Is it right to feel happy at the expense of making others feel low or useless?

Question

i wonder sometimes if a joke can go too far, and that there are people that just do not know when to tone things down. Any thoughts on this matter would be greatfuly recieved.

Answer 1

It's never right to put others down to raise your self up. If someone is doing this to you then they are very wrong. Please keep away from them. And talk to others that can help.

If you with others are doing something to someone else please take a stand and stop it now. Do some damage limitation on the person as well.

Answer 2

If you are referring to actions particularly on this site, I totally agree.

Sure enough there are some questions that simply beg for a smart answer or a quip, and I have cried laughing before now, there is some terrific humour about.

However, there are some folks putting out some desperately sad questions, cries for help, and some people hit "Soft targets" needlessly, for a couple of points!? THINKING that they are funny, or worse, hiding behind the anonymity, such terrible cowardly thing to do!
And so hurtful.

There are a lot of wonderful people out there, such helpful advice, restoring my faith in humanity, I guess you just have to put up, and ignore, or better still DELETE the idiots. ;0)

.

Answer 3

A joke can indeed go to far if the comidy is at someone elses expense. An exception to that is if you are BOTH laughing about it, but that can be a fine line to walk! A good joke leaves everybody feeling happy, not just you.

Answer 4

You might try weighing up your personal happiness against other people's suffering. If you always go for making yourself happy at the expense of others, it's not a wise strategy even from the point of view of self-interest, as it accumulates resentment towards you. You are liable to end up not even with no friends, but with a lot of people who actively hate you. For the short-term benefit of feelin' good, you have a lot of long-term bad stuff coming your way. (Note to leaders of powerful countries who invade less powerful countries in order to get political capital as a strong leader.)

You'll notice that I haven't addressed the question of whether or not it's ethical to make jokes at the expense of other people, which by the way it's not.

Answer 5

I hate it when people do that. Before I use to just laugh at the victim with the rest of the group. But now I am changed. I usually pull the guy makin the joke aside and tell him not to say anything that mean. Most of the time they understand.

Answer 6

No no no and no.

But people do it all the time. I always say you can't build your happiness on other people's misery.

It is like the southern planters building their wealth on slavery, it won't work.

I can give you hundreds of examples from real life I know and even celebrities, where they teased or mocked or said something or did something to hurt other people to help themselves. It might have just been good feelings or to look good or even major stuff, but THEY ALL PAID IN THE END.

Answer 7

If hurting someone else, either violently or socially through embarassment, etc., makes a person feel better, then that is not happiness operating - it is the release of pent up rage - and is absolutely an abuse of the other person. Happy people don't feel good to see another suffer.

Answer 8

If you make the joke out loud to someone to actually hurt that person then it becomes a personal issue. Feeling happy should not in return make another feel bad.

Answer 9

Ofcourse its not right. But some how it truely works in a degraging type of way.

For example if i know that i look completely awful, i'll look over at one of my buddies and i'll say "why on earth do you go out in publice dressed like that" and then they will begin to feel less confident which sadly makes me feel 100 x's better

i know this sounds awful buts its the truth ;(

Answer 10

No, it's never right. In fact, it's shameful and disgusting.

Such behavior should not be called "joking" either. It is actually bullying. Anyone who derives pleasure from demeaning other people needs to search their heart and soul and purge such actions from their life for their own benefit as well as for that of the people they would hurt.