Rage-monster: The turning

One of the most used of human traits is anger and I believe it has its place. Sure, it may not always be productive, however anger is certainly warranted at times. I know a few who would completely disagree with me on this, although I don't know anyone who has never been angry; if you're human then you have been angry at some point in your life - that's a simple fact.

I got angry the other day when I found out a drunk driver, driving at 150kph in a 60kph zone, ploughed into the back of another vehicle, carrying twin sisters, sending it careening into the path of an oncoming truck which slammed into it killing one occupant and putting the other into ICU. I got even angrier when I heard the drunk woman jumped out of her car and tried to flee the scene. What an asshole. It was controlled anger though, and measured also. I didn't rant and rave, abuse people or break things, I just got angry about the injustice in the world; my anger made no difference to the situation, but it felt right to be angry about the scenario. Afterwards, I moved on.

Anger provides and outlet of sorts, a way to release the pressure from inside ourselves, to vent it. I've hurt myself enough times to know a good old anger-vent can work wonders, with me usually by way of a tirade of swearing. Block your ears if you're around when I smash my thumb with a hammer.

I've put anger to good use over the years though, but it never changed me...I stayed me, just an angrier version, and then I found the way forward and got on with things.

Yesterday I watched someone get so angry all thought and reason seemed to disappear; the person wasn't able to think straight and so made some bad decisions. It's like the person changed into something other than what they normally were.

Rage-monster

Thinking on it, I can name several accounts here on Hive who allowed their anger, generally at the smallest of things, get the better of them and I watched them become...well, raving bloody lunatics I guess, at least here on the blockchain anyway, I can't speak for what they were like in the real life world...although, something tells me that these types are the same on and offline.

I've been contemplating what has to happen for a person to do such a thing and what results a person hopes to gain from allowing one's anger to get the better of them. It made me think about what some people turn into when anger strikes them and they allow it to escalate.

I believe it's important to consider the consequences of anger and to understand that it needs to be deployed in the right amount and at the right moment. Of course, it's also important to apply it for the right reason and to know when it's time to release it and move forward to more productive things. Holding onto it can cause a person a great degree of harm and the more one does it, the more damaging, and lasting, the harm can be. Turning anger into the motivation to push forward is one thing, allowing anger to turn oneself into something negative, twisted and vindictive is a whole other thing.

As I mentioned above, I've seen people become twisted by their anger allowing it seep into them and become a rot that eventually takes over and then...that's when they turn into, I'm not sure what, a bitter, twisted person rage-monster I guess, and then they push it outwards by way of attacks on others, hurtful dialogues, and other such things. Of course, it's always someone else's fault, never theirs...but it actually is their fault - they chose it.

Along with that comes the ruination of their Hive account most often. It's not an immediate thing, it happens over time and moves at pace with their vitriolic attacks on others. It's a predictable path, but a path they choose for themselves despite there being alternatives.

This all happens on Hive over the smallest of things...say, being asked to follow the rules of a community-space by the owner or admins of the community in question. I've seen it happen over a person being caught for plagiarism or post-recycling also. They do something wrong, get caught, get angry, turn into a rage-monster then the rest follows that familiar course to ruination. It's rather bonkers. Of course, it's not just on Hive; I've seen this occur in the real world also.

I thought I'd put it out there for you folks, the anger-scenario, and ask what your experiences may have been. In the comments below, feel free to comment about your own anger issue or a time in which you controlled it; you may even have a story about "someone else" to share if you're not keen to talk about your own personal experiences. Do you know someone who turns into a rage-monster when they get angry? How do you deal with rage-monsters when they raise their ugly heads? If you've got any thoughts feel free to comment.