CeeJay
Well-known member
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- Nov 20, 2013
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I wrote a paper in graduate school that was predicated on the notion that anger is not a feeling, but rather a strategy or manipulation designed to change behavior of others.
Pretty much all "feelings" can be attributed to reactions to events that are beyond our control. Sadness comes from a sense of loss. Fear from perception of impending doom. Love from a sense of uniquely rewarding affiliation. Joy from strong satisfaction with what is going on around you.
Strangely enough, none of these natural feelings are unique to humans. Both research and common observation have clearly demonstrated that nearly all but the simpler organisms demonstrate sadness, fear, joy and love. What those same animals don't demonstrate is anger (snarling tigers and grizzly bears are not angry, they are hungry). And, perhaps that is because anger requires a cognitive process where the behavior of others is evaluated and found to be unnacceptable; thereby triggering an over the top reaction that has as its primary reason for being; to get the other person to change their behavior. Just ask yourself if there was ever a time that you got angry and could not relate it to the unnacceptable behavior of others (or yourself as in hitting your finger while trying to drive a nail or chopping onions).
So, yes, some people get angry during debates, (though most do not.) But, in my view, that anger, when expressed, is is a choice and not a natural feeling. Attempts at manipulation rank pretty low on my scale of acceptable human behavior. There are a lot of things that people might do well to lighten up over, but giving in to manipulative outbursts is not one of them, in my view.
People who see a need to defend their right to use anger as a tactic are likely to see things differently from me. The "ignore" feature is here for a good reason.
I find my view to be opposite to yours entirely. Anger is perfectly natural and derives from the opposite to " Joy from strong satisfaction with what is going on around you."
Anger is not always a tactic , though it can be.
But on a forum it would be quite the opposite for some people who may lose a bit of control over their cognitive process as as the red mist descends.
I am put in mind of "bezerkers" who did use anger as a tactic ,but in a physical sense ...though it would be interesting to see what a vikingr beserker would make of a forum ...LOL
Provided that the anger does not descend into abusive invective and openly insulting language then a free and frank exchange should be possible and
allowed.
Sometimes it really does feel like having to tiptoe on egg shells and then you stare in amazement at some of the lofty and outrageous things that are written by other contributors.
Furthermore , it is often not "anger" that gets one into trouble but the quip or put down to someone else that is either taken too seriously to heart .....I mean at the end of the day these are just conversations.....
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