On so many occasions, when taking to the roads of Bacolod City, pedestrians cross the street without an ounce of urgency, seemingly unaware of the perils of oncoming traffic. They are under the impression all vehicles will stop as they are slowly slinking across the street, many times with their phone out and eyes glued to the screen – all done as a means of asserting a believed superiority over others. In normal circumstances, a pedestrian tries to cross as quickly as possible at the sight of speeding car or truck; meanwhile, here, there is an arrogance, wherein pedestrians feel no need to offer the slightest bit of courtesy to their fellow city resident.
The same goes for motorcyclists. They weave in and out of traffic, many times without looking, under the belief that it is other drivers’ responsibility to watch them and they themselves have no accountability for their actions. Even if they do look, many times they turn and see oncoming traffic and still merge into the lane, again, believing other drivers have a responsibility and not them – a rather immature way of looking at the world.
There are also the tricycle and trisikad drivers all over town that seem to enjoy backing up traffic. Trisikad drivers ride leisurely down the roads, most of the time blocking multiple lanes of traffic, barely touching the pedals and just letting momentum coast them along without a care in the world. For tricycle drivers, they operate a lot like motorcyclists, swerving in between lanes accomplishing one near-miss after another. And with both cases, honk the horn in an attempt to get their attention to pull to over and allow traffic to get by, it’s usually met with a turn, a grimace, and a slowing down of their vehicle – a glimpse into their attitude and what they believe to be their right to interrupt the flow of traffic. What exemplifies the behavior? Once encountering an opportunity to overtake them in traffic, they honk their horn, tailgate, and express their consternation at being supposedly usurped of their control.
Professor Adrian Furnham, last year, discussed the theory of “schadenfreude,” or as he defines it, “The exquisite joy and smug satisfaction from contemplating and reveling in the misfortune of others,” or “To see the mighty fallen [or] to see your competitors stumble and fall.” The behaviors exhibited by the conceited pedestrian and the arrogant tricycle driver can be summed up as “schadenfreude.”
In Psychology Today article, he explained, “Societies that exhibit schadenfreude are often deeply ambiguous about any sort of achievement and the status and prominence that comes with it.” This may be projected in one’s inability in achieving their dreams and a need to bring down others to make themselves feel better about their situation. Not the healthiest measure to take, but it would, at least, offer some kind of explanation for the behavior.
Ted Thornhill wrote in The Daily Mail back in 2011, “Enjoying someone else’s misfortune is known as schadenfreude and scientists from Leiden University in the Netherlands say that the lower your self-esteem, the more you’ll experience it.”
He cited researcher Wilco W van Dijk, who said, “When you have low self-esteem, you will do almost anything to feel better, and when you’re confronted with the misfortune of others you’ll feel schadenfreude.”
Psychoanalyst Ken Eisold echoed the same sentiment on the origins of the attitude, pointing to both low self-esteem and envy.
“In both envy and schadenfreude, we are the targets of another’s vicarious emotion.” He explained. “In one, it is provoked by our good fortune, in the other, by our misfortune.”
“We deserve neither praise nor blame,” Eisold added.
Furnham further discussed the issue in a similar tone, pointing out those who “seek out” instances of schadenfreude, much like those previously mentioned, where the intentional act of disenfranchising others can be avoided, but they choose to be the instigators.
“They could be seen as envious, vengeful, hostile individuals who waste their energy in attacking others rather than trying to achieve anything themselves,” he said. “To be addicted to the emotion of schadenfreude can de deeply destructive.”
At the heart of the issue, it is also about a lack of respect (a topic that has been discussed many times in prior columns). This lack of respect, whether it be somebody trying to assert themselves to “force” others to respect them or a lack of respect that puts others down to make one feel superior, are both damaging to a culture. If individuals are unable to see each other as equals and are constantly putting each other down, then there is no chance of developing a successful and cohesive populace. While everybody is trying to push each other down, no matter who is in charge or who is running things, it will never end in a positive because everybody is making the choice of being negative.
Is it that much of a burden to make way for other vehicles if one is operating a slow-moving one? Is there some type of trauma that comes with trying to rush across the street in order to both elude potential danger and to keep traffic flowing efficiently? Is it too much a strain on one’s ego to hold the door for others or to allow space when approaching another individual walking in the opposite direction? The more individuals are unwilling to see eye-to-eye and would much rather keep their noses in the air, the less anything can get done. Nobody appears to be willing to give another person any opportunity to show their abilities because others are just too consumed with protecting their own ego and unable to contain their desire in trying to be the biggest figure in the room./WDJ