Thus, if one has no form of hostility, one either does not care much in the first place, or does not blame much in the end.
I don't know, Neo. Anger is a stress reaction. It's physical and emotional. Like Yogi said, you either experience it of you don't. I understand why people can and do have an anger reaction to the kind of situation you describe. After all, you don't contemplate a scenario and then decide that anger is what you'll feel. The anger just happens.
Anger happens to me mostly when I'm taken by surprise. I'm well trained and practiced in roles--facilitation, mediation, investigation, management--where one must retain equanimity when others might react with anger. I also spent a lot of time in my youth applying my own invention of cognitive therapy to some inappropriate emotional responses from which I suffered. Perhaps after all these years a lack of practice has withered my anger response mechanism. I'm very oriented towards solving problems. Anger is not a useful tool in problem solving. I certainly don't miss it.
I understand your point about not caring or not blaming. I care plenty. That's not the issue. Perhaps there's something about blame, though. I "attribute" the problem to the "evil-doers" but I don't put much energy into "blaming" anyone for the problem but rather on solving the problem. Once again, that could be my training. Punishing the responsible party is less important than assuring that it doesn't happen again. Often that assurance is gained through punishing the responsible party, but often not. In this case, Osama's head on a stake will certainly contribute to solving the problem and I'm looking forward to that event. Because it will help solve the problem, not out of retribution, although retribution is fine, too.
Surely I'm not the only person in the world who is anger challenged. What about the Buddhists? They learn to be mellow when those around them are angered. What about the people who forgive? I don't think I've ever forgiven anyone for anything. Yet some people will forgive the person who murdered their child. Boggles my mind. Or those who hate the sin and not the sinner. That's a respected religious approach to evil-doing.
So, I can't say you're mistaken in the way you view the matter. All I can do is offer examples that exist in the world that don't fit your model and suggest that your model is not the only one.
Karen |
