Anger Shootings - Can we No Longer Control Our Anger?

originally posted by: Iamnotadoctor
I'm still tipping it has something to do with cranial density on both your parts if you cannot understand the link between feeling far more powerful holding a gun than you would if you just had your fists.

I see. So now you, and your amazing psychic ability, was actually able to determine what the Original Poster really meant even though she posted the opposite of what you claim.

Thank you, Miss Cleo, but that is not the case. We are discussing anger issues, not the tool/method of dispensing ones anger.

originally posted by: DBCowboy
a reply to: Benevolent Heretic

I think that people have become so thin skinned that they take offense at any and everything. It's a symptom of a societal weakness.

This is a great point, too. People seem to be just LOOKING for things to be offended about. And instead of being strong, and understanding that everyone has their opinions and are entitled to them, so many feel threatened by different opinions.

If we all felt grounded and centered in who we are, we wouldn't be nearly as threatened by people who are different from us. We don't HAVE to be offended just because someone is different.

Again, social media plays a part, IMO. It's so important to be "friended". People get their self-wroth from that crap! The more followers, "friends" and re-tweets they rack up, the more esteem they have. Unfortunately, when you get your self-worth from something elusive and meaningless, it's VERY easy to have it diminished when those things are gone.

People get all kinds of offended and angry when someone "unfriends" them, because their self-confidence suffers. That goes to your idea of "societal weakness".

Great stuff!

.

a reply to: Benevolent Heretic

Great point. When people depend on social media for their self worth, then they aren't grounded!

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

I guess you didn't understand...

originally posted by: DBCowboy
a reply to: Benevolent Heretic

I think that people have become so thin skinned that they take offense at any and everything. It's a symptom of a societal weakness. It has nothing to do with guns but it has everything to do with how people respond to others.

It has nothing to do with "societal weakness" either. People have been killing people forever over perceived slights. In fact, I'd argue that it was more common in the past. How many people died in duels for instance? Alexander Hamilton was in like a dozen of them.

originally posted by: Iamnotadoctor
... if you cannot understand the link between feeling far more powerful holding a gun than you would if you just had your fists.

Oh, I totally understand how one feels more power with a gun than without. But what is missing in the person that he feels powerless in the first place? THAT is my focus. What's wrong with society that people feel so powerless? Only a weak person takes being cut off while driving as a personal affront and feels it's necessary to do something about it, like kill someone?

And PLEASE, can we have a discussion without the 'brain density' insults? Why attack people's intelligence just because they may disagree with you? You're talking to one of the smartest people on the board (AugustusMasonicus) and intelligence is not in short supply with either of us, frankly.

Getting angry and trying to offend someone with silly intelligence insults, simply because they disagree with you, is EXACTLY what I'm trying to address. So, why do you lash out?

a reply to: theantediluvian

So this is nothing more than human nature? A flaw in our civilized society? You may be right. Perhaps that has always been a weakness in human society.

I think the problems with our modern society are multi-faceted. I don't think we can pin it down to one thing. We literally live in the proverbial "rat race". Even ignoring the drugs, and the food-like substances we consume daily, our lives have become a pressure cooker of stress from trying to keep up with everything going on. Add to that, our media sources are built on distressing and disturbing news, and our social media, as has already been addressed, is impersonal and a buffer between us and reality.

It goes without saying, more and more people are going to snap. Especially if they don't get away from it all, and form strong relationships with other people in person. We aren't maturing as a society. We actually seem to be regressing in some ways. It's not a pretty picture or statement.

a reply to: theantediluvian

Yes, people have been killing people forever, but for accidentally bumping into someone? And having a proper draw-duel is a different animal altogether than pulling a gun on an unsuspecting person, just because you're angry.

It's hard to say how common it was then as opposed to now, but I suspect there's an underlying difference in the reasons and means that they're doing it today.

Realizing the fact that so many people are armed, drugged, drunk, equipped with a hair trigger mentality, stressful situation like rush hour traffic, easily offended by trivialities, what we have here is....

A prescription for disaster, mayhem and murder everywhere you go in America.

Knowing this fact, it might be prudent not to antagonize ANYONE because they in fact could be looking for someone to take out their aggression on with a firearm, sharp stick or their fists. Stand your ground mind set personified and distorted into a "I'll get them before they get me" attitude.

We have crossed the American Cultural Rubicon into a new age of fear, paranoia and insanity. And we ain't seen nuthin yet!!!!

a reply to: theantediluvian

Just another thought, even if this is an inherent weakness in human culture, perhaps this weakness is being exploited by social media.

originally posted by: HighDesertPatriot
a reply to: Benevolent Heretic

IMO, it is due to the fact that this country is no longer a place of opportunity for most people. The government has become so oppressive that people don't feel like they are in control of their own destiny any more. By oppressive, I mean all forms, from the overbearing laws that regulate every iota of our lives, to the weariness that comes from being at war forever, to being conditioned to live in fear of "terrists" and whatever else.

Good points. I agree.

People can't be themselves without worrying about "offending" someone with the wrong word of phrase when some kind of legal consequence is entirely possible.

But why are people so afraid of offending others? Everyone gets offended. It's not something we can stop. People can be themselves! Look at Donald, as you mentioned. He's being himself, yes some people get offended, and we move on. It's one thing I really like about him. He doesn't do all this political apologizing that we see so much of. I don't agree with what he says (I actually think he's a jerk), but he doesn't let the sensitivity of others change who he is and I love that.

I'm just going to let the rest of your post go, as I don't agree with it at all. But no problem! I have a healthy self-esteem.

I think you are trying to put rational thought to people that are not thinking rationally.
Why did John doe kill himself?
His mind wasn't thinking clearly.
this is the same situation.

a reply to: Klassified

Excellent!



a reply to: olaru12

I was wondering if anyone else was feeling the way I am, and I see they are. It's the "interesting times" curse, I'm afraid.

a reply to: Benevolent Heretic

The people of society reflect the leadership. You can call it God's law or a psychological phenomenon that has been noted and understood since Plato.

Our leaders believe arming rebels and killing is a way to solve diplomatic problems. As long as our leadership see murder as a moderate resolution of differences, the citizenry will reflect our leaders.

originally posted by: Isurrender73


Our leaders believe arming rebels and killing is a way to solve diplomatic problems. As long as our leadership see murder as a moderate resolution of differences, the citizenry will reflect our leaders.

America has always been a warrior country. We worship and respect violence. Look at our heros, our entertainment, our sports...... And we always settle our differences with violence; even to the extent of invading countries and killing their citizens, that actually posed no threat to us. Is it any wonder that that mindset permeates the culture and society in general? Winning is the only thing that matters.

God help us!

10 years ago, nobody I knew carried a gun...now everyone does. Even me!

a reply to: DBCowboy

I'd say that society was historically more permissive of killing over things like insults and honor — wherever and whenever you look in the world — be it ancient Greece, medieval Europe, feudal Japan, the American West of the 19th century, etc. Hell, there are plenty of places in the world TODAY where nobody bats an eye at a person killing another person over an insult and even within modern American society there are particular groups that demand it (the Mafia, gangs, etc).

Everything anyone does is a combination of biological, developmental and cultural factors and circumstance.

Plenty of people with poor impulse control who believe that not responding to a slight (real or imagined) with violence is a display of weakness. I imagine that both of these things are probably true of the murderers in the OP.

This showed up on my FB page today. Got to admit I laughed, but -- seriously, folks?

a reply to: Iamnotadoctor


You should keep replying, it's hilarious.

Very interesting subject! And here's my $0.02...

I think there are three major contributing factors to this, some very long term, some shorter term.

1) US culture is steeped in violence. It could be argued that violence is worshiped in this culture. We see it everywhere, both subtly and flagrantly. How do most (not all, but most) parents teach discipline to their children? Through violence and threats of violence. How do police forces mostly operate? Violence and the threat of it. The US has the best military in the world, and that is what the military is all about - violence. It is built into how we talk about sports and business... how many times has one team "crushed" or "destroyed" the other team? Violence, and fairly explicit violence, can be viewed by anybody on prime time television (as opposed to for instance healthy expressions of sexuality, which is deemed obscene). Note that this is not a moral judgment of the situation, merely an observation of the reality. But there is little room for argument that the US culture is a very violent one.

2) As has been stated earlier, the utter failure of the Supply Side Economics experiment, begun in the 1980s, has resulted in more people being more frightened more of the time due to simple economic pressures. Since anger is a derivative emotion of fear, it's easy to see how frightened people can become crazy-angry at the drop of a hat. And when somebody can spend their life working diligently and still lose everything due to corruption on the part of somebody they don't even know, fear is ever present. And that's not even taking into account the fear being pumped into the culture daily... fear of drugs, cops, Muslims, disease, "immigrants", you name it.

3) It is my belief that the rise of smart-phones and cameras, pushed to the culture the way they have been, has resulted in a substantial increase in levels of narcissism in the culture. For example examine the "selfie" picture phenomenon. People go to great lengths, and do really stupid things, just to take a picture of themselves doing it, so they can "share" it.

So I think these three factors, working together, are a large part of the problem. Easy access to firearms may aggravate the problem, but such access is not the root cause. The root cause, I believe, is more that people are frightened pretty much all the time, for both real and made-up reasons; there IS a degree of entitlement (not in the way this word is usually used, though) felt by a lot of people; there IS a tendency on the part of people to not consider others, or to think what is going on with them is way more important than anything that could be going on with anybody else (how often do people stop to talk in a group right in front of a doorway to a public building?), and behind it all is the reality that growing up in this culture means a person has been steeped in violence and the threat of same for all their lives.

The result is predictable. Not pleasant, not good, but predictable.