Are Leftists Literally Addicted to Hatred?
Enthusiasm
and passion have been a hallmark of political action over all of
history. Stating something strongly and with conviction gets attention
and almost forces people to listen. But the last three years have seen
political passion turn into an explosion of hatred and anger like never
before. Why is this?
Psychologists say that anger arises when we have an unmet demand. Some angry reactions are reasonable, such as objecting to bad service at an expensive restaurant, or protesting against an injustice, but others are irrational, such as shooting a gun at someone who just cut you off in traffic.
Psychologists say that anger arises when we have an unmet demand. Some angry reactions are reasonable, such as objecting to bad service at an expensive restaurant, or protesting against an injustice, but others are irrational, such as shooting a gun at someone who just cut you off in traffic.
We
use emotions such as anger to help us survive in difficult situations.
Scientists have found that all emotions cause neuro-chemical changes in
the brain and hate and anger have a larger impact.
Jean Kim, M.D., a psychiatrist and a Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at George Washington University, writes,
“Anger overrides all other moral and rational brakes in the brain
because it originates from our primordial, original limbic system: the
brain center of our most automatic emotions like fear and desire…. While
anger feels good in the moment, it is in fact deeply illogical and
destructive; it overrides all other moral and rational brakes in the
brain.”
Edie Weinstein, MSW, LSW writes,
“The neurotransmitter chemicals known as catecholamines are released
causing a blast of kinetic energy that can last a few minutes. In a
counterintuitive way, feeling bad sometimes feels good. Like any
addiction, anger can induce discharge of dopamine epinephrine and
norepinephrine. The adrenalin rush contributes to a sense of strength
and invulnerability… it creates a sense of aliveness.”
Constant anger and hatred can easily become an addiction.
Excessive
behaviors share many of the same characteristics as substance abuse and
can easily become full-blown addictions -- behaviors you can’t stop
that lead to harmful consequences such as ruined relationships, loss of a
job, or physical harm to yourself or others.
Liberals
discussed the science behind an addiction to hate several years ago
when talking about white supremacists and conservative talk shows
turning normal people into hate-filled fanatics, but now it’s the
liberals who are being transformed.
Dr. Kim explains,
“Science agrees that we can get fixated on our own anger; the actual mechanism of this addiction is fascinatingly complex….
“Any perceived threat — physical, metaphysical, ideological, or imagined — causes the amygdalae, the two almond-shaped bundles of neurons in the medial temporal lobe, to alert the brain to prepare for a fight (or flight). This signal causes the release of the neurotransmitter dopamine, as well as the stress hormones cortisol, adrenaline, and noradrenaline, which kick-start our sympathetic nervous system, causing oxygen levels in the blood and glucose levels in the brain to rise. Our heart rate, blood sugar levels, and blood pressure go up — energizing us for a fight.
“This rush of neurochemicals has a transformative effect on our behavior. We might yell, clench our fists, or fume, signaling to everyone around us that we’re ready to blow up. At the same time, more subtle changes are happening. Notably, the mix disrupts our ability to think logically and makes a mess of our short-term memories. Noradrenaline and cortisol in particular suppress function in the prefrontal cortex, the area of the brain tasked with executive decision making.”
So, our brains get a rush from hateful rhetoric and actions, and as we become addicted, we crave more and more.
Hatred is contagious.
Humans
are social animals, so it’s easiest to get this reinforcement simply by
interacting with like-minded people. Negative emotions are stronger,
while calmer emotions are negated until the burst of neurochemicals
diminishes. This is why it’s extremely difficult to reason with someone
who is enraged.
Hatred
has been characterized as its own kind of virus, because emotions are
shared easily within groups. This makes evolutionary sense; in order to
survive, we need to be able to work together in social settings. In
the age of the internet, social media and mass communications travel at
light speed, therefore hatred does as well.
Researchers
from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania cataloged the
most recirculated New York Times articles and found the only feeling
that outpaced anger was awe. “Anger is a high-arousal emotion, which
drives people to take action,” says Jonah Berger, the marketing professor who conducted the study. “It makes you feel fired up, which makes you more likely to pass things on.”
Media,
social media and other internet entities take advantage of these
emotions to fuel their economic engines. How often do you see an
outrageous headline only to click the link and end up at a website full
of ads for male enhancement drugs or beauty creams?
This
also explains why a fire or murder leads the news, while stories with a
much greater impact aren’t even covered. “If it bleeds, it leads.”
Their ultimate goal is to sell advertising.
Anger is dangerous
We’ve
all heard the term “seeing red.” Crowds become angry and out of
control. This is when rioting and beatings happen. People completely
uninvolved with the issue at hand are assaulted or even killed, and
stores and businesses that benefit the community are looted and burned
to the ground.
But
what we are discovering during current “protests” are agitators seeded
into the crowds who fan the flames of anger and hatred. A different
agitator will throw the first punch or break the first window, and the
angry crowd follows.
This is why “incitement to riot” is a criminal offense.
Dr.
Kim continues, “The rush behind anger can be triggered by underlying
feelings of weakness or insecurity, a way to feel powerful in the
moment... It also helps people feel briefly in control of things they
typically have no control over.”
During
the COVID 19 pandemic, people are scared and feel helpless to defend
themselves against an unseen enemy. This has been a perfect opportunity
for outside forces to stir up even more panic and direct anger and
hatred toward the target of their choice, which happens to be the entire
American society, including the police, our history, and our president.
The
fear of having an angry mob being focused on you or your family is
enough to get rational people to go along with the mob’s agenda. Like
victims of the “Stockholm syndrome,” they often end up believing the
agenda themselves. This has carried into the business world where
corporate leaders become believers, or simply make tactical statements
or fire outspoken employees to keep the mobs from attacking their stores
or starting a boycott.
This
is how basic psychology can be used to overthrow the government of an
entire country. History is replete with examples, from the Boston Tea
Party and the French Revolution, to the Arab Spring.
If
we don’t quickly learn from history and how populations can be
controlled through hate, and who is funding the agitators, we are likely
to become the next victims.
Source: American Thinker