First, the Germans gave us Schadenfreude to describe our shameful glee at other people's downfalls. Now, the Dutch have given us "plaatsvervangende schaamte." It doesn't roll off the tongue in quite the same way. On the other hand, it's a term that describes a difficult-to-articulate emotion that almost all of us have felt: feeling ashamed on someone else's behalf.
A friend mentioned it in relation to Palin, and it literally means "place-replacing shame."
Nick Walker, in his 2003 novel "Helloland," defines it as, "A shame in being human. You see someone acting foolishly or stupidly and you do not laugh at him, you do not feel Schadenfreude, instead you feel a sense of humiliation that this is how your species can behave."
Or, in the case of Palin, a sense of humiliation mixed with a dash of absolute fear that she could possibly hold the highest office in America.
A friend mentioned it in relation to Palin, and it literally means "place-replacing shame."
Nick Walker, in his 2003 novel "Helloland," defines it as, "A shame in being human. You see someone acting foolishly or stupidly and you do not laugh at him, you do not feel Schadenfreude, instead you feel a sense of humiliation that this is how your species can behave."
Or, in the case of Palin, a sense of humiliation mixed with a dash of absolute fear that she could possibly hold the highest office in America.
No comments:
Post a Comment