Schadenfreude is a German term meaning “harm-joy,” or taking pleasure in the suffering and misfortune of others. It seems as though we Albertans, along with the rest of our western Canadian brethren, have drawn the schadenfreude out of the rest of the country.
Almost every day I see posts from friends and strangers alike about the plight of Albertans with the recent oil and gas recession. Some are hopeful, others frightened, while some are a whole other type that I just can't understand -- the condescending, “good riddance” kind.
So many people seem to feel it is their right to gloat at the misfortunes of their friends and neighbours -- their fellow Albertans. A Jan. 18 CBC article quotes the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers estimating 40,000 job losses in their industry alone. This number does not account for decreased economic activity and resulting job losses as a result of less cash flowing through the community. That is 40,000 people -- many of whom have families -- who may not be certain where their next paycheque will come from.
Many out of work folks have taken to work-for-hire and entry-level jobs as a lifeboat to get them through these turbulent economic waters. But for many, time and savings are already running out.
The wealth of the oil and gas industry has driven up the cost of living in our fair province. Unfortunately, an influx of unemployed workers drawing from EI and flooding the job market make finding new work difficult.
Many think that we should have known better. Some say we will pay for the single-focused nature of Alberta's boom and bust oil-based economy.
None of that really matters when you get right down to it. Hindsight, they say, is 20/20, and it is easy to see what we could or should have done now. That doesn't change, of course, that what's done is done.
What matters now is that we stand together to weather this storm. We Albertans need to stop looking for somewhere to lay our blame since it doesn't get us anywhere anyways.
What benefit is gained from squabbling over Facebook about whom we should tar and feather for getting us into this mess? That was a rhetorical question.
Maybe this is the time we can rediscover the simple things in life. Maybe faced with uncertain times we can find a ray of hope -- a silver lining, if you will -- for all of this. Perhaps this time around we can try to diversify, spend less, save more, and draw up a Plan B for if oil and gas goes south again -- no pun intended.
A little empathy goes a long way. Let's nurse our broken bonds of fellowship with a little bit of understanding, a dash of good will, and maybe a leg up or two.
Why don't we ditch the schadenfreude and use these difficult times to strengthen our bonds of community and camaraderie instead? We will emerge stronger on the other side.
