Driving home just now I was listening to the radio. Over the air waves came the lyrical voice of John Tesh, doing his daily show, dispensing helpful advice to his listeners between songs. Today’s topic was anger. Do you ever get really angry at other drivers? Do you shake your fist or yell at them? Does your anger go from zero to fifty in a matter of seconds? Well, if so, you may have Intermittent Eruptive Disorder or IED. IED usually begins to manifest itself in early adolescence. It often takes the form of road rage, a desire for vengeance, or fury at one’s mate.
In my case, it generally involves a mad dash to the bathroom after a spicy meal, but I am glad to know that I’m not alone in my struggle.
Not My Tribe
The Myth of Middle Ground
Actually, per labeling, unless you mean irony in this post, I think, that hardly explains it…
I’ve never been one for the quick psychological profiling, though I have been known to do it as well. “Thin-slicing” is a tendency that is all-too-common these days, and often used out of context, for the quick define. Negative profiling occurs in times of stress, distrust, and/or gross differences of opinion. When abused it becomes a tool of suppression and ignorance in itself.
While road rage could be easily an example of IED, it also could be the culmination of many unseen events, and or a simple expression of rebuke towards the building of bad highways. It depends on the degree of the rage. A car horn is a warning. A gun made legal does not legalize its misuse.
A worse example of psychological profiling has been accused of the blind power of the Patriot Act as means of violating civil liberties. For instance, quick profiling measures are often used to sort potential subversives from citizens in air travel screening. Many ecologists have claimed to feel added to a watch list, akin to where Lennon and the FBI in days of old. Whereas it IS important to safeguard our nation from threat, screening should not be over-used to advocate extreme Nationalism, privatism, loaded politics, religions, nor bigotry and racism.
I, for one, have noticed in great, the degree to which amateurs (everyday folk like me) are quick to make heated psychological profiles of each other, especially concerning politics and social differences. Especially post-9/11. Media bombardment and paranoia I suppose are too blame.
I’ve seen gross psychological characterizations of Eric on certain websites, including a few that point at Wikipedia, as if encyclopedic knowledge gives validation to the accuse. Perhaps they are simple jests, yet overall, they are can also be construed as means of undermining his right to speak.
Counter-communications are quite sad if not horrendous. Eric receives a harassing letter in the mail that assaults his right of peaceful expression. I bet he received more than the one example he posted here, which is even sadder! Likewise, as Tony said, on different topic, these actions made me ashamed! (Difference being I took my questions off-line.) While my nick appears to safeguard anonymous assaults, it doesn’t protect friends from sharing loaded opinions towards my efforts, and even characterizations against your integrity, Marie. I mean, really!?! How disgusting!
Back to mental illness, writing, and profiling…
We all use our own personal methods of discerning – and indeed that includes a degree of psychological profiling. Yet – when it’s misused, it’s beyond being simple opinion, and becomes a form of ignorance, almost akin to psychological torture that often drips at the back of the mind of anyone when they feel mislabeled. It’s the silent injustice that cuts from within. …And yes, silences opinion and participation as well.
In the psychological arena, profiling often depends on depictions of others as suffering a multitude of descriptive traits: IED, obsessive-compulsive disorders, Emotional or Chemical Dependencies, bi-polarism, Depression, and more. At one level, mental afflictions are real – at another level – when described as labels out of context: absolutely psycho-babble and or propaganda. Tyranny of the mind versus Understanding.
In political arenas, it’s often watch-dog and whistle-blowers versus totalitarianism, nepotism, and band-wagoned complacency. At one level, it’s a celebration of citizenry and community involvement. On the flipside, it’s the potential violation of personal rights and foothold of corruption.
Somewhere in the fallout of understanding – name calling is often used. Yet, when humans try to speak in softer tones, they are accused of veiled actions. So HOW are humans ever to evolve when even doubts cannot be raised to question or have voice?
A few years ago I had the pleasure of filming a cocoon about to hatch. In process of making some simple adjustments the cocoon started moving quite erratically, thus engaging my eye and lens and I proceeded to film this event the entire day. Later, upon reading more about butterflies I learned the poor thing was nervous. And alas, I contributed to its fright. I finished the film as an elegy, although the whole incident was a metaphor for cinematic shutterings.
Making the film was quite ironic as I was working at home due to a quick resign from my first job opportunity with a commercial studio. They had just finished a large product, a documentary, and were in marketing stage when I joined on. The subject of the documentary was a local bar that was being penalized by the city council for violating rights of neighbors during an annual festival. Yet, when the cameras arrived to document this issue – ironically a riot broke out. While the filmmakers arrived to defend the rights of the bar, their cameras aided to its permanent closure. The filmmakers were aware of their impact, but not enough to stop the marketing.
Meanwhile in today’s news Josh Wolf has been arrested for video blogging…
How does one judge cause and effect? Can we?
What IS a person to do? Stand still? Hardly. The victimization of self and others is NOT something to endorse by inaction.
Personally I try to have some tolerance towards conformity when voiced as extreme polarities. Yet I do believe the answer lays in the words moderation and reform.
From your writings, Marie, I believe you feel same, but hindsight has taught me to guard even complimentary assumptions. So I will just say that usually you are one cool writer and say thanks.
Yes, variety is not always the spice of life. Sometimes it’s the very upchuck of it.
Sorry so many words today. I really dislike John Tesh. I miss the Talking Heads.
The solution… Change radio stations frequently!
Josh Wolf was released Monday afternoon. I watched the video in question for 5 minutes hoping to see a cop car on fire… then gave up…
The vast majority of the video is close-ups of people talking.
Focused on their faces and not anything in the background.
Thanks for the correction Jonah. He was released. The arrest was made years ago, and included serving time until his integrity and rights were proven. Point is, should he have been challenged at all?
At what line will we draw distinction from journalism versus opinion? Both (almost impossible to separate these days) are what Noam Choamsky coined as “Manufacturing Consent”. Chaplin made similar observe years ago in his classic film “Modern Times” when the factory gears nearly eat him alive!