Aggression Behind Humor
“You’re fired” said the signs as people danced in the streets. Some Democrats are now expressing their feelings toward the president with a mixture of triumph, humor...and aggression. While strong feelings do press to be discharged, the expression of hostility is rarely helpful. It is provocative, and serves to create further distance between those with different viewpoints.
Another mix of hostility and humor is found in political cartoons, which often portray their subjects negatively. Some, such as the cartoons in the French magazine Charlie Hebdo that depicted Muhammad negatively, caused distress to many Muslims (and provoked a terrorist attack during which several of the cartoonists were killed).
Hostility is One of Multiple Mental Pathways
We all have multiple reactions to events, each of which has its discrete mental pathway in our minds. Each of those feelings, unless suppressed by stronger competing feelings, will be expressed in one way or another: often just by thought, sometimes by words and sometimes by actions.
How Can We Discharge Tension Without Doing Harm?
We could try to confine our negative feelings to thoughts, rather than speech or action, but that would be hard to do and the strain would only increase our stress level. But if we could focus on one of our positive pathways, such as the pathway of curiosity (why do others think the way they do?), we could override expressions of hostility; and in so doing, we would feel more comfortable. My complimentary Tool can help. In Step 3, you can wish for a new mental pathway dedicated to helping you focus on the positive reactions that you have to situations.
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