I'm not talking about Voodoo here. Wishes are reflections of values. What you value, what you wish for, influences what you do.

It's bad to wish suffering on someone, not because wishing suffering on them will cause them to suffer, but because it makes you someone who promotes suffering.

The problem then becomes that someday, you could be in a position to make someone suffer, and you might make them suffer. That's bad in and of itself, but it's worse when you realize that you make mistakes. You could be incorrect about the person you make suffer. They might not deserve it at all. You'll think you're right, of course, but you can't know for sure. You could end up as Governor of your state one day! Governors who turn down pleas from Death Row never think they're wrong. But sometimes they are.

edit: for another example, the top post on /r/todayilearned . Everyone is up in arms. But it was just somebody who made a mistake with a name, and a culture that was okay with causing suffering for the sake of information. Those are the only two ingredients, and everyone makes mistakes. Post