Schadenfreude Lives!

The opening days of 2010 have brought an outbreak of schadenfreude, centred around Northern Ireland. Yes, it’s the Iris Robinson affair – quite literally so, as the object of her affections, 19 year-old Kirk McCambley, has attested. My friends from Northern Ireland (both Protestant and Catholic) have been following the unfolding of events breathlessly, and with dangerously high levels of schadenfreude. We all agree that it couldn’t have happened to a nicer couple than Peter and Iris Robinson. After all, it was she who publicly stated that being gay was an abomination, and used Leviticus to justify her stance, whilst conveniently forgetting the equally stern strictures against adultery in the very same chapter. Add to that the shenanigans over money and politicians denying any wrongdoing, and we have a truly heady brew of scandal.

The only person who seems to be coming out of this with any semblance of dignity is Kirk McCambley himself, whose apparent naivety seems to be protecting him. Inevitably, he now has an Appreciation Society on Facebook with nearly 6,000 members…