Your Addiction to Outrage is Ruining Your Life
The anger feels so good, but it’s insidious
In 2020, outrage is the latest drug of society. It’s more acceptable than alcohol and it’s more addictive than anything you can swallow, smoke or inject, because while heroin or methamphetamine are clearly harmful, anger feels so damn righteous.
After all, that other political party is ruining the world. Their supporters hate America (or whatever country you’re in). People are too selfish. We’re not doing enough for the poor. Women don’t have enough rights. Men don’t have enough rights. Those people are racists. That group doesn’t recognise their privilege. The president is a rapist. Capitalism is exploiting everyone who isn’t the 1%.
Outrage is like a lot of other things that feel good but over time devour us from the inside out. And it’s even more insidious than most vices because we don’t even consciously acknowledge that it’s a pleasure. — Tim Kreider.
We love being angry, because it makes us feel smart. It makes us feel like we care more than the next person (who we assure ourselves doesn’t care enough), because we’re more across the facts than they are. That we…
