Trends and Entertainment

Recession Anger is Kicking In

Is it us, or do people seem a bit more…pissed off these days?

One morning last week, we were at the entrance to a New York subway station, taking photos for an article. We tried to  shoot when the stairs were clear, and move out of the way when trains arrived.

One woman, who was obviously on her way to the office, wanted to go down our side of the staircase and felt we were obstructing her.

“Morons!” she said loudly as she passed, in the withering tone that Gothamites have perfected.

When she got to the bottom of the steps, she turned and glared, went into the subway station, then came back and shouted a few more choice words at us.

When the recession began, we felt a sort of camaraderie in the air. Even though–in fact, because–the economy seemed to be teetering on the edge of collapse, there was a feeling that Americans were all in it together. They were more generous, more community oriented. It seemed like everyone was a little bit nicer.

Over the past few months, there’s been more anger and aggressiveness on the street, on the subway and in stores. Last week I saw a guitarist playing on a train platform rail at a woman who didn’t compliment his music. This weekend a boutique employee snapped at a friend who asked if there was a sale rack.

The tide of nastiness isn’t just rising in New York. CNNMoney recently went to Pennsylvania to look into the reasons behind the fury and vitriol surrounding the health care reform issue. The folks Carol Costello interviewed complained about bailouts, stimulus and health care reform. But that’s not what they’re really upset about–it’s just where they’re directing their fear.

“Is it that people feel powerless?” Costello asked, getting much closer to the heart of the matter.

Psychologists have learned that a burst of stress can actually be good for us.  It makes us work harder, perform at a higher level and remember better.

But chronic stress can take its toll. It’s been linked to depression, impairs our memory and even weakens our immune systems. (It can make us feel, as Costello pointed out, powerless.)

We’re all at a chronic stress point. Despite the fact that the stock market is in a rally, the recession is far from over.  Jobs continue to be lost. Unemployed people are running out of benefits. Employed people are working terribly hard, and still afraid they may lost their positions. More Americans are delinquent on their mortgages.

So now we’re acting more selfish and less considerate.  Feeling afraid and insecure, we’re quick to lash out against others, looking for someone to blame. People are acting out in public and even threatening violence against the president. I can think of may bad events that have come out of  such situations, and no good ones.

What to do about it? A good and important question. That’s for another post on another day.

Tags: economy, health, The Unemployed Life