hooves every night?
Remember these two clowns?
I really want to put a fine point on this. There is an ever-growing list of people who exist both in the fringes and every part of society who are targets for this joy-inducing hatred. The trans community, especially in the United States were already under a constant onslaught from every manner of close-minded bigot you can imagine. Recent newcomers, regardless of their “legal status” (THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS AN ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT), are fearing for their lives across North America, Europe, and many other places. How about the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia? Just read the Wikipedia article about him and tell me this isn’t a case of cruelty-induced establishment of fear for authority. And for those who would argue “Wikipedia can be edited by anyone,” or “the real news agencies are reporting that he was in MS-13,” I would say this: fuck off. Fuck right off. Fuck right off for a period of time equal to the entire cretaceous period.
The whole point of having a society is to cooperate with each other while retaining our humanity. How can we possibly retain our humanity by continually marginalizing, and now planning to eliminate, the most vulnerable among us? Cabinet members effectively saying that people with autism can’t live normal lives. Anyone who can’t miss a social security check is a scammer. A candidate for the highest office in Canada asking people to put aside their obsession with race as though bigotry isn’t a daily experience for many. The Prime Minister of Hungary is a known anti-Semite who can’t shut his gob about George Soros. And each of these politicians, and their retinue of like-minded monsters, wants to legalize what they’re doing.
As a student of history, I cannot help but think back to the numerous state policies that codified the cruelty of the Third Reich. If you can’t see a connection between the Reich Central Office for the Combating of Homosexuality and Abortion and the removal of protections for LGBTQIA Americans and the repealing of Roe v. Wade, then I have nothing for you.
The cruelty is here, it’s severe, it’s getting worse, and, eventually, if we don’t do something, it’s coming for everyone one of us who is either marginalized or an ally of the marginalized. You don’t think so?
The leopard is coming to eat your face.
