I don't think it qualifies as sociopathy, per se. It appears to be a part of the normative human condition. We find entertainment and humour in the trivial suffering of others because it isn't happening to us. Think of the jokes you've heard that make you laugh - it's a fair bet that most of them involve suffering at some level.
But I think the main thing that keeps it from being a sociopathic behaviour is that we aren't entertained by all human suffering. We laugh when a little kid goes arsy-versy over the handlebars of his bike, but it stops being funny when we find out his arm is broken. We laugh at the little girl who forgets her lines during the school recital, but we don't laugh at the little girl with cancer.
Boru
But I think the main thing that keeps it from being a sociopathic behaviour is that we aren't entertained by all human suffering. We laugh when a little kid goes arsy-versy over the handlebars of his bike, but it stops being funny when we find out his arm is broken. We laugh at the little girl who forgets her lines during the school recital, but we don't laugh at the little girl with cancer.
Boru
‘But it does me no injury for my neighbour to say there are twenty gods or no gods. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg.’ - Thomas Jefferson
