A common puzzle

Upon encountering an individual who had made it a point of enjoyment to scream while playing video-games, I asked him to stop. The request was not due to the discomfort the noise of the intermittent electronic noise but by the screaming that triggered concern over a residual fight or flight response.

Screaming, if listened to, is varied given the purpose. A joyful scream might scream as such: Yaaaaa! A battlecry tends towards the Yaaaaghhhh! direction, while a panicked cry for help might be Ahhhhh!. Some cultures, in order to eliminate any confusion on the matter, restrict screaming to emergencies and use other means to express happiness, excitement, of pleasure. America is not one of those cultures. In the age the infantilized adult, one encounters people who have no compunctions about screaming at whatever they choose. Those ungraced by such inhibitions do not feel the need to restrain themselves in crowded living conditions.

Upon attempting to request that the individual in question desist from hi noisome activity, I found failure as a result of his not even opening or communication when I knocked. He was quite clearly present but chose to wait out the complaint. Upon calling on a building administrator, his response was one gratuitous insult. Upon a latter encounter, I asked the reason for his reaction. He agreed to speak on the matter and he sent forth a litany of further insults and vulgarities with little connection to the matter at hand but only a statement that I needed a thicker skin related to the subject.

The first of the two puzzle I can only begin to wonder at is that some would treat the invocation of “fight or flight” so casually and be willing to cause such reactions in others by screaming in vain pursuits. The second I am astounded by is the crudity of the response and the unrelated nature to the matter at hand. I can understand circumstances where the breadth of the vulgar vocabulary might earn some respect when direct to the matter at hand (ie. Combat or when insulting someone for clear reasons) but to do so randomly without connect to the topic is incomprehensible.

The man’s father was similarly vulgar when encountered and spoke in gratuitous terms regarding me even when I was clearly present. Such a disrespect for social norms of politeness and mores regarding the treatment of persons is perhaps more comprehensible in light of a statement made that seemed unrelated at the time. Shortly preceding the more notorious stream of obscenity, he declared the “I can do whatever I want!”. I initially disregarded it as the raving s of a lunatic to be pitied but in retrospect such absurdities might stem from a culture of pleasure.

His comment would by normal minds be seen as solipsistic but was probably the logical extension of the belief that his desires held precedence over the needs of others. Such would likely also explain the disrespect shown to people directly by using obscenity at them and responding to people with casual vulgarity. How could such a situation come about? His father displayed similar attitudes and one may reasonably conclude that the perspective was passed down without further reflection.

But merely filial piety would not seem the only factor in this regard. The larger culture does not deem obscenity or vulgarity reprehensible and so demeans the people such norms are designed to ennoble. The gravity of vulgarity seems to be sapped by the attitude of it merely being old norms of politeness. The disrespect of persons was clearly present in his words and behavior. The emotionalized demeanor was also seen by his willingness to scream and the emotional nature of the response instead of having bearing and responding as man. By responding as a man, I refer to having dignity, maintaining it, proceeding logically, and having respect for others and placing others before you. None of those was seen in his narcissistic behavior.

This demotic trend is most unpleasant and is unlikely to end well as some seek more forceful ways to constrain untoward behavior and others seek the respect so clearly denied by a solipsistic culture.