UNCONTROLLED ANGER TURNING INTO ROAD RAGE
Anger is an emotion that at times can be rationalized due to totally frustrating and unfair situations over time. It can also be understood to happen when total emotion overrides logic and common sense in a traumatic moment and is evidence by the reduction of the crime of voluntary manslaughter in the case of catching a spouse having sexual relations in your bed with someone else when you arrive home unexpectedly. However, anger which is stimulated by a simple act or comment is something that is a very dangerous activity to be involved in with a person demonstrating those actions.
Anger can be the result of hurt pride, of unreasonable expectations, or of repeated hostile fantasies. Besides getting our way, we may unconsciously use anger to blame others for our own shortcomings, to justify oppressing others, to boost our own sagging egos, to conceal other feelings, and to handle other emotions (as when we become aggressive when we are afraid). Any situation that frustrates us, especially when we think someone else is to blame for our loss, is a potential trigger for anger and aggression. So, what is frustration? It is the feeling we get when we don't get what we want, when something interferes with our gaining a desired and expected goal. It can be physical (a flat tire), our own limitations (paralysis after an accident), our choices (an unprepared for and flunked exam), others' actions (parental restrictions or torturing a political prisoner), others' motives (deception for a self-serving purpose), or society's injustice (born into poverty and finding no way out), or (someone not going over the speed limit because they feel they can speed and you are now in their way and it becomes worse if you call them on it). Individuals like this can be set off by any simple little action that they perceive is stopping them from satisfying their need for self-indulgence and self-satisfaction. There is no room for logic because it is their reality and no one else matters. The more they are frustration from obtaining what they want the more desperate they become and the less logic they will use in an attempt to satisfy the need they are seeking to be fulfilled. Anger is feeling mad in response to frustration or injury. You don't like what has occurred so you lash out with pure emotion and the emotion overrides your brain and your logical thought process and you rationalize that the actions you are taking are valid and logical when they are not at all logical for that particular situation. Someone in this state of mind is very very difficult to deal with due to their totally myopic view and the false emotional reality that they have fabricated based upon their skewed perception of what has occurred regarding them not getting what they want when they want it.
In a case like the driving incident I discussed in my last message we are looking at an individual who is demonstrating narcissistic and self-centered behavior in addition to lack of self control. This individual has made a voluntary cognitive decision (mens rea) to violate the law from the onset. He has decided to satisfy his need for control, self- satisfaction and to achieve this need of being in control and doing what he wants when he wants to do it and he has begun the demonstration of this mind set via his initial speeding on the roadways. Now, people speed when they are late and sometimes when they are not paying attention to the speed limit and this is still an infraction; however, the reason is different. The person in the incident does it because he feel like he can and he does not really care about the law because he feels he is above the law and is only worried about satisfying his need for self-gratification and self-satisfaction.
When he encounters someone or something like a red light or stop sign these individuals go right through them and all of us have seen ourselves just barely make it through the yellow before it turns red and we see, in our rear view mirrors, that person who is speeding and it at least 6 car lengths behind us go right through the light. This same person has the same mind set when they encounter someone who is in front of them doing the speed limit and they feel the same need to satisfy their urge of the law not applying to them and they use intimidation, which in their lives they also use a great deal of time to get what they want when they want it; however, if they encounter someone who is going to just go the speed limit and decide to not move over or someone who is going to do the speed limit and not move over because of the traffic situation they are going to intentionally with (mens rea) violate the traffic laws even more and progress from speeding to seriously dangerous tailgating of the individual in front of them hoping to intimidate them.
The serious issue here is that they feel that they have the right to have that person move over for them and they also fee they have the right to violate the law and use intimidation. They have no idea if a 7’00” 450 pound weigh-lifter is driving the vehicle in front of them, and if something does happen they may be at the bad end of that encounter. The reason for this is that they have used these tactics in their life so many times before successfully that the pattern recognition they have is that 97% of the people will move for them and their intimidation is reinforced each time this happens causing them to have learned that this behavior works in satisfying their need for power, control, and their narcissistic and self-serving personality. This is not a rationally thinking individual and that is what makes them dangerous. You are not at the level of preparedness for an encounter with them because they go from 0 – 200 in a second with no reasonable provocation. You need some provocation to get you to the level they are at and your delay is too long to reach their level and that is what makes it so dangerous. In addition you are not logically expecting the actions or reactions perpetrated by them.
They have an ego that is out of control and their super-ego has no ability to be a governor on the id which wants what it wants when it wants it and no questions asked. They only know instantaneous gratification and it is their gratification they seek and they will use violence to reinforce you not complying and getting in the way of that gratification. Most individuals know when they did something dumb or ignorant on the road or somewhere else and when pointed out to them do not really enjoy it; however, a rationally stable person with no anger issues and not being totally self-centered, egotistical and narcissistic will rationally think about what they did and realize the danger or negative nature of their action and try to make a mental note of not doing it again due to the results that could have occurred. However, these individuals are rationalizing what they did and are now incensed that someone had the nerve to call them on it and also prevent them from satisfying their need for self-satisfaction. They are also upset because their use of intimidation did not work. They are now ready to unleash the anger from the frustration and non-satisfaction of fulfilling their need on someone else that provides them with any provocation, in their mind, (because reality is what we perceive it to be via our own lenses) and this makes them more dangerous because the time between when it happened and the next incident is festering time and the frustration and anger is now building and they have no respect for anything or anyone that gets in their way. This was demonstrated by Michael Brown in his actions in Ferguson with his encounter with the store clerk when exiting the store after the strong armed robbery and his next encounter was with Officer Wilson.
I the incident I described in the last posting it was when the picture was taken this was the last straw. At this time I had no idea that this person was one of these individuals. I did feel the overreaction to me pointing out their idiotic move was a little excessive and the continued giving me the finger for about 30 more seconds until I could no longer see him in front of me. Now in hindsight he probably continued with the finger for a few more seconds. He also more than likely was cursing and venting due to my non-compliance to his use of his vehicle as a tool of intimidation; however, I had no way of knowing or seeing this from where I was at and my mind had already left this incident and was onto my lectures I was going to be giving for the next several hours.
Once I took the picture that was the ultimate push for him. I got in his way of satisfying his need for speeding and blowing through the roadway past everyone else because he is narcissistic and better than everyone. I did not move when he intentionally used physical intimidation via his vehicle almost touching my bumper and then almost hitting me when he passed me. I insulted him when I had the nerve to point out to him his idiotic actions. I was not intimidated and waved him on when he was giving me the finger and screaming and yelling from his vehicle. Now I have the nerve to take a picture of his vehicle. His actions now are the most revealing. He, without any regard for his safety, slammed his vehicle in park, violently flung his car door open, flung his seat belt from his body and jumped out of his vehicle. These actions indicate he was posturing to show me his peacock feathers and I was supposed to be frightened and so scared that I would try to pull away or cower down giving him the self-gratification he needed. He also showed that via his non-concern for his own safety that he has done this before and his pattern recognition of these events was that they always worked and he had nothing to fear because in his past events people backed down and he saved face and was emboldened more to perform this again without concern for his own safety. He also wanted me to exit my vehicle to place me in a mutual combatant role which did not happen. In fact, when I stayed in my vehicle, did not undo my seatbelt and did not open my car door he grew even more desperate. His emotional state was so bad and so dangerous that he needed an augmenter to assist him in obtaining his self-satisfaction and control of the situation that he looked around and saw an authority figure he felt he could use and that was the Avon Police Vehicle. He threatened that he was going to call the cop even though he was the aggressor, drove his vehicle above the speed limit, tailgated me, use his car as a weapon to intimidate me to drive faster, almost hit my vehicle when he sped past me on the right side, and then existed his vehicle screaming and yelling and approaching my vehicle in a menacing and threatening manner. His emotions overrode all of this and all he could consider was his self-satisfaction due to his narcissistic personality and need for control and satisfaction. What broke the loop he was in was my badge coming out of the window because now he faced two cops and this would have placed him in a less controlled position and to have even less satisfaction. Being certified in Force Science I knew I had to do something that was going to break the loop and not be something that would escalate the situation and the Avon Park Police Vehicle was thankfully there and I had my badge.
If his loop would not have been broken and he continued to my vehicle this could have ended in a bad way due to his violent mindset. That was evidenced by the further comments of pure frustration and amger after he was totally frustrated by him still not obtaining his satisfaction and being thwarted by the Avon Park Vehicle and my being a law enforcement officer. His comments of "I do not give a shit about your bade" and "you can shove that badge us your ass" all indicate his pure frustration of nothing working and him not satisfying his need for domination, control, and self-satisfaction. This is a comment about his view regarding the authority in society and him feeling like he is totally above it. It is about him telling the Sheriff, the State Attorney, the Attorney General and the Governor that they can take their laws and the people who represent them in the streets and court rooms and shove them because in his mind he is not obligated to obey them and his personal satisfaction is above the law and them. Remember the recent incident in Ferguson MO. Where the protesters were blocking the highway illegally and one of the individuals in the lanes of traffic drove through slowly and the protestors were rushing to get the tag to call the police on the person and they were a minute before cursing and demoralizing the same officers they wanted to help them give this person a ticket for driving on the highway like he had the right to do when they were the ones breaking the law. I am a trained mediator, trained negotiator and CIT trained and a criminologist and can tell you that you are encountering a person with high levels of anger who is not rational and will take actions to satisfy their own narcissistic needs and trying to rationally speak and reason with these individuals is not going to be something that will work.
Know the law, know the signs, watch for the signs, do not get drawn into their game because it can be deadly and have a negative outcome for all concerned. Understand what their actions really mean in an underling sense and how deep this defect goes and how dangerous they can be in an attempt to accomplish the self-gratification and satisfaction.
PLEASE pass this onto other people who are in law enforcement and are not in law enforcement for their safety.
Thank you for taking the time to read this very important message.
Dr. Pete
