Two days until the inauguration of Joe Biden as the 46th president of the United States. I have noticed a level of anger and rage across social media like never before. There is, however, a psychological explanation for much of it, and it comes down to a cognitive function of the brain that controls the pleasure sensors.
A child with strict parents who gets to visit a friend with parents who let them get away with whatever they want will want to spend as much time with that friend as possible. If the child's parents find out about this, and say "You can't go over there anymore.", the child will likely throw a fit. It's because a primal emotional desire they had in their heart was allowed to flourish, stimulating pleasure sensors in their brain they had never been allowed to feel before...and now it will be taken away from them.
Trump did not plant the seed of hatred, racism, misogyny, homophobia, and nationalism in the minds and hearts of his most ardent followers.
It was already there.
He just told them it was their right to embrace those things, and ok to display them openly without shame.
He didn't create them. He emboldened them.
And the reason so many people are enraged about his being voted out is because they believe they will have to quell those feelings again, and go back into hiding.
So when you encounter snarky little comments on posts you made about racial equality, gender acceptance, empathy, women's rights, or wearing a ******* mask as you should, know that many of those comments are tiny flames of anger, wanting to burn a little bit longer.
And they will. Dear God, they will.
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