Rage Addiction
Family (group) ethics, etiquette, values, norms, behaviors, and beliefs that are tied to the protection, nurture, and growth of the group often excite the passionate mind to fight, flight or freeze. The highs and lows of these emotions have a legitimate use, for heroics may be required for survival. Pity the clown who gets between a bear cub and the mother bear. Rage has a purpose, and a price.
Rage is addictive as are many of the emotions tied to group survival. So much so that the rage addict seeks out or invents an incentive for rage. The cycle of rage addiction can be described in Karpmann’s Drama Triangle in which the player rotates between victim, rescuer, and prosecutor. Victims require villains, of which there are three types: the vicious, vindictive, and voracious (formerly bastard, bitch, and brat) each the dark side of the protection, nurturing, and innocence. Villains require heroes of which there are three types: hero, heroine and helpless.
The rage addict wears hero’s masks and paints all others in villainous colors. Dressed as such, a single addict can rotate through all the roles. The suicide bomber hits the jackpot: plays rescuer, prosecutor and victim all in one blast. He strikes a blow a blow against the villains and is lauded as a hero. Or that may be the last thing that goes through his mind. Literally.
Rage addiction is contagious which normally excites counter-rage which differ only in detail from the donor, except the stakes get higher on each round of rages. Countering rage with more rage is like putting out a fire with gasoline. Not a good idea.
Nagasaki and Hiroshima plus the fire bombing raids over Japan in 1945 brought about a palace revolution by Emperor Hirohito who knew when enough was enough. Hitler stuck to his rage and raged at the German people for failing him, then taking his own life. It is fortunate for the world that Americans have as much compassion as passion, and enough reason to counter rationale.
The first step is to put the make public the cycle of rage addiction to show the sentient amongst us to reveal the real intent and purpose of rage addiction as peculiar to the addict, and not to the faithful at large.
