Why are we all so angry lately?

In reply to Boost_Crazy :

#5 is great if you're allowed the chance to talk. As it is now, any dissent from whatever the topic is means you get "cancelled". I've literally had people doctor comments and send them to my employer to state I was racist. That was 2 years ago and it's only gotten worse. People deep dive. They call and harass employers to get people fired because they don't believe whatever it is you do. If you are right in your belief then why is it necessary to destroy someone else's life? 
 

this place has always had the smartest and (for the most part) open minded people. But these last 2 years? To be honest we don't know because we aren't allowed to discuss the hard topics. And it's happening all over. There are few places that the real discussions that need to happen are allowed to happen. It sure isn't any social media platform. 
 

and you ask why people are angry? You're not allowed to talk. To speak. To discuss the things that need to be discussed for you to move on with your mental health. You force people to stuff it all inside and let it rot. Then you're surprised that people are angry? I'm surprised people are stupid enough to not see the obvious. 

In reply to bobzilla :

The last few years here are a complete 180 from what it used to be. Discussions used to have all sides and opinions, without getting heated, but now you get shouted down for any opinion based on your username.

'There are people here that make huge assumptions about the people on the other side of the screen, not realizing we are all probably more alike than you'd think. There are people that have said things to me here, they'd never say in person, some of this I know, because I've met them, they just don't know it.

I'm not angry but my patience is being tested. I've never had such trouble trying to buy things or get work done. 
 

My thoughts are people are angry because their ideas are reinforced to them through the way the internet algorithms work to keep people engaged. The internet leads you down the longest rabbit hole ever created. We have become less open to different ideas and the ability to debate differences. The internet allows people a sense of anonymity that allows us to say whatever we want without regard to others emotions. I think we have three stages of being mean over the internet, then the phone and finally in person. It's all a slippery slope to madness. 
 

All day every day the news channels, sports, politics and even the weather is has a constant yelling dialogue. I see the anger in my some of my relatives who spend too much time on the internet and different news stations. 

In reply to Steve_Jones:

I of course agree. 

I do (I think) have the distinction of being the only person (?) who have been threatened with bodily harm, in a thread, because I dare to respect the life accomplishments of someone (who was very accomplished) that does not agree with this persons political interests (and not necessarily mine either).

I do miss the old discussions... but this is the path of the world now.   My "hope" is that it has gotten so absurd now, that it will swing back?  I don't know.  It's just sad.

Andy Neuman said:

 

My thoughts are people are angry because their ideas are reinforced to them through the way the internet algorithms work to keep people engaged.

Aziz Ansari has a 30 min netflix  special "Nightclub Comedian. " 

Anyway, in a part of it he says basically the people on the 'other side' are just trapped in a different algorithm than you.

It's pretty topical to this thread, so it might be worth a watch. (disclaimer: NSFW, Funny)

First, I wouldn't say that I'm necessarily "angry"...I'm tiered, frustrated, and concerned but I've managed to keep my head above water (didn't lose my job, continued to accumulate wealth, nobody in my family has gotten COVID, etc.) so I'm not "angry".

We're now on page six and I think there have been many, many great observations but the single best one landed on page five by aircooled that is pushing me towards "angry" which is the issue of "silence".  There are so many things that I consider to be a matter of fact and yet I'm forbidden to discuss them...should I dare, I'll receive significant repercussions.

I'm an engineer by education but my career (thirty years since leaving grad school) has focused on statistical analysis and it has been so frustrating to not be allowed to share what I'm seeing.

I don't begrudge GRM's  policies at all, they make good sense and if I were in a leadership position, I'd likely call for the same...however, this is the only social media site I really frequent (not big on FB etc.) so my knowledge is silenced.

I recently heard someone say that it took humanity thousands of years to figure out that adding a handle to an axe would improve it and yet the internet is less than thirty years old...we're on an epic learning curve, this is really dangerous stuff, be awesome to each other folks.

I'm trying to keep positive and pushing forward but the current seems to get stronger everyday.  Work has been wonky for a while but seems to be coming around to some semblance of a former normal.  Long time friends that went way off track on conspiracy rants have stepped down off their soapboxes but family members have felt the need to "speak their minds" by insulting and personally attacking other family members and ranting like little kids after climbing up on it.  Kids are doing better with in person learning but their class mates are acting out in ways we haven't experienced previously.  I'm tired and have dropped off the board here for a bit but am working my way back after taking care of some long standing personal things weighing on me.  
I appreciate you all here both those I've met personally and those I've only interacted with online.   Thank you all.

I think most of us here are wound too tight. Me included. It could  be because of Covid or the supply chain or the crazy economy. Maybe its the nasty political discourse the media cranks out 24-7. 

It's too bad we all couldn't get together once a week and drink beer until we are all E36 M3faced. It's been a long hard couple of years for all of us. 

Snowdoggie (Forum Supporter) said:

Where I live, traffic has tripled...

I posted this just a day ago. Just tonight on the way home from work my Mustang got rear ended in the insane Dallas traffic. My neck and back are still sore. I was light headed and in shock for a while. The wanted to call an ambulance for me but I didn't want to get stuck with that bill. I managed to get the car five blocks down the road to my house. I am just mentally numb now. Merry Christmas to all.

And the E36 M3storm goes on...

In reply to Snowdoggie (Forum Supporter) :

I'm sure you don't need me to tell you, but please be extremely cautious of possible injury after an accident, even if it's minor. Get checked even if you don't think something is wrong. Sometimes things take a while to present and can get worse over time. Took almost six months for doctors to figure out why my symptoms were getting worse, and a year later I'm still not right. 

In reply to Snowdoggie (Forum Supporter) :

Yikes, I am so sorry to hear about you getting rear ended. I hate that we all have to avoid medical tests for fear of costs. I hope you stay well and recover OK from the wreck. How's the Mustang??

I have a theory - it has to do with how we communicate.

We (humans, I mean) miss a large part of the message if the data is communicated in writing only. Communicating thru voice only (old school phone meeting) is better and video call (teams) is better still. But it is still not the actual, real thing.
- "When I mentioned how I screwed that up, did Bob laugh because he is my buddy and he has done the same thing? Or did he laugh because he is a dick and thinks it's funny when I berkeley up?" 

- "Did my boss just blow me off when he called and super-fast asked to cancel our weekly 1on1 because he is so damn busy? Or does he trust me and rely on me so much that he doesn't feel he need to manage me that closely?" 

After a while, it wears on you. 

I love working from home. I will never, ever again waste time and money on driving to an office every day. But one must remember that when it comes specifically to communication and interaction, there are shortcomings. 

barefootcyborg5000 said:

In reply to Snowdoggie (Forum Supporter) :

I'm sure you don't need me to tell you, but please be extremely cautious of possible injury after an accident, even if it's minor. Get checked even if you don't think something is wrong. Sometimes things take a while to present and can get worse over time. Took almost six months for doctors to figure out why my symptoms were getting worse, and a year later I'm still not right. 

I don't trust doctors. All they really want to do is run up your bill. Our health care system is a disaster in this country. I see what it did to my mother and my dead younger sister. Don't ask about Mrs. Snowdoggie's $2,800 MRI that wasn't covered by her health insurance plan.

My back was sore and I was stressed before the accident. Getting whacked from behind isn't going to help that. Being over 60 isn't going to help that either. Most drivers here in Dallas will run you over then laugh at you. The car that supposedly ran into the car that hit me hit and ran. The car that hit me said it was my fault because I stopped at the red light and claimed she had a witness. Everybody making excuses. Bull berking E36 M3. Gotta go to work this morning. I don't get sick leave or paid time off. So much wrong here. 

It's so funny. Yesterday at noon I was talking to Mrs. Snowdoggie about how I might possibly turn my stress level down. I am grinding my teeth at night and have stress related stomach problems. Then I was reading this thread. This was before the accident last night. Berk me. Why am I so angry? Let me count the ways. 

Should I see a therapist? "You are stressed because of money problems. We could discuss this further but your health insurance only covers five sessions. Here is my hourly charge, please pay in advance."

HaHaHaHaHaHaHa! Sometimes life is a joke.

Lobsterpennies said:

There once was a cafe/ bar I frequented from the time I was sixteen for at least a decade. Everyone was welcome race religion political beliefs sexuality, didn't matter. All topics were up for debate discussion. The one rule was don't be an shiny happy person. Behave like a civilized human being. And I am being literal. There were republicans,democrats gay lesbian,construction people white collar blue collar etc etc. If you got out of line all of us would kindly or maybe not so kindly show you the door. I learned a lot in my time there because I could say "I don't agree with you, these are my thoughts beliefs, prove me wrong". And we didn't always agree, but we respected each other. I think this kind of discourse is severely missing in the world today.

There was a time I would have described GRM exactly like that. 
 

Not anymore. Some people couldn't handle it. 

aircooled said:

In reply to Steve_Jones:

I of course agree. 

I do (I think) have the distinction of being the only person (?) who have been threatened with bodily harm, in a thread...

Randy showed up on your doorstep, too?

dculberson said:

In reply to Snowdoggie (Forum Supporter) :

Yikes, I am so sorry to hear about you getting rear ended. I hate that we all have to avoid medical tests for fear of costs. I hope you stay well and recover OK from the wreck. How's the Mustang??

Haven't looked at the car yet this morning. Not sure it is that bad. Her car is worse. My trailer hitch put a hole in her bumper. The rear license plate got pronged. The bumper is marked up, but, as they say, that will buff out. I think I actually got it worse than the car. 

I had a book written about why I'm so pissed off these past 15 months, but, I've decided it's probably better not to put that story on the forum, even though most of it is already in the rant thread if you dig deep enough. 

Let's just say I'm angry because justice doesn't exist, and it affects myself and my family very personally. The media doesn't care, the higher ups in law enforcement don't care. But I had better never seek justice on my own despite the failures of the county and state. 

Appleseed said:

aircooled said:

In reply to Steve_Jones:

I of course agree. 

I do (I think) have the distinction of being the only person (?) who have been threatened with bodily harm, in a thread...

Randy showed up on your doorstep, too?

Don't know if it was Randy, but I think it was a drunk Canadian(!) who was convinced I worked in the defense industry(!)

I wouldn't say I have been angry myself, but definitely a bit frustrated.  Not COVID, that has not affected me that much (may even have made things better in some ways!).  My frustration is mostly with local (fortunately generally not super local) conditions.  Mostly with the homeless and crime situations.  Both of which have clearly and obviously been made worse by those in power. My hope is that it has become so super obvious that what they are doing is actually enabling / encouraging such things, that maybe things will change.... hopefully.... maybe...

• 24-7 partisan news cycle stoking divisiveness 
• Rampant misinformation rampaging through social media
• Disregard or doubt in scientific data and knowledge of subject matter experts
• Large corporations maximizing profits shrinking the middle class
• Employers mistreating employees 
• Economic headwinds for many people (eg student loan debt, rising home prices)
• Lack of common decency in discourse due to "keyboard warrior" behavior 

Eliminate all social media and a third of our problems would go away.

Reinstate the FCC fairness doctrine and another third would disappear 

Finding a way to curtail corporate greed and get execute pay vs worker pay ratios under control is really tough. 

In reply to Snowdoggie (Forum Supporter) :

That stinks.  Hopefully the damage isn't bad.

One thing I miss about driving an old pick-up truck.  My old Toyota had an extruded aluminum rear bumper I had nick-named "the immovable object" since it had been hit about four times and whatever contacted always came out of the encounter worse off. That bumper looked the same when I sold the truck 9 years later. 

One interesting trait I see is a sense of fear and how fear seems to manifest into anger. Maybe that is one reason I don't really feel that much anger. I literally have no fear of anything or anyone. Unfortunately, I'm not sure that is all that healthy. A complete lack of fear also means I don't really have much motivation. 

mblommel said: 

Eliminate all social media and a third of our problems would go away.

This guy knows. Other than Discord I've been totally ignoring all social media. It's nice.

Edit: This got me hopping back to FaceSpace to see what's up. Forgot how great the enablers group is.

In reply to PunchyWrench - Ed Higginbotham :

I decided to do something about FB's influence on my day, but I didn't want to do without it. The vast majority of the people on my friends list aren't, they're an acquaintance. Anyone who posts political nonsense is getting "snoozed" for 30 days, and I don't discriminate between red and blue. If their idea of political "discussion" is hitting a share button from their favourite biased political page then I don't need to see it.  Out of 278 folks there are only around a dozen snoozing right now and my stress level is down after a week of doing this. I leave alone anyone posting pics of grandkids or what they had for dinner, etc and I can still interact with my friends and family. There are lots of car stuff pages out there to explore.

mblommel said:

• 24-7 partisan news cycle stoking divisiveness 
• Rampant misinformation rampaging through social media
• Disregard or doubt in scientific data and knowledge of subject matter experts
• Large corporations maximizing profits shrinking the middle class
• Employers mistreating employees 
• Economic headwinds for many people (eg student loan debt, rising home prices)
• Lack of common decency in discourse due to "keyboard warrior" behavior 

Eliminate all social media and a third of our problems would go away.

Reinstate the FCC fairness doctrine and another third would disappear 

Finding a way to curtail corporate greed and get execute pay vs worker pay ratios under control is really tough. 

Ahh yes. Student loans. Have you ever heard of the Smith and Wesson Student Loan Forgiveness Plan? It's the only plan out there that doesn't require the act of a split Congress to enact. Kind of plays havoc with the current labor shortage though. And it only cancels the Federal Loans. Private loans actually last longer than you do. Transplant organ brokers are standing by.

Mistreating employees?? The last guy I worked for had a taste for Peruvian white powder and prescription Adderall. He had problems with anger. Didn't like it when I was late to work because I had to change Mom's diapers. Nuff said about that one. Glad I don't work there anymore.

Reinstate the Fairness Doctrine? With 400 cable channels and satellite radio, every nut in this universe and some alternate universes will get a turn with the Equal Time law. Not sure I want to see that happen.

Eliminate social media? You still have reality TV and screaming talk show hosts on the radio. Eliminate all media and the crazies will come to your front yard and scream at you through a megaphone. They will post signs on your yard and stickers on the gas pumps at your local service station. They will block the streets. I think that horse left the barn a looong time ago.

Curtailing corporate greed? Shades of Che Guevara and Gordon Gekko! Maybe it's just human nature. I don't know. Employee beatings will continue until morale improves. Don't mind the collection agency dudes hiding in the bushes. They are just here for your car. We have great bus service here. Don't forget your mask.

Going back to my cube to hide now. Soon it will be quitting time and the crazies will all be tailgating me home, focusing on my smashed rear bumper for a rematch.

Angry? Who me? Nooo. Maybe just a little bit crazy and my health insurance won't pay for any more sessions. Just like everybody else out there.