If broken bones are good for anything (and they’re not), it’s getting sympathy. It’s your surefire way to have everyone feel a little badly for you. You walk around with a cast and ask people to sign it, and maybe they’ll hold your books for you or bring you a casserole. It’s the one way you can feel a little better after sustaining an injury. I remember when someone would come to school on crutches, they became an instant celebrity. People would fight to be the person who accompanied them to the elevator. Everyone would come running with a sharpie, ready to sign the cast. It was the perfect way to become popular, at least temporarily. 

Some folks, though, have a hard time drumming up sympathy for anyone else, ever. Some people just want to watch the world burn. It’s probably because they have such a low self-image that they can’t imagine that anyone is doing worse than them.