5 Reasons Why We Love Angry Outbursts

The recent outbursts of congressman Joe Wilson, tennis star Serena Williams, and rapper Kanye West strikes a note within our own anger and need to be heard.  Congressman Joe Wilson has now become famous for shouting out “You lie!” during President Obama’s speech to a joint session of congress.   Wilson has faced addition criticism for the way he has handled his apology to the President.

Serena Williams made waves during a Grand Slam match in which a line judge called her on a serve violation.  Williams then cursed out the line judge, shouted at tennis officials, and was finally suspended from the match.  She was quotes saying, “”If I could, I would take this …… ball and shove it down your …… throat”

Kanye West  recently grab the microphone away from Taylor Swift, who just won the award for Best Video at the MTV Music Awards, and told the crowd in an outburst that Beyonce Knowles should had won the award.

We love to watch when this type of drama unfolds.  Why?  Here are 5 reasons why we like these angry outbursts:

1. People enjoy to see the status quo interrupted. We are excited when someone stands up and challenges what someone is saying.  When we disagree, our civility is thrown out the window when it is fueled by anger.  We may not be the outburst, but we wish that someone would stand up and say something.  Sometimes, we need someone to stand up, but it should not be in anger.
2. Outbursts are a release for us. Whether we are the one doing the shouting or it is someone else, outbursts are a release of our negative energy.  When we see someone else join in our discord by shouting out, we are living through their release of negative emotion.  The person involved in the outburst is saying what we are thinking.  Now, this may not be a healthy release for us, it is a release none the less.   We must seek healthy ways of dealing with our anger.
3. Outbursts are a form of disrespect. When we really dislike someone we want to let them know that.  Getting up and being the center of attention puts us in the spotlight in way that disrespects another person.  Outbursts disrupt the rules, civility, and cultural taboos.  When we are really angry with someone  we unhealthy want to show disrespect.   We may not be able to tell President Obama we disagree with his politics, but secretly become giddy when we see a congressman yell an insult to the President.  We want to show contempt and sometimes the only we can is speaking out of turn.
4. We love shock television. There reason why we enjoy shows like Jerry Springer, The Real Housewives, Survivor, and American Idol is because we get excited by seeing “raw” television (even though it is edited).  Being entertained is at the center of “reality TV”.  The idea of something not being scripted fascinates us.  We enjoy seeing how far the boundary can be pushed of what is allowed on TV and what is not.  Millions of dollars are spent producing shows that pair people in situations that are knowingly going to produce ratings.  We love to experience the drama.
5. Angry outbursts create gossip.  When an angry outburst occurs, it creates interest.  Why did they do that?  What is behind their words and actions?   A million other questions cross our minds when we watch an outburst unfold.  People want to know more and turn to others to find out the whole story.  We have to know details, even if they are incorrect details.  That is why vasts amounts of money are spent to find out the details of celebrities.  We buy up magazines that claim to know the juicy personal details.

People will get angry and there is nothing wrong with being angry but, it how we handle our anger that speaks to our ability to control ourselves.  These public outbursts by celebrities and politic leaders are symptoms of greater issues that they have not dealt with personally.  People must  deal with their own personal “baggage” before it becomes an angry explosive outburst.  We must control our anger instead of our anger controlling us.