Why people are so mad in airplanes and in stores right now

[ShazzieB]

A Harvard psychologist explains the rise in passengers getting violent on airplanes and customers abusing retail workers: People have reached 'a boiling point'

- Passenger violence on airplanes is spiking and retail workers are experiencing customer harassment.
- Fear and anxiety activates the fight-or-flight part of our brain, a Harvard psychologist said.
- Now, after a year and a half of being on edge, many people are reaching a "boiling point."

Violence on airplanes is spiking. Retail and fast-food workers say they're being harassed and assaulted. And small business owners report experiencing frustrated customers whose patience has evaporated.

All of this behavior is the result of a year and a half of fear and anxiety, according to Luana Marques, an associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.

"We've been skating thin ice in the past year, and if the weight [becomes] too much, the ice cracks. I think that's what we're seeing," she said.

https://www.businessinsider.com/violence-on-airplanes-in-stores-explained-harvard-psychologist-2021-7

No comments to add, except to say I found this to be a very interesting read, and I think it makes a lot of sense!

[AZLD4Candidate]

1. People also act and subconsciencely view the personal beliefs as part of who the are

Therefore, any challenge, especially when they know they are on the wrong side, will bring out fight-or-flight.

[msongs]

2. seems like there's only one social segment cracking and what they have in common is TFG nt

[dweller]

3. right, I'm not seeing left, woke segments raging against

A server, or a clerk, or on planes, etc …

✌🏻

[Bernardo de La Paz]

19. +1. . . . nt

[uponit7771]

22. +1

[roamer65]

4. It's that selfish MEist side of Americans that is oozing out.

All about ME…what I want…what I need and you had better do it NOW.

https://m.

[Skittles]

7. THANK YOU

I have managed to go my entire life without ever acting like an idiot in public and my temper is very easily triggered....it's just that I am NOT A SELFISH ASSHOLE.

[2naSalit]

15. +1

[Merlot]

5. I'm going to have to disagree with the Harvard psychologist

I think there were people who always wanted to act out this way (and probably do so at home) who feel they are being given the green light to act out in public. They're being egged on by certain politicians and certain elements of the media. They are playing the victim card because their guy didn't win.

[uponit7771]

23. +1

[tanyev]

30. I have wondered if with lots of sensible people still staying home as much as possible,

the jerks are now a larger percentage of any public gathering and this also emboldens them.

[vercetti2021]

6. Oh boo hoo hoo

GTFO yourselves if you can't handle a mask. I've reached my boiling point today when my mom nearly got ran off the highway for having an anti Trump sticker on her car. I swear if I see any asshole having a bitch fit or get violent. I'm gonna send them to the hospital. That's where I've gotten now

[betsuni]

8. People who hate change and blame everyone else for everything are being egged on

to be violent. Before they leave the house they're already defensive and angry, spoiling for a fight.

[GulfCoast66]

9. I don't get the anger at Service workers.

Or anything for that matter.

The last year has seen our household income cut in half. I’m still furloughed from work although my healthcare is covered. I’ve picked up a job but it pays less than 25% of what I made.

Granted, the wife earns a great income.

But I’m not mad. Well, except at the 40% of Americans who won’t get vaccinated and keep me out of work. But taking it out on people who are just doing their job? People are also drinking more alcohol. That explains part of it.

[Earth-shine]

10. They are learning these behaviors from watching each other on the news and internet videos.

We are learning the wrong lesson -- that is more socially acceptable than ever to be angry, violent, and to demand one's self-asserted rights.

I am someone who has always believed that violent movies and video games teach people to be violent.

[brewens]

11. They want it to be over but are the reason it is not. They can't back down now and join in

helping the rest of us. It has to kill someone they are close to, and even then, some will still be in denial.

[Wounded Bear]

12. I guess 30 years of RW hate radio and Fox trash talk had nothing to do with it...

[lindysalsagal]

36. Rush limpaugh schooled them well. and radio broadcasters got richer

and these fools are mentally and emotionally 5th graders.

[ScratchCat]

42. Yeh, I have to listed to my 74-year old mother

Refer to times in the past when "we had more freedom". This is a woman who went to segregated schools until 12th grade(when the State court integrated them) and couldn't vote vote until 1968 when she was 21. She knows what she ways isn't true, but "the guys on the radio" have been telling her that for 20 years everyday.

[burrowowl]

13. K&R, interesting!

[Blue Dawn]

14. Sorry, I'm not buying it.

I have felt the frustration of living during the pandemic while also struggling with chronic severe pain. I have no cartilage left in either knee and must have knee replacement surgery on both knees. On top of that, my body is stiff and racked with pain daily from arthritis. I have excruciating pain whenever I take a step. I cannot sleep well because every time I turn over, every time I move, the severe knee pain wakes me up. I haven't worked in over a year, so finances are a stressor. I really have to fight every day just to stay upbeat, grateful, and hopeful. It isn't easy.

So, it seems that, according to this article, I would be the perfect candidate to have meltdowns and to act like an overgrown, spoiled rotten brat. After all, I do feel frustrated....and I am anxious....and I have fear of the future....and I sometimes feel that I have reached the end of my rope. I should be having meltdowns every day!

But I don't. I treat people well. I show respect to others. I am civil and kind. I have always been this way. I have never believed that I have the right to treat a person rudely just because I am dealing with difficult things in my own life. I am not a narcissist or a sociopath. I believe that no one has the right to mistreat anyone else. I cannot imagine in a million years acting like these entitled Cruellas and Atillas that I see in the news on a daily basis.

I agree that many people may be at a boiling point, as the article says, and I agree that life is pretty tough currently. However, I believe the main reason we are seeing so many people go ballistic is because TFG made it an acceptable thing to do. In fact, I believe these jerks are actually proud of themselves.

Nothing justifies their reprehensible behavior. Nothing.

[2naSalit]

16. +1

[Duppers]

21. Amen, sister! Preach it!

I hurt every day too but I'm sure not as badly as you do.
I have a torn meniscus in my rt knee, severe bursitis in my left hip, was recently diagnosed with spinal scoliosis which causes my L leg to be shorter than my rt one. Add insomnia, arthritis, and CFS/ME (CFIDS) to all of this. No wonder sleeping is a problem.
However, I know a sweet DUer here who practically cannot walk, so I'm not inclined to feel very sorry for myself.

Good people are never nasty to others just because we feel bad. That's just a sick, narcissistic excuse.

[betsuni]

25. Their grievances are imaginary, yours are real.

[Scrivener7]

28. Great post but oh, my friend, you gotta get that knee done.

Are you seeing a doc and planning it? I know that right now is not a good time in many places.

[North Shore Chicago]

29. Thank you for posting.

Here is hoping you can manage your pain. My elderly mother had extreme arthritis in her hands (crooked fingers) When I lived at home, I would rub her hands with Icy Hot every evening.

One day, POOF! her pain disappeared. Not advertising that product but it was such a transformation, she still had crooked fingers but no searing pain.

[lindysalsagal]

37. I'm sorry you're suffering. Horrible.

[2naSalit]

17. I think it's just assholes being assholes...

And they expect to get away with it.

[BannonsLiver]

18. I blame summer travel for the airline part

I went through DFW and MIA in the last 2 weeks and both places were crawling with families on summer vacation. Stressed parents. Stressed kids. More strollers than you can count. I saw a line for Starbucks in DFW at 6:30 am on a Saturday that had to be at minimum an hour long.

So we’ve gone from 1st to 4th gear while skipping 2 and 3. That’s the airlines fault. They weren’t ready for the volume. And neither was the airport infrastructure. As I told my wife, we must have been out of our fucking minds to try and fly this summer. We flew out to Oregon in April and it was bliss.

[madaboutharry]

20. The majority manage to behave like decent people.

There is no excuse for mistreating other people because you are experiencing fear and anxiety.
These people acting out, throwing tantrums, and attacking employees are immature jerks. I’m not going to try and understand them.

We are all coping with this pandemic without being abusive to those around us.

[Kaleva]

24. Close to 3 million Americans fly every day.

https://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/by_the_numbers/

[no_hypocrisy]

26. Tell me about it. I'm a cashier at a food emporium.

You never know what's going to set off a customer.

Example: I'll be finishing with a customer (e.g., they're paying) and the next customer moves ahead prematurely to take his/her place. When I deferentially ask that he/she return/step back to their prior place b/c I'm still working with another customer and b/c of six-feet distancing, he/she can instantly snap at me or worse. Don't tell me what to do! I remind them that it's for their safety. They don't care. They want service now and how dare I order them when they have $500 worth of groceries on the belt. If I'm really unfortunate, they go to Customer Service after the transaction and tell management how "rude" I was to them.

[Scrivener7]

27. Bullshit. It's all republiqans who are testing out their leader's instructions.

He has told them to go out and do whatever the hell you want, other people don't matter. They believe him and this is the result.

[bullwinkle428]

31. Can we include driving behavior on the roads and highways?

In my 40 years of possessing a driver's license, I've never seen as much tailgating, speeding, and otherwise hyper-aggressive acts of maneuvering as I've seen over the past year or so.

I'm the kind of driver that gets on an interstate highway, sets cruise control to 70 mph, and stays in the right-hand lane. Previously, I would probably get passed by 85-90% of the drivers on the road. Now, it's more like 98-99% of the drivers going by me. People will come up from behind on a basically empty highway, and ride my bumper for miles. I could go on, but I have to believe others are seeing the same thing...

[milestogo]

33. My insurance tracks my driving using my cell phone.

I honestly think it makes me a better driver.

BUT, I can't count how many times I am doing the speed limit in the right hand lane and someone is less than a car length behind me, impatient and fuming. Then they pass me, and we end up next to each other at the next stoplight. I get an obscene gesture flashed at me for driving the speed limit.

[milestogo]

32. Because they are selfish, immature, and lack empathy.

[PJMcK]

34. Wow, that psychologist got in the news!

Good for Dr. Marques.

Still, this "finding" is bullshit.

I've been under the same conditions as nearly everyone else in the United States. I haven't caused trouble on a plane or anywhere else in public. I wear my mask in public and indoors when necessary. I got vaccinated. I maintain social distancing. I go about my life and business calmly and without interfering in anyone else's life.

Meanwhile, these "Karens" are acting out like infants and thugs. They deserve our scorn and whatever legal remedies they receive.

E pluribus Unum. United, we stand. Divided, we fall. These so-called "patriotic Americans" need to learn this basic truth as well as some simple manners.

[lindysalsagal]

35. 44% of mcDonald's employees have been abused for enforcing masks

At the same time, they were tasked with carrying out one of the most complex social aspects of the pandemic: enforcing mask mandates. A survey of 4,187 McDonald's workers from last summer conducted by the Service Employees International Union found that 44% of respondents had been physically or verbally assaulted over mask mandates.

Workers say the abuse hasn't let up, even as mask mandates have lifted in many parts of the country. A Starbucks barista in Louisiana recently told Insider's Mary Meisenzahl that the "handful [of customers] that you get each day who will berate or abuse you can take a drastic toll on your mental well being."

[we can do it]

38. Bullshit. The same whiny assholes have been mad for decades.

[róisín_dubh]

39. I'm flying back to the US on Wednesday.

While I'm unconcerned about my international flight, I'm genuinely worried about my domestic flight. I wish I could drive, but there are no one-way rentals to be found anywhere.

[Aristus]

40. It's what happens when coked-up howler monkeys are given clothing and allowed to be

in the company of human beings...

[maxsolomon]

41. Humans are Apes. Very intelligent Apes, but still Apes.

We vary in how we handle stress. Some do it well, and some act out like children throwing a tantrum.

Covid Lockdowns have been a pressure cooker. At some point, it gets too much to bear.

I believe the Biden Admin knows this and that's why you saw a push to allow unmasked gatherings in July.

Of course, some petulant, childish Apes had to refuse to help the troop, and now we're back in the pressure cooker. Hence the tantrums, flinging poop and screaming.

Sorry for mixing those metaphors...