Why Are People So Angry?
Discussion
Generalising.
People just seem to be aggressive and angry. Is it just in busy cities or built-up towns? For example, someone makes a mistake and you react by even something as little as taking an deep breath, there's a 'and what?' antagonist ready to go for it.
It just seems to be a widespread disease which sometimes makes me think it goes back to parenting and schooling. The ignorance, lack of respect or even just taking responsibility appears to be absent in more and more people.
I probably see it most on roads, like on the motorway. Someone wants to change lanes and rather than wait until it's safe to do so, they just pull out forcing you to brake as they gulp all your braking distance in one move. You can shake your head, toot your horn or flash your headlights and the popular reaction to it - regardless - is a middle finger or a snarling face out of the window telling to to eff off.
Common decency/respect no longer common practice it seems.
People just seem to be aggressive and angry. Is it just in busy cities or built-up towns? For example, someone makes a mistake and you react by even something as little as taking an deep breath, there's a 'and what?' antagonist ready to go for it.
It just seems to be a widespread disease which sometimes makes me think it goes back to parenting and schooling. The ignorance, lack of respect or even just taking responsibility appears to be absent in more and more people.
I probably see it most on roads, like on the motorway. Someone wants to change lanes and rather than wait until it's safe to do so, they just pull out forcing you to brake as they gulp all your braking distance in one move. You can shake your head, toot your horn or flash your headlights and the popular reaction to it - regardless - is a middle finger or a snarling face out of the window telling to to eff off.
Common decency/respect no longer common practice it seems.
Edited by Glassman on Friday 18th June 08:07
It shows, big time, when out driving.
I let drivers enter a carriageway, slow down or flash them.
Allow others to enter my path in traffic, just generally give way all the time.
However, it's sad that I appear to be in a very small club of people that do it.
Just do not get the line of traffic one. I have had so many just come across my entrance and "stop", even in a tail of snail pace traffic.
Life has gone downhill rapidly.
I let drivers enter a carriageway, slow down or flash them.
Allow others to enter my path in traffic, just generally give way all the time.
However, it's sad that I appear to be in a very small club of people that do it.
Just do not get the line of traffic one. I have had so many just come across my entrance and "stop", even in a tail of snail pace traffic.
Life has gone downhill rapidly.
Glassman said:
Generalising.
People just seem to be aggressive and angry. Is it just in busy cities or built-up towns? For example, someone makes a mistake and you react by even something as little as taking a deep breath, there's a 'and what?' antagonist ready to go for it.
It just seems to be a widespread disease which sometimes makes me think it goes back to parenting and schooling. The ignorance, lack of respect or even just taking responsibility appears to be absent in more and more people.
I probably see it most on roads, like on the motorway. Someone wants to change lanes and rather than wait until it's safe to do so, they just pull out forcing you to brake as they gulp all your braking distance in one move. You can shake your head, toot your horn or flash your headlights and the popular reaction to it - regardless - is a middle finger or a snarling face out of the window telling to to eff off.
Common decency/respect no longer common practice it seems.
WHATCHU GONNA DO ABOUT IT?
Sounds like you might be a bit angry yourself and projecting a bit? Someone pulls out and you escalate everything with an angry reaction. People just seem to be aggressive and angry. Is it just in busy cities or built-up towns? For example, someone makes a mistake and you react by even something as little as taking a deep breath, there's a 'and what?' antagonist ready to go for it.
It just seems to be a widespread disease which sometimes makes me think it goes back to parenting and schooling. The ignorance, lack of respect or even just taking responsibility appears to be absent in more and more people.
I probably see it most on roads, like on the motorway. Someone wants to change lanes and rather than wait until it's safe to do so, they just pull out forcing you to brake as they gulp all your braking distance in one move. You can shake your head, toot your horn or flash your headlights and the popular reaction to it - regardless - is a middle finger or a snarling face out of the window telling to to eff off.
Common decency/respect no longer common practice it seems.
WHATCHU GONNA DO ABOUT IT?
Your post sounds like it’s mainly about your own responses to things that happen around you. If they didn’t upset you as much (which is all down to your own reaction) you’d be much happier.
El stovey said:
Glassman said:
Generalising.
People just seem to be aggressive and angry. Is it just in busy cities or built-up towns? For example, someone makes a mistake and you react by even something as little as taking a deep breath, there's a 'and what?' antagonist ready to go for it.
It just seems to be a widespread disease which sometimes makes me think it goes back to parenting and schooling. The ignorance, lack of respect or even just taking responsibility appears to be absent in more and more people.
I probably see it most on roads, like on the motorway. Someone wants to change lanes and rather than wait until it's safe to do so, they just pull out forcing you to brake as they gulp all your braking distance in one move. You can shake your head, toot your horn or flash your headlights and the popular reaction to it - regardless - is a middle finger or a snarling face out of the window telling to to eff off.
Common decency/respect no longer common practice it seems.
WHATCHU GONNA DO ABOUT IT?
Sounds like you might be a bit angry yourself and projecting a bit? Someone pulls out and you escalate everything with an angry reaction. People just seem to be aggressive and angry. Is it just in busy cities or built-up towns? For example, someone makes a mistake and you react by even something as little as taking a deep breath, there's a 'and what?' antagonist ready to go for it.
It just seems to be a widespread disease which sometimes makes me think it goes back to parenting and schooling. The ignorance, lack of respect or even just taking responsibility appears to be absent in more and more people.
I probably see it most on roads, like on the motorway. Someone wants to change lanes and rather than wait until it's safe to do so, they just pull out forcing you to brake as they gulp all your braking distance in one move. You can shake your head, toot your horn or flash your headlights and the popular reaction to it - regardless - is a middle finger or a snarling face out of the window telling to to eff off.
Common decency/respect no longer common practice it seems.
WHATCHU GONNA DO ABOUT IT?
Your post sounds like it’s mainly about your own responses to things that happen around you. If they didn’t upset you as much (which is all down to your own reaction) you’d be much happier.
These situations escalated when you got angry, work on that.
throt said:
It shows, big time, when out driving.
I let drivers enter a carriageway, slow down or flash them.
Allow others to enter my path in traffic, just generally give way all the time.
Driving into town along a single carriageay A road when it's busy it really annoys me if there's someone up ahead who slows or stops at every side-road, person coming out of their drive etc. They're letting one car in and causing a ripple effect that probably goes back 100 cars. Over and over again. I let drivers enter a carriageway, slow down or flash them.
Allow others to enter my path in traffic, just generally give way all the time.
Interesting topic. There are parallels between the anonymity afforded by a car and the way people behave on forums.
Best example I can give you is the News, Politics and Economics forum on here. Every discussion on there turns nasty. My favourite aspect is the way people will quote each other with a well-reasoned counter argument, but then almost always tag a line on the end to the effect of '...which makes you a racist b
d.'
We'd never talk to each other like that out in the wild, so why is it ok in here?
Best example I can give you is the News, Politics and Economics forum on here. Every discussion on there turns nasty. My favourite aspect is the way people will quote each other with a well-reasoned counter argument, but then almost always tag a line on the end to the effect of '...which makes you a racist b
d.'We'd never talk to each other like that out in the wild, so why is it ok in here?
I think it's bigger than all of the above.
I think since about 2008 onwards, people have never been so angry or divided. Social media exploded (I'm looking at your twitter) giving nobodies a global platform, then Brexit, now the pandemic.
Not forgetting terrorist incidents, notably from about 9/11 onwards.
More life pressures.
I think life is just a bit more harder to live than it was 25ish years ago.
I think since about 2008 onwards, people have never been so angry or divided. Social media exploded (I'm looking at your twitter) giving nobodies a global platform, then Brexit, now the pandemic.
Not forgetting terrorist incidents, notably from about 9/11 onwards.
More life pressures.
I think life is just a bit more harder to live than it was 25ish years ago.
People feel unsettled and at-risk. There's little optimism and the media pushed to you contains a lot of doom and gloom. It's not a constant presence so folk will appear "normal" but things can set them off. Like trying to get something done like travel somewhere, for some people. Meanwhile a bunch of other people don't share their turmoil, which then sets them off.
Edited by rodericb on Tuesday 27th April 11:15
devnull said:
I think it's bigger than all of the above.
I think since about 2008 onwards, people have never been so angry or divided. Social media exploded (I'm looking at your twitter) giving nobodies a global platform, then Brexit, now the pandemic.
Not forgetting terrorist incidents, notably from about 9/11 onwards.
More life pressures.
I think life is just a bit more harder to live than it was 25ish years ago.
Yep.I think since about 2008 onwards, people have never been so angry or divided. Social media exploded (I'm looking at your twitter) giving nobodies a global platform, then Brexit, now the pandemic.
Not forgetting terrorist incidents, notably from about 9/11 onwards.
More life pressures.
I think life is just a bit more harder to live than it was 25ish years ago.
The whole world is more complicated, paranoid, divided, angry, worried, and scared. Social media has just stirred it all up and allowed people to indulge their anger, fear, hatred, conspiracy theories, and so on. This has all put a lot more people 'on edge', has worsened mental health, and worsened peoples behaviour.
People feel entitled, people feel short-changed, people feel cheated, and now everyone has a platform to shout it from.
Zetec-S said:
When they get behind the wheel of their insulated metal box they become invincible.
Also this. It has been proven in numerous psychology experiments that ordinary and placid individuals have a complete (and often uncontrollable) attitude change when they drive a car. They can become quite dangerous and aggressive in a car, but they wouldn't say a word to anyone if they were face to face in a room.My driving style has changed over the last few years to one where I simply ignore the piss-poor behaviour of others on the roads. I never beep my horn, I don't shout anything, I don't even look at the offending driver. I just carry on with my journey. It isn't worth reacting to anything.
The last time I beeped my horn at someone on the road was around 3 years ago. He aggressively changed lanes in traffic just in front of me, and if I hadn't braked sharply, he would have clipped my front bumper as he came across. It was that close. So I beeped at him. He slammed on his brakes, came to a dead stop in the road, jumped out, and screamed "You ever beep at me again and I'll f
king kill you. What the fk are you gonna do about it anyway?".It was at that moment I decided it was totally pointless interacting with other drivers in any way.
louiebaby said:
Most of the people I meet aren't angry at the moment. Most are very smiley, and either give a cheery hello or stop for a little chat.
I normally only meet people when out walking the dog, and they're also out walking their dogs, so maybe it's related.
We should all get dogs. Probably.
Or maybe we should all communicate face to face and interact with real people more?I normally only meet people when out walking the dog, and they're also out walking their dogs, so maybe it's related.
We should all get dogs. Probably.
That seems to me to be the trend in all these discussions about the country being divided or people all being angry or whatever. The division is all online and in social media or on the media itself.
Most face to face contacts don’t involve polarised arguing about politics or Black Lives Matter or whatever else is upsetting people online.
I think this is the issue with much of this polarisation, people don’t have so much sense of community and human contact and we’re now identifying with (and arguing with) others online based on politics or social issues instead of feeling a sense of belonging in traditional social groups like the pub or church or family and friends.
This has been happening for a while but covid restrictions have made it worse.
Humans are designed to exist in tribes and cooperate with each other, not be isolated (due to pandemics) and argue online about social issues or politics.
What’s going wrong is people are becoming more and more detached from the core human experience of doing human things like helping each other and working together and having multi generational groups all together. Our role models used to be elders and community leaders etc and then they became celebrities and politicians and sportsmen etc who’ve mainly turned out to actually be a bit poor at setting examples.
Going outside in nature and walking your dog or whatever and having contact with other humans reaffirms our sense of humanity a bit.
El stovey said:
Going outside in nature and walking your dog or whatever and having contact with other humans reaffirms our sense of humanity a bit.
Yes.I have seen some fairly robust posting on local social media. When I have met some of these people in person, they have been very polite. One chap even changed the subject and wouldn't even engage on the subject that he is so verbose about online when I brought it up!
I suspect that many of the people who post angrily and selfishly on here are similar.
Cars give enough insulation from others that they are also "brave". Face to face, few people would want to risk an altercation.
Edited by MC Bodge on Tuesday 27th April 11:43
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