In Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight, Alfred explains the story of the bandit who stole rubies in Burma. He equates this man, who just wanted to watch the world burn with the Joker, played by the late, great Heath Ledger. He says that for some men, there is no logical reason to do things – they just want to create chaos and watch how people react.
For these kinds of people, trying to use logic or reason with them is ineffective. Obviously, the Joker is an extreme example of this, but think about people you’ve encountered that you just can’t reason with. They don’t care about the ramifications of their actions and how what they do affect people. In fact, they “get off” on creating situations that are chaotic and difficult for others. They actually enjoy watching people scramble or suffer.
These kinds of people are true psychopaths, like the Joker and the bandit from Burma. They consistently want to watch the world burn, lack empathy and the normal range of human emotions.
But if we’re being honest, at some point in time, we’ve all delighted in the misfortune of someone else. And this is very human. There is actually a term for it called schadenfreude. The literal German translation is ‘harm-joy’. This kind of ‘enjoyment’ is primarily justice-based. And the idea behind it is that we feel joy when another person suffers if we believe their suffering is deserved. Very subjective, it is!
For example, say you have co-worker who shifts blame to you and others when projects don’t get done on time. When this co-worker screws something up and is held accountable for it, you find yourself secretly smiling about it and happy watching them squirm with their superiors.
While this is all normal and human nature, some of us find ourselves fixating on revenge or the demise of someone who has wronged us. This kind of thinking is ineffective and just makes you feel worse in the end. And as the saying goes, before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves. Don’t allow someone who has harmed you to have such a prominent place in your mind. Focus on building the best life you can for yourself and only focus on what you can control. Believe me, the universe will take care of people who constantly put out bad energy and are harmful to others.
