It is an example of dualistic thinking at its worst. Happiness and misfortune are in different categories altogether. Happiness is the default, universal state. To achieve the sensation of misfortune a person has to go through mental contortions, continually feeding untrue thoughts into his subconscious mind.

It takes hard work and determination to achieve unhappiness, and it begins with the belief that you are guilty and need to be punished or the fear that your tribe is under attack or is going to be absorbed by others.

Maybe there’s survival value to a tribe in the whipping up of fear, anger, outrage, etc. For society at large though it would be more beneficial to identify mainly with the larger group—the state, the nation, the world, and to foster unity and peace.

Part of the “black or white” thinking fostered by religion. “Black lives matter” must mean that you want to kill cops. “Stop shooting children” means that you want to take guns from hunters. “No children in cages” means that you want open borders. This simplistic thinking is comforting to those who find thinking about things painful.

What a vicious circle that is. If someone is so ill mannered that my happiness should make them suffer then I am imperfect enough myself, to be glad that they should suffer so. And further pleased if seeing me glad should add to their misfortune.

Like all other physical quantities, (mass, charge, spin, etc. ) happiness is in fact, conserved.