Sometimes I’d like to just kick someone in the balls. Really.
Yes, I get angry, but I mellow out.
North Americans are an inpatient lot. With or without the pandemic, many people are showing many senseless forms of anger and violence over the craziest of things. Just got back from a self-manual car wash. Long line up so I got in front of a spot being used and waited. 8 minutes go by and the fella leaves so I began to move forward to the spot. Suddenly someone far to my left decided it was his turn and rushed forward nearly hitting my car. I reversed allowing dingle-nuts to proceed with his car wash. He gets out of his car and throws a multitude of obscene gestures my way. 4 minutes later he drives away while giving me the finger as he passed. Angry I was, even frustrated.
California has become famous for many things, particularly the many common road rage incidents. People are showing their anger, frustration, and prejudice in many ways too. Hitting innocent people, assaults on Asian Citizens, further road rage, and thought revenge assaults and killings. Beating up people because they looked at you in an unacceptable manner. The violence that can be expressed in a better way, dealt with through logical methods often explodes into unthought, often spontaneous actions of injury and destruction. I once saw two employees talking. One told the other he had a hot daughter, upon which the other stabbed him with a fork. They knew each other for years and appeared to be friends. Why the hate then? Can our society actually know how to deal with its pulsing social and private emotions, overreactions, and spontaneous outbursts of rage?
In the past societal rage was hidden by circumstance, private or social efforts. People knew about the deaths of indigenous children but covered it up. We know that a neighbor beats his wife and children and does nothing. A neighbor is an addict or alcoholic, but we do nothing about them driving while under the effects of the drugs. We seem to be predisposed to reacting to unsavory situations by ignoring, and detracting from them. Our responsibility is to ourselves and our loved ones. Everyone else is on their own. That is until one of these people injures or influences the lives of someone we know. Our society has major failings. One of the greatest is the ownership of our lack of true social responsibility to others. Canadians love to speak about the many stories we hear about New Yorkers not helping their fellow citizens, but Torontonians have often watched violence occur while only standing there with their phones out video enacting.
There has never been a time like today when a person is so assaulted by just about everything. Receiving 32 calls each day from some charity, or political party looking for donations. Prices everywhere going up, and we truly still do not know why. Too many reasons out there pinpointing causes for our anger, and we seem to be more eager to express the anger these days. In the past losing control was an embarrassment, but not today. Today it’s 15 minutes of fame and possible fortune too. The existence of multi-media options and social media influences have created a set of people ready to achieve by being bad. If one cannot be famous for achieving good things, doing something destructive, and acting badly. After all our media today is just full of bad news. Nations that cannot get what they want through diplomacy get angry, and many thousands die. Even our national governments do things contrary to promises and directives made long ago.
I don’t know what to tell you. There are moments I’d like to feel the rush one feels when you beat, cheat, and possibly harm someone, deriving some sort of personal justice. I then remember who I am, and what I am supposed to be for others…a neighbor, friend, mate, assistant, and helper. Yeah, I think highly of myself, and that’s good since I don’t hear any applause from others.
Steven Kaszab
Bradford, Ontario
[email protected]
