I’d specify that the specific type of male rage which the article is talking about is a sign of weakness.
We all make mistakes. We all get angry. Sometimes we get angry at other people when they make mistakes. Sometimes we can carry that anger with us for a long time. I can understand all this. I’ve done all these things.
What I don’t understand is this brand of masculinity that insists on continued anger, and on asserting dominance and control in a way that ultimately draws attention to weakness and fragility. It’s like we’ve empowered a whole slew of men to embrace childish behaviour in the belief that it makes them seem powerful.
That’s a very different thing than just general “rage”. Sometimes rage is an appropriate reaction to a set of circumstances. Personally I don’t think men have many things that are worthy of raging about compared to women, but that number is nonzero.
Personally I don’t think men have many things that are worthy of raging about compared to women, but that number is nonzero.
Personally, the things that make women rage usually also make me rage even when the victim is not me. And there are a bunch of things that should make anyone rage.
Sorry, I should have said “things exclusive to men”.
In Buddhism there’s a difference between anger and wrath.
A tad bit more western, there’s Seneca’s “Of Anger”. For the Stoics any emotion that dulls, no matter how slightly, rationality and thus wisdom is a vice, generally summed up under the term passions.
The virtuous way to go about is is to find whatever righteous indignation there is, let wisdom dwell on it, if it indeed was righteous then act, which will be indifference (because you realised it’s immaterial / you can’t do anything), forgiving, or cold-blooded (whatever of the two achieves the goal) but never anger. Wisdom got involved, it can’t be.
What definition of rage are you working off of? To be honest, it sounds like you’re talking about general anger.
I’m using the article’s definition.
If you are unable to control your rage, justified or not, its still weak.
Being able to take your anger and channel it is strength, not giving way to it…
Yep
here’s a link directly to the article, instead of having to scroll through a bunch of unrelated stuff: https://www.halifaxexaminer.ca/morning-file/male-rage-is-a-sign-of-weakness-not-strength/#V2
looks like the main post link is updated now. thanks Sunshine!
Yeah boys, anger is a fear response, not proof you’re tough.
It’s… Not? Anger is a response to you feeling wronged by someone or something. In the case of the article, dude prolly felt entitled to that spot. Was it dumb? Of course. Was it due to fear of anything? I’d wager a guess that it wasn’t
I disagree entirely.
Testosterone and never being taught emotional regulation techniques is a hell of a combo.
When I was first starting to work through deeply repressed childhood sexual abuse related trauma I was a fucking menace.
The only people that I really think understand how much of a liability being juiced full of testosterone in society would be trans women who have faced hrt scarcity. The stories she told me about the night and day difference in her ability to process things was very interesting.
My boyfriend was raised by his parents to appear strong and to obey, even if he disagreed or if doing so was harmful to him.
And that type of childhood resulted in disparity between his actions and his feelings, which he is still trying untangle.
while noting your experience, i do think it’s good context to have that testosterone for trans men / transmasc folks can also improve their ability to process emotions and also generally their temperance (and personally, estrogen just makes me a goddamn wreck; i get depressed, irritable, cynical, etc)
(i worry that the anecdotes you’ve heard from trans women may be a little biased, as well 😅 i personally tend to think it’s more about the right hormones, than what they are)
there’s plenty about trauma itself that causes behaviorial instability. hormones may be a contributing factor in some situations, but i question how universal it is
Despite all my rage, I am still just a 5th level mage… :(
Despite all my rage, I’m still a bacteriophage.
Found the science person.
Hah, not that kind of science. But I am quite pleased with myself
Would have been 6th level, but you just had to dip into barbarian.
Nothing is as weak as being unable to control your emotions.
I’m my experience my rage was less anger at something and more frustration at being unable to produce the proper emotion for a situation. I feel that it’s likely true for many men because as always we weren’t raised to feel. Thanks John Wayne loving Boomer parents.
They heard the song but never listened to it
Wow, this really hit home for me. While I’ve never been the type to yell at people in parking lots, I was a very angry teenager. Over the years, through self-improvement and a lot of introspection, I’ve learned how to manage it. If this resonates with anyone else, just know that it does get easier with practice and reflection. But the key is that you have to want to improve and take control of your emotions. Most of the time, it’s best to just stay quiet and walk away—it’s not worth it. You always end up regretting the outburst.
Can confirm, I’m quite weak and rage-y
The loudest baboon has the smallest balls.
That’s not true tho… is it?
It is for howler monkeys
https://www.science.org/content/article/big-testicles-mean-softer-voice-least-howler-monkeys
Huh thx. Imma use this.
Oh shoot, thanks for the update, I’ve been saying baboons for months lol
There is a certain type of man that always dismisses women as too emotional for leadership/management/politics then proceeds to explode at the slightest provocation.
Being emotional isn’t always a bad thing. Expressing it isn’t always bad. But have some fucking self awareness.
The man in the story is an asshole and weak for sure.
I really hate the idea of saying having any emotion is a sign of weakness though, even rage.
Having emotions is fine. Failure to regulate yourself while having them is weakness.
That I can get down with👈😎
How else are we going to bully and abuse men if we can’t characterize their normal and rational human emotions as the very thing they are most afraid of being!?
/s
There’s a reason this type of rage is colloquially known as impotent rage.
or over compensation rage
For the most part, probably.
Male rage is a protective response. It is not weakness, it is strength. But it also travels with stupid, which is weakness.
