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| "It's finger-lickin' guilt" |
The German phrase for the guilty pleasure of rubbernecking - observing another person's tragedy with chilly over-interest - is now part of the American lexicon.
Schadenfreude is somehow connected to "poverty porn". Sure, I've always said their is a genuine "nurture" instinct at play, an innocence in wanting to help. The Charitable Industrial Complex is a crime committed out of love. Or self love (and love itself can be an uncomfortable mixture of the two - right OJ?). We care about the poor, and we love the part of us, and the part of others, that cares about them. See the Narcissus blog...
But is there a similar good German phrase for "discomfort with other peoples increasing affluence"? It's different from jealousy (which is the discomfort with affluence or conspicuous consumption, but relegated to those who don't enjoy the same - the "have nots").
People we have always thought of as "poor" start to resemble - well... - US. And today's NYT article wants us to see that as a bad thing.
