As someone who frequently points out my own short-comings, I'm not often in the state of embarrassment--not for myself anyway. I do, however, often find myself feeling embarrassment on behalf of others--what's that all about?
I was thinking about this the other day when an acquaintance used the term "Patagucci" when referring to the clothing brand Patagonia and then had that self-satisfied look like they'd just made the most hilarious and original joke. I was wounded with embarrassment for this person--are you so clueless that you think that someone in my age group could possibly have gone through life without having heard that term? Come on! To add salt to the wound, this person kept repeating the phrase--with each shot glancing at my face to see if I "got it." Yeah I got it--you're an idiot. But rather than feeling simple irritation for this clueless person, I feel embarrassment on their behalf. Its one thing to have empathy for someone who is in an embarrassing situation and is clearly embarrassed themselves--but to feel embarrassment for someone who is so out of touch that they don't even realize that they should feel shame! What's wrong with me? How did this evolve? Its not like I'm going to pull that person aside and inform them re their faux pas.
I wonder if the Great Apes share this apparent mutation that I have. One chimp says to the other, "Where do you think they got these bananas--'Whole Paycheck'? Har har, that's what I call Whole Foods cause its so expensive. Get it. Yeah these look like designer bananas--I bet they got them at Whole Paycheck." Meanwhile the recipient of this humor quietly puts her faintly pink face in her hand and mutters "yeah, I get it--you're an idiot".
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