LogFAQs > #896501261

Nelson_Mandela posted...

I don't like neo-Nazis. It would bring me great pleasure to deck one at a fascist rally, for example.

If theres an actual fascist rally, physically fighting back against a force of people that wishes to bring harm to the community, and is quite capable of it, is self-defense. Self-defense shouldnt be gleeful. Youre doing it out of desperation as any and all diplomacy has failed.

Take the rally out of it and apply this to punching Richard Spenser feels good in the abstract. This invokes our cultural ideas of justice and what that means. It means many things to many people. Many on the left do indeed feel happy when he gets hit; youre right to acknowledge this in this conversation.

I believe the point is to try to recognize WHY we feel that pleasure, and how do we regulate it. Feeling pleasure in the pain of others comes from a place of insecurity. If you feel happy when he gets wrecked, its because you feel on some level that you cant deal with his power running unchecked alone.

Same thing with, say, glee over Milo losing a book deal. It comes from our internalized sense that justice has been served, because we cant personally serve it. Its a vicarious power rush.

So if we can recognize this emotion, and understand what it represents, we can attempt to deal with it appropriately instead of shrugging our shoulders and saying oh well Im just human, get em!

Also make no mistake this is not a human issue, its a cultural issue. There are cultures where this sort of concept just isnt there.
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Thank you, Eddie Guerrero.
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