(Unsure of proper forum location for this thread)
Recently, I was reading a certain hostile email that was written in response to what the author perceived was an unsolicited email (spam). The author, we'll call him, William H. Asshat, was clearly in a volatile place when he wrote the response, and seemed to be completely irrational.
It made me think.
Clearly this individual needs to get control of his emotions, but is he like this all the time? Will he regret this outburst of raw emotion the next day when he re-reads his email or receives a well-thought rational response to his massive over-reaction? Was his hostility ignited by the subject of the perceived "spam" or is it simply a result of his own perceptions of a life perceived to be unfair.
I ask these rhetorical questions because I sometimes find myself losing my grip and giving into hostility. Several times on these forums I have gone back through my posts the following day and thought to myself, "god damnit ... clearly I let myself get emotionally worked up by another member and now I look just like Mr. William H. Asshat!" Than I end up hoping that no one noticed ---- but of course, everybody did.
It's true, people in general do bug the shit outta me and I certainly don't mind using superlatives to express this fact. Religion fascinates and infuriates me, and although I have gotten significantly better at controlling my hostility, it still manages to get the best of me once in awhile. In real life -- hardly ever ... but on this forum, I have found it's easy to let your fingers run wild - throwing out, what seems at the moment of anger, a good quip and a stinging insult ... only to feel completely embarrassed by it the next day.
Perhaps this is only me. Maybe no one else has this problem, but I do not want to be William H. Asshat, even if it is for only a moment.
I think there is definitely a time and a place for anger ... it's the uncontrolled hostility that I do not want.
Recently, I was reading a certain hostile email that was written in response to what the author perceived was an unsolicited email (spam). The author, we'll call him, William H. Asshat, was clearly in a volatile place when he wrote the response, and seemed to be completely irrational.
It made me think.
Clearly this individual needs to get control of his emotions, but is he like this all the time? Will he regret this outburst of raw emotion the next day when he re-reads his email or receives a well-thought rational response to his massive over-reaction? Was his hostility ignited by the subject of the perceived "spam" or is it simply a result of his own perceptions of a life perceived to be unfair.
I ask these rhetorical questions because I sometimes find myself losing my grip and giving into hostility. Several times on these forums I have gone back through my posts the following day and thought to myself, "god damnit ... clearly I let myself get emotionally worked up by another member and now I look just like Mr. William H. Asshat!" Than I end up hoping that no one noticed ---- but of course, everybody did.
It's true, people in general do bug the shit outta me and I certainly don't mind using superlatives to express this fact. Religion fascinates and infuriates me, and although I have gotten significantly better at controlling my hostility, it still manages to get the best of me once in awhile. In real life -- hardly ever ... but on this forum, I have found it's easy to let your fingers run wild - throwing out, what seems at the moment of anger, a good quip and a stinging insult ... only to feel completely embarrassed by it the next day.
Perhaps this is only me. Maybe no one else has this problem, but I do not want to be William H. Asshat, even if it is for only a moment.
I think there is definitely a time and a place for anger ... it's the uncontrolled hostility that I do not want.