I need to respond to a letter you recently published titled “Misfortune should be deserved” in which my poem “Schadenfreude” and my name is referenced.
This letter states that my definition of schadenfreude is incorrect by not having the word “deserved” in it.
The American Heritage Dictionary defines schadenfreude “as pleasure derived by someone from another person’s misfortune.” The Oxford Dictionary defines it as “pleasure derived by someone from another person’s misfortune.” Merriam Webster has a similar definition using “trouble” in lieu of “misfortune.”
In all three of these definitions, the word I am accused of leaving out, “deserved,” in reference to “misfortune” or “trouble” is not included.
However, schadenfreude is often associated with situations where the misfortune is perceived as “deserved.” “Deserved” could be associated with and perceived in regard to schadenfreude, but it is not in its definition.
If individuals, given their personal prejudices and societal attitudes, desire to associate and perceive “deserved” with schadenfreude in hideous acts of inhumanity, that is their prerogative. I chose not to do so.
I weep with empathy and compassion for our humanity and society.
George William “Bill” Kibildis
Sparta