This week, I shall attempt to describe new terms that are apt in appropriately conveying specific situations or individuals; some may be funny, most will not be. My hope, humbly, is to accurate describe a situation that many people undergo. Many of these contain snark, something that may be on the rise as I suffer through my biannual sinus infection.
What is Haughty Suffering Complex?
Obviously it has to do with individuals looking down upon other people, hence the placement of "haughty."
The definition I use for Haughty Suffering Complex is that HSC is where people believe in a quantitative measure of suffering, ie an individual thinks he or she suffers more than you regardless of what you are going through.
A typical conversation might be like this:
"Man, I'm really having a bad day. I got a fever and a cold and couldn't go into work today; all I did was stay up all night and sit around."
"Pst. Please. You think you're having a bad day? I got a fever, and a cold, and AIDS, and I had to go into work today and work with a 106 degree temperature and a diminishing immune system."
As you can see from the previous conversation, even though person A is having a bad day person B is not impressed by said bad day because they suffer more, always.
My dad is a notorious with his HSC. Whatever you've done, my dad has had worse. Had to wash a lot of dishes at work? My dad had to wash 7,000 dishes while on the USS La Salle. Have a cyst on your rear? My dad had a cyst somewhere worse. Get sunburned for a week? My dad got water blisters while in Bahrain.
People who have HSC always suffer more, and if you complain they will ensure you that they suffer more.
Truth is, of course, suffering isn't quantitative. It is qualitative. Therefore, having a haughtiness about your suffering is asinine because suffering is a) fairly relative and b) everyone suffers. There's a brilliant Monty Python skit, "The Fire Yorkshiremen," that expresses HSC: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xe1a1wHxTyo.
There is a sub sect of HSC, where people who have HSC are specific in their HSC through age. For instance one may say "It's hard eating just ____" and an older person says "In my day we were lucky to have any food at all. You kids are spoiled."
This is called 'Andy Rooney Complex.'
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