Why do people get so angry, so fast?

[Drago]

Cubist is the winner of Drago's Chuckle of the Day award. Well done Sir.

 

[Cubist]

Seneca wrote a fair bit about anger, problem is that was a couple of thousand years ago!

Good call. "greedy for revenge, even when it drags the avenger to ruin with itself"

He makes some good points about controlling and channelling anger too. I shall go and read him more carefully.

 

[Fab Foodie]

Stress and frustration are almost always the source of seemingly inexplicable anger. I'll use myself as an example as I was guilty of it just last week:

But it's not inexplicable really - it's the stress and frustration from the house moving, the build up of work, and being further delayed whilst trying to visit a very ill father, and then some random lad trying to hit me up for money. Perhaps that man on the escalator was having a bad day. Or a bad week. Or a bad month. Sometimes - despite our best wishes - we simply can't remain cool enough to tut and grumble.

This, plus mental health issues for many, constant inconsideration, overwork, lack of sleep, constant small difficulties, the straw that breaks the Camel's back, all sorts of things as already mentioned. Life is complex and a worry for a lot of people. It's no surprise that people flip once in a while. I've certainly been guilty of it and for many years despite trying to behave and be polite at all times in public, I've reached the tipping point and disgraced myself in anger. I was commonly like it at home too which caused upset and family issues. Sometimes you just can't control yourself.
However, a year of major changes (Including recovery from mental illness) has made me a much calmer person with a waaaaay longer fuse. Calmer, less prone to frustration, a nicer, better person. Still mildly manic, but generally nicer.
When I see people now going off on one, I'm more likely to be thankful that it's not me any more.

 

[swee'pea99]

I've certainly been guilty of it

Yes, we know...

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIc4W6-c9l8

 

[Fab Foodie]

Yes, we know...

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIc4W6-c9l8

That really is/was me to a tee.....

 

[Pro Tour Punditry]

You shoulda turned round and decked Mr Shouty.

 

[SteveF]

 

[marinyork]

My impression was that he was about to push me back out of the shop. He may have been having a bad day, or he may obsess about rules and conventions. Who knows?

You get characters like that wandering around supermarkets in small numbers every hour of the day. People who work in supermarkets get to observe their behaviour on a number of occasions and then this dictates how they are dealt with on subsequent occasions (to the puzzlement of other staff that haven't met them or the customers themselves who quite often have no idea they've been rumbled). You get over a period of time a lot of car park fights, trolley fights, stand offs, graphic sexualised comments, prodding, pushing, poking staff, threats, swearing. Nothing is ever done about any of it challenging or questioning behaviours and supermarkets are seen as a very artificial theatre where normal rules don't apply and people can behave in certain ways and 'blend in'.

Unfortunately they are rarely banned from the shop if they do more serious things than the above.

 

[wheresthetorch]

so I settled for drawing myself to full height, and in my best Public Order voice told him to "Get hold of yourself you ridiculous little bastard.

 

[Glow worm]

When it comes to losing it, we're all amateurs compared to this bloke (BBC's John Sweeney)

 

[tyred]

A build-up of small irritations throughout the day can mean that some tiny thing that you'd normally brush aside can cause you to get disproportionately angry about it.

 

[NorthernDave]

On crutches at Leeds Station when I'd something similar happen. I offered to go back down to the security office to sort it out, but he just carried on shouting.

To be fair, trying to negotiate the shockingly poorly laid out station in Leeds is enough to try the patience of a saint.
The over crowded concourse funnels you into a congested main barrier area that seems specifically designed to bring as many people into conflict as possible, and then the single escalator onto the footbridge is insufficient and too narrow.

Especially when someone on crutches is stood on the wrong side...!

 

[MarkF]

I was turning right, across traffic, into Sainsbury's tonight, the gap was plenty big enough, but as I enter it, a big white real he-mans Audi decides to accelerate wildly, the car lifted at the front as he barrelled towards me, yet directly after me is a long queue of traffic, he is going nowhere anyway. So I slow down. Just as I move into the car park, he screeches to halt to avoid his own deliberately manufactured "incident", he's blaring out his horn, gesticulating wildly and screaming obscenities. Funny as owt.

 

[wheresthetorch]

I got beeped at tonight for being ever so slightly hesitant at a junction in Hove, as I wanted to make sure I didn't run anyone over, there being a lot of pedestrians and cyclists about. Funny thing was, the car beeped after I had made the manouevre - just wanted to get it out of his/her system I guess. Fortunately, I had just got back from a three night retreat at a monastery, so was in a relaxed and forgiving state of mind!

 

[srw]

I expect he's calmed down since.

He was murdered (or executed, according to taste) by Nero. Who was just a teensy bit shouty.