Hidden rage
At the Battle of Khandaq, Amr ibn Abd
Wadd, a powerful warrior of the Quraysh, challenges a warrior of the Muslim
Army. Hazrat Ali accepts the challenge and as he overpowers Amr ready to take
his life, Amr spits on his face at which Hazrat Ali releases him and walks
away. He said while he was fighting for
God he would have killed Amr, but he could not kill from personal rage. Rumi
relating this incident in his Masnawi, has Hazrat Ali saying “I am not a straw,
removed from its place by a wind, but a mountain of forbearance and
patience and justice”. The story reflects different types of anger, some of
which are acceptable and some to be rejected.
There are few studies on anger and its out of control
relative – rage, despite the fact that there appears to be a pandemic of rage
brewing in the world today. The differences between anger and rage are quite
stark. Anger can be controlled, and is an immediate response that seeks to
solve a problem. Rage is uncontrollable, a build up of suppressed negative
emotions that explode unexpectedly into a rampage with a very negative impact
on both the person feeling rage a well as the receiver.
The term ‘going berserk’ comes from the Viking word berserker (a fighter
without a shirt) who worked himself into such a frenzy at sight of a foe,
that he would rush forward, mad like an aggressive animal. Rage coupled with
power produced tyrants like Ivan the Terrible, who ordered thousands of
innocent people to be killed to appease his anger, even killing his own son in
a fit or rage.
A world that has almost always been at war, needs fighting
forces that can kill and defeat the enemy, without hesitation. Soldiers are
trained to feel anger without allowing it to turn into rage, a distinction that
sometimes breaks down in the mayhem of the battlefield. In Vietnam, performance
enhancement drugs had the side effect of increasing aggression that often went out
of control.
Rage is also a concern in our daily lives. A child’s
tantrums are shocking for parents as they seem a disproportionate reaction.
They are an inability to deal with strong emotions or disappointments because
coping skills and verbal skills have not developed. While children quickly out-grow
tantrums, adults who resort to rage have a build-up of unprocessed emotions
that explode under stressful conditions. Road Rage is a blanket term that
describes the anger of drivers from minor irritations to excessive retaliation
that can spiral out of control as depicted in the disturbing Russel Crowe film,
Unhinged.
Sociologists asking the question ‘what makes us so angry?’,
identify factors such as the gap between the haves and have nots, being
overworked and underpaid, a broken political system and the marketing of
unrealistic lifestyles. Uncertainty magnifies helplessness into fear and then
anger. Far too often anger is taken out on the people closest to one, including
domestic abuse. While angry men may join fight clubs, women are taught to
suppress anger. Men may be admired for aggression, while women are more likely
to be mocked or ridiculed.
"Outrage marketing" or "cultivated
controversy" is a highly successful marketing strategy, that has become an
essential element of political, social and environment campaigns.
Sometimes rage is a theatrical ploy. Faux rage is displayed
by Pakistani and Indian soldiers at the Wagah border who strut, stamp, drawing
themselves up to full height with tensed muscles and angry facial expressions
for the entertainment of the crowds, when on other occasions they share mithai
with each other.
In Japan, building on the success of Crying Rooms to release
stress, Rage Rooms were marketed which quickly spread to other cities including
Karachi, where people can smash objects with a baseball bat, with no
consequences. While not completely replacing the Gussa aur Bad Mijazi Khatam
Karne Ka Wazifa (prayers to cure anger and ill-tempered behaviour), Rage rooms
in Karachi are marketed as an opportunity to “Challenge your inner Hulk”,
referring to the meek superhero, Bruce Banner, who turns into a raging green
monster the angrier he gets.
Some rage rooms invite people to throw paint to exorcise the
monster of anger. The arts have always had the capacity to express strong
emotions, including rage, in a manner that releases the emotion in a poetic
form. Francis Bacon’s paintings express stark rage, entrapment and despair, yet
the language of art ensures balance and containment.
Durriya Kazi
June 3, 2024
Karachi
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