Why is everyone so angry?

[mrnoodle]

Lately, I've been noticing that people seem to be on short fuses. Is my perception wanked because I am stressed myself, or is there really a crisis of patience brewing?

I noticed it just now, as I went for a break. I had written the following for the hippo pic in IOTD, but hadn't pushed "post":

ENOUGH WITH THE DAMN GUILT, ALREADY.

You want water? You got to it before the hippo? Cheers. Hippo out of luck this go-around. If death bothers you, don't look at pictures of things dying. I have news for everyone -- stuff is born and dies pretty much independently of your existence. You and all your family and everyone you've eaten a meal with in the last 20 years could drop off the face of the planet tomorrow and not affect the annual mortality of hippos by 8 decimal places.

This "every time you eat a Big Mac, a kitten dies" mentality is dreck. We might kill ourselves off, but "The Planet" is pretty much immune. In the time you spent grieving about the hole in the ozone layer today, you could've written a letter to your mom and made a day of HER 77.3 years a little better, you narcissistic tool.

The topic of that reply isn't the important thing here. What struck me is that I never used to be so cynical. Now, 90 percent of the responses I make look like that at first, and have to have the vinegar edited out once I realize my knee is jerking. My actual thoughts on the matter are, "Yeah, people are wasteful, but you don't have to be so shrill about it. We're all just getting by the best we can." Why do I feel like I have to fire both barrels all the time? Why does it seem like everyone else feels the same way?

So, here's my theory. Life has gotten too easy. Humans are programmed for hardship -- we're physically unfit for real survival, except for a sense of community and a brain big enough to design things like air conditioning and packaged foods. But, since most of that stuff is taken care of (YMMV), we really don't have anything to worry about other than emotional issues.

As a result, our hardship-deprived minds key in on every perceived obstacle or irritant, inflating it to epic proportions and demanding that everyone around us take note of our displeasure and Do Something About It, or at least commiserate with us. Victimhood is bigger business than ever. You can be a victim of anything, from lousy cell phone coverage to some ancient wrong visited upon your ancestors.

Everyone has real problems, of course. Loved ones die, people let you down, stuff breaks and can't be fixed. But when asked to point to someone who's serene, 9/10 of us will point to a cancer patient, a victim of violence, someone living in poverty or some other horrible condition. They really have it rough, and perversely, are often happier than we are. Their minds are consumed with finding happiness instead of finding something to bitch about.

I'm blathering on here. But back to the initial question: What's everyone so pissy about?

[lookout123]

oh screw you and your stupid lofty questions, asshat. we are dealing with real problems here.


or i could say....

no anger here. i don't really get angry that often. although, sitting at the black jack table last week i got fed up with a woman from new york sitting next to me and i calmly looked at her and said "die bitch, please, just die" and i wasn't kidding. seeing as how she sounded like Fran Drescher and wouldn't shut up, was that an angry request or a measured response?

but seriously, i think cellarites tend to get more angry and antsy in our discussions when we don't have any really weighty issues to discuss. seriously, think about it. what emotional involvement could we possibly have in discussing someone's dialect or accent? and yet, some tempers apparently flared. in most cases tempers didn't really flare when talking pre-election politics.

[BigV]

Originally Posted by lookout123

...clip--i got fed up with a woman from new york sitting next to me and i calmly looked at her and said "die bitch, please, just die" and i wasn't kidding. seeing as how she sounded like Fran Drescher and wouldn't shut up, was that an angry request...--clipped--

If she really sounded like Fran Drescher, then somebody has to die. It's really not that important who, her or me. It's gonna happen.

[Queen of the Ryche]

You are so right! I notice it when I drive, when I consume, when I work, when I vacation, when I go for a walk. I think we're too used to instant gratification, and we're overcrowded to the point where we get in each others bubbles so much that we irritate each other. That's why I'm getting outta L.A. - everyone seems to be on edge - hoping for a nicer pace of life where I'm going. Then I can get back to being my usually happy peaceful self. Most people think there's something wrong with me because I don't complain, I smile way too much, and it takes a lot to get me down.

[Pie]

Originally Posted by Queen of the Ryche

...we're overcrowded to the point where we get in each others bubbles so much that we irritate each other.

90% of humanity's troubles could be cured by a 80% reduction in population. One of the many reasons I'm a member of the Voluntary Human Extinction Movement.

[Perry Winkle]

In my case it's pretty much exactly what you said: "Life is too easy." That's why my plan after I graduate in May is to take a pretty big step outside of my cushy world.

Well, I disagree with the "life is just a bowl of cherries" theory. Come on, if life were that wonderful, why would folks have any reason to cop an attitude in the first place? If you want to look to anthropology for answers, try looking at the Polynesian peoples. Nice tropical climate, plenty of good food, nice ocean, lots of free love, and great sunny attitudes until the white boys showed up. I don't think the human species evolved to be unhappy. And sure, you can find an occasional person whose entire family was murdered by drug crazed members of some cult or a person living at 300% below the Federal poverty guidelines who is being evicted from his home who is somehow happy as a lark and quotes Anne Frank, saying "I think there must be some good in everyone." Generally, such individuals have severe personality disorders and should be locked up for the good of society, let's face it.

I think the reasons for the animosity you see on the Internet are:

1) Its really pretty impersonal. You don't see the person you are replying to. Its just words on a computer screen. Outside of road rage, people are at least minimally civilized to one another in real life - mano a mano.

2) People feel powerless to do much about issues that really upset them and may even impact them personally. Fine, you read all about the hole in the ozone layer and then find out that your aunt is dying of a melanoma. Is there much you can do about this? Not really. You can join 10 worthy environmental causes and tithe 10% of your paycheck to cancer research, but you're still going to be attending your aunt's funeral in about 6 months.

So, some innocent posts something about "stupid environmentalists". Its time to go in for the kill big time! After all, its just the computer, right?

[ashke]

I beg to differ on the point about people who face hardships do it serenely. Maybe this is only a personal experience of mine but my grandmother, who got a stroke, afterwards bemoans her illness all the time. Sometimes, I think it might be her sense of helplessness since she can't walk around much anymore (and even then painfully). It's understandable but not every person in the midst of hardship is going to be serene or happy.

[footfootfoot]

what's an asshat?

[Happy Monkey]

Originally Posted by footfootfoot

what's an asshat?

Someone with their head up their ass.

[footfootfoot]

Originally Posted by Happy Monkey

Someone with their head up their ass.

Ahh! And you'd think I, off all people would know that. :smirk:

[BigV]

Originally Posted by footfootfoot

Ahh! And you'd think I, off all people would know that. :smirk:

Perhaps you're more familiar with the term "dark room"?

[elSicomoro]

I haven't been around enough lately to notice, but I can assure you that my patience and spirits are high, as usual.

[Clodfobble]

I think it's the time of year as well. Everyone hates August.

It's fuckin' HOT, and it's the only month without a federal holiday, for starters.

[DanaC]

Marichiko Hiya! didnt know you still frequented the cellar
I dont think people are angrier now than they ever were. Maybe we just have more ways to express it these days. We can come online and have a bloody good rant if we want to. .....Hell I feel like having a rant now! :P