When the message of trump’s COVID-19 infection spread, many were gloating or leaving malicious comments on social media platforms. In my recent article (how Corona shapes society), I stated that pandemics are levelers. They don’t care about propaganda.
Are we evil people? Did trump victimize himself with his obsession to downplay the danger and not show “weakness”? Is it allowed to feel joy when another person is sick? What is wrong with us?
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In this article, you will learn how we make moral judgements and why some people gloat over the misfortune of another individual.
I’ll throw in some random thoughts before I get to the topic:
Why trump might not like his diagnosis
- Populist trump portrayed Corona as a personal enemy. Falling sick with the virus in his eyes, equals defeat.
- trump’s world comprises winners and looser, winners don’t get sick.
- trump’s Corona infection is a dementi of his own politics.
- For the longest time, he downplayed the danger of the disease and the likelihood of infection, even after we heard him on tape admitting its deadly danger.
- Supporters might have second thoughts about the fact that trump admittedly knew since February how dangerous the disease is.
- He’s the third leader from countries with high infection- and death rates who downplayed the danger and fell sick (the other two are Brazils Jair Bolsonaro and England’s Boris Johnson.)
Now, we’re not looking at this from a political point of view. From a political point of view, trump could probably use his illness to his advantage, if he’s up on his feet in no time. Even if he gets gravely ill, he can use it as a narrative in the spectacle he made of the US government.
We’re looking at the fact that many people are gloating about trump’s diagnosis and what it says about us.
Why are people happy that trump has COVID-19?
A rationalization would be that some people see his illness as the only way to get through to people who still refuse wearing masks and taking precautions.
It all comes down to how the brain makes moral judgements.
How we make moral judgements
When the brain makes moral judgements, it takes the intention of a person into account.
I made a video for you to explain what I mean:
It’s human nature to feel offended if another person willingly and knowingly either harms us or accepts that we might get harmed or even die for ulterior motives.
We would feel differently, if trump hadn’t known how dangerous COVID-19 is.
Another factor is anger. When we’re helpless and cannot change a harmful situation a third-party forces upon us, anger turns to hatred. While it’s understandable, we should still try to remove these negative feelings ASAP.
We’re emotional creatures and might even think it’s Karma. Calm down, everyone. It’s not Karma, it’s a virus and simple mathematics. By rejecting precautions and being around people who follow your lead, you increase the likelihood of getting sick exponentially.
Think of it this way: If you say it’s Karma that trump and some of his entourage fell sick, then it could also be Karma that hundreds of thousands of Americans died because we elected him/didn’t care for people who felt left out when there was still time.
Human nature and the step too far
Secretly assessing the chances of policies that save lives doesn’t make you a bad person. If your aunt died from COVID-19 after one of trump’s super spreader events and you’re angry, it’s understandable.
However, there’s a line between wishing someone dead and secretly not feeling as sympathetic as we feel we should. If you go to social media and post a heartfelt death wish against someone, you might have become as big of a monster as the one you’re fighting.
There’s no good reason for gloating about the misfortune of someone else.
With over 200K dead and over 7 million infected, we could just remember trump’s statement: “Elections have consequences.”
“When they go low, we go high”, is my favorite Michelle Obama quote.
What did you feel when you heard the news?
I could tell you my initial thought when the news broke, but I would not write it down. No matter if you felt sadness, compassion, gloating joy or something else: It was your unintended, emotional reaction. Most importantly, it was private. We can share every last thought publicly, but we don’t have to.
And if you're struggling with negative feelings such as anger or anxiety, check out my PROJECT INNER PEACE!
Sources
http://capricorn.bc.edu/moralitylab/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Young_Saxe_JOCN.pdf