Ah, Anger

If there's one thing I love about the internet, it's the absurd amount of anger. From cringe-inducing racist rants to unplumbable depths of self-loathing to rabid, mouth-foaming political self-righteousness, the internet has it all. And has it all in spades.

WARNING: I know I usually keep it clean around here, but parental discretion is advised for the rest of this post. It just comes with the territory.

Here's an experiment, if you don't believe me.
1. Go to a popular blog (no, this one does not count)
2. Read Comments

I guarantee you will find many, many angry comments. Maybe they are offended by what some random person they don't know wrote. Maybe they just think the author is a douchebag. Maybe they are just an angry dude. We may never know why people do this, but I will give a theory later, just hold on.

Here's another experiment that I'll go perform right now. I'm going to go look at the Washington DC Craigslist Rants and Raves Board and post some things that I find. Mind you, this will only be from the first 100 posts. I won't even look farther than that. Also, this would probably work with any relatively active message-type board, unless it's run by wussies who don't like to fight and also don't like to be called "faggot." Anyway, I'm going to go find some Craigslist posts. Be right back, hold on.

Okay, I'm back. I found some pretty good stuff but don't be surprised; These sentiments are perfectly normal and are posted day-in day-out all day long. If you've got kids near, now is the time to use the old earmuffs. Or if you're not reading it out loud, the eyepatches.

Good going asswipe, you won't get a recommendation. Plus if he finds out its you, you may be getting worse than dog poo on your computer. Could be vandalizing property charge on your ass. I hope you saved with your $115k income and not over spent it on women, hookers, cars, and a house you can't afford.

Fucker

The point is is that the Military is the biggest socialist program for pussies that feel they need to be babysat by government, because they can't fend for themselves against big scary governments, because they are pussies. Anyone that supports the military is a homosexual.

Ya know what, fuck you!!! And YOU TOO!! Who the hell do you think you are, saying stuff like that. Are you like the official CRAIGSLIST TROLL PATROL??!! What makes you think you are so superior and have such a keen eye for spotting anger-provoking posts? And if someone wants to get angry and reply in a hostile manner, why shouldn't they?! FUCK YOU!!! It is a public forum. People can say WHATEVER they want. If someone wants to try to provoke anger and idiocy then WHAT DO YOU CARE??? SO WHAT if the posts aren't real? WHAT THE HELL IS IT TO YOU?????

So who fucking cares if Bush goes fishing, good for him fuck New Orleans. It is a fucking shit hole anyway. The best thing about New Orleans was the tits.

And this is just a small sample. Don't get me wrong though. People discuss other things on the R&R board, too. Like sex stories, or even revenge fantasies, which actually are usually pretty angry, so never mind

Why do people post this stuff? That, my friends, is a very good question. My good friend Alex Blagg (what? I sent him one email and he responded. That means we're friends right? Right? ) has a theory. Basically, he thinks that these angry commenters are just that: angry commenters. And maybe they hate themselves and are idiots. But I think there's more to it than that. I think it is an addiction. Wait, wait, wait. Here me out. I know what you're thinking; You're thinking "No, that can't be it! Letting out your anger is cathartic! Once you let it out, it's gone. " Well, Mr. or Mrs. or Ms Smarty-pants, you're wrong. Studies have shown (I don't know which ones, just....studies, you know?) that catharsis is, ironically, not cathartic. Venting your anger actually produces more anger. The more you post angry comments, the more you NEED to post angry comments. Like most things, it's a viscious circle (NOT VISCOUS you idiots on Craigslist). Oh man, it's getting to me now. I better stop!

So, in conclusion, I don't know what this post was about. Anger and why we do it? I didn't really answer that, did I? I don't know why we start, but I do know why we keep doing it: It is fun to make other people mad.