What is Internet Road Rage? My definition is that you are willing to engage in hateful, spiteful language aimed at someone whom you either don’t agree with ideologically/religiously/politically/any excuse to vent, or a counter attack to someone who got on you or your ideas.
Here is the caveat. You most likely wouldn’t act or speak that way in person or to someone’s face with that tone or language. Most of you have either more self-decency in person or a survival instinct that would prevent you from getting your ass kicked.
Worse, you could or are likely a Porch Dog, one who barks severely, but is no real threat. In other words, you yap by tapping the keyboard but pose no intellectual threat.
ACTUAL ROAD RAGE
Most people have road rage inside them. Here is how it works:
Polite drivers may think that dialogue like that is the territory of deranged, out-of-control, or terrible drivers, and maybe they’re right. But according to a new survey from AAA, most drivers in the United States display signs of road rage. So too bad, you supposedly polite drivers.
The survey, published today, polled 2,705 drivers 16 years old and older about their road rage habits. Seventy-eight percent of drivers—more than three-quarters—reported engaging in some kind of aggressive driving maneuver, including tailgating, yelling, honking, gesturing angrily, purposely blocking another vehicle, cutting someone off, confronting someone, and intentionally ramming another car.
The breakdown of each category was fairly unsurprising. Fifty-one percent of drivers reported tailgating at least once; 47 percent reported yelling at least once; 45 percent reported honking at least once. The more bats**t responses—confronting another driver and ramming another vehicle—polled much lower on the list.
INTERNET ROAD RAGE
There is every flavor in the book, more than I can write about. It started with email flaming. As soon as forums or ideological websites like Quora, Instagram, Facebook, The Huffpo, Fox News, etc., etc. The net of it was that people were able to transfer their hate to others online. The comments are mendacious, eviscerating and frequently ad hominem attacks that most wouldn’t do face to face.
I call B.S. as most of those people are cowards and wouldn’t stand up to others in real life. There are of course some that do speak their minds, but they generally have more of a life than pissing on each other online.
What would the other person do? Back in the schoolyard days, you say something like what is written almost everywhere now and you’d have to fight. Most people don’t like to fight and there are a few who know very well how to protect themselves. I’d even bet that a lot of folks who are right wingers fully explore their second amendment rights. Who wants to walk into that? There are some who would be very able to kick your ass and would.
WHY DO YOU DO IT?
I use the word you in its’ plural and direct form. I’m pointing at everyone who reads this because most of you have crossed the line when someone pissed you off.
The reason is that you envision some curtain of invisibility or invincibility because you are typing to a screen. You wouldn’t say it in person, or wouldn’t say it that way. Therefore, you are either a coward or a bully. Most people lose considerable IQ points when you think this way.
So stop it. Grow up and act like an adult. Be big enough to pass over some typed letters of venting. More than likely, there isn’t enough reason for responses that are so harsh. Before you type it, imagine saying it face to face and see if you would do it, or risk either your reputation or an ass whooping.
Delusions of Adequacy 