Comments on: Online anger

By: Lorna

Lorna — Wed, 21 Jun 2006 22:46:50 +0000

good point …

By: joeturner

joeturner — Sat, 17 Jun 2006 21:33:38 +0000

Sorry for the tangent…

I think the christian subculture pervades even blogs by christians. But you’re right, sorry for taking this in a direction it wasn’t intended.

By: Karin

Karin — Sat, 17 Jun 2006 17:09:21 +0000

Hmmm. Perhaps what Joe says about some churches or some people in some churches giving the impression that certain emotions shouldn’t be felt or experienced by Christians is the reason that the certain internet bulletin board you were thinking of feels the need to have that special area set aside where people can be angry with each other.

Of course repression of anger and other ‘negative feelings’ doesn’t just happen in churches and the internet can seem like a place where we don’t need to feel accountable and may be able to avoid the consequences of expressing anger etc. There is a chance that the person you were unpleasant to doesn’t know where you live or where you drink, so they can’t come and thump you like they might in real life.

Should the internet provide more anger management courses, I wonder? What if it were possible to make someone’s pc log in only to an on-line management course if they had been abusive on a website??!!??

By: Dave

Dave — Sat, 17 Jun 2006 09:56:08 +0000

Chorister – interesting point about the Psalmist. He obviously can’t have minded people using his angry songs sung all over the world seeing as he made them into a songbook. At least, I assume he did. My Biblical knowledge is sketchy in that area.

Michelle – no need to apologise. Sidetrack-edness is a virtue in my book.

By: Michelle

Michelle — Sat, 17 Jun 2006 07:05:04 +0000

Sorry Dave, got a bit sidetracked before with general anger! Thinking before you speak is definitely advisable when posting on the internet… long after your anger may have cooled – there it is, still visible for all to see (and to assume it still reflects your feelings/perspective).

By: Chorister

Chorister — Sat, 17 Jun 2006 05:40:02 +0000

I find it very difficult to get angry about anything written down on a bulletin board – obviously my brain hasn’t yet been fully assimilated into cyberspace.
But I take your point about using the net to express our anger about real life situations. I guess sometimes a public display is the only way to feel you’ve been heard in a situation of helplessness (why else do Fathers for Justice dress up like Batman or Spiderman and prance about on large, famous buildings?). Rather like the Psalms, really. Having your songs sung all over the world is rather more public (and timeless) than merely having a good moan to your sheep on the hillside.

By: Dave

Dave — Fri, 16 Jun 2006 23:12:05 +0000

Other thoughts posted too late in the evening to make sense:

Augustus – I like your comments. I don’t understand them all, but that is good.

Joe: I did not mention God or church or Christians in my post. Not that you said I did.

I said nothing against being “angry or sad or miserable or introverted or depressed” or feeling worthless. These things happen and we should not feel guilty. I know you didn’t say that I did say anything along these lines.

My point really was only to do with how we express anger on the internet. When we do we can often look a bit silly in hindsight. Other times it’s the right thing to do perhaps, but I feel these times are in the minority.

Michelle – absolutely. Just as long as they stop and consider before posting it on a web page.

By: Michelle

Michelle — Fri, 16 Jun 2006 22:05:17 +0000

I think it would do a lot of Christians a lot of good to be able to express themselves with a bit more honesty… like in Joe’s song titles! It reminds me of something Adrian Plass once wrote that I often come back to, and that is the image of a young child being angry, and pummelling away with their fists, within the embrace – the enfolding hug of a loving father. It seems to me that that’s the sort of place the angry Psalmists were in with God?

By: joeturner

joeturner — Fri, 16 Jun 2006 19:49:05 +0000

Curious how we treat emotions in church. Some emotions are ok and we can talk about them. Some are BAD BAD BAD and we can only have them if we hide behind something else eg humour (not that I’m suggesting humour is a bad thing in itself, and I agree that Dave is a very funny bloke).

But the weirdest thing is that we seem to imagine that we’ve got quite balance lives really and we’re modelling it on some biblical example.

I want to know who this mythical biblical character was who didn’t get angry or sad or miserable or introverted or depressed or feel worthless, cos to be honest, I can’t think of one.

Joe

PS I am going to release a new book of christian choruses called Real Emotions for Every Occasion based on the book of Psalms.

Listings will probably include songs like:

Oh God I really hate you
I’m not sure you really exist
Why do I feel so sad?
How come I can’t kick my addiction?
How come I can’t kick my cat?
Why do I have to be so NICE all the time?

By: augustus meriwether

augustus meriwether — Fri, 16 Jun 2006 18:39:11 +0000

Another side-effect is not to be immediately aware that ‘tidy hair’ and ‘immaculate… hairdoes’ is basically the same thing, hence ERROR CITY.

It might make you more comfortable if you look at me as being a science project at school, only slightly more distasteful as the frog vivisection.

This is how you can neutralise the anger impulse, you become so concerned with how many times you reveal a subconcious obsession with hairdoes.

Can you imagine what it’s like going to the barbers?

And you thought there were important issues in the world. No, you know NOTHING.