Road Rage: Just One Symptom

Road Rage Everywhere!

Road Rage is on the rise. Violent altercations are leading to fatal shootings, and it is happening with increased frequency. It's another symptom of our social ills, and it's the tip of the iceberg.

This just a sampling from various news sources

• After boarding a flight to New York’s LaGuardia Airport, Arielle Jean Jackson got into a heated verbal altercation with a Southwest employee. According to Bloomberg, she was asked to leave. While departing, the confrontation turned physical, and Jackson hit an airline agent. The employee was brought to a hospital after being punched in the head.

• In Vermont, a man menaced a group of election officials, warning them that “your days are f*cking numbered.”

• In Missouri, a public health official was “physically assaulted, called racist slurs, and surrounded by an angry mob.”

• In Oregon, a school board member was told that a neighbor was out looking for him — and threatening to kill him

• Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) shared a video posted to his Twitter and Instagram depicting violence and the apparent killing of the Democratic congresswoman. His party thinks this is ok.

• The former head of Tennessee’s vaccine rollout, Dr. Michelle Fiscus and her husband, have been forced out of their home after facing threats and taunts. 

• School nurses threatened for enforcing COVID protocols. 

• Anti-vaxxers are threatening to burn down schools. 

• In 2020, 279 hate crime incidents against individuals of Asian descent were reported, compared to 158 incidents reported in 2019. More than 60% of hate crimes in the United States were carried out on the basis of an individual's race, according to FBI data released Monday.
• 

We're coming apart at the seams

 There is no civil discourse. We could blame social media, but social media is only the means by which we spread our hate.

It should be no surprise that road rage is on the rise too. It's not just your imagination. There are more shootings and deaths as a result of road rage.

In 2020, 42 people a month on average, were shot and killed or wounded in road rage incidents according to a recent report by Everytown for Gun Safety, a national gun violence prevention organization. That’s nearly double the monthly average for the four years prior.

The group’s report comes from data collected by the Gun Violence Archive, a nonprofit research organization.

If the trend continues, Everytown projects there will be more than 500 deaths or injuries involving road rage incidents with guns in 2021. So far this year, someone has been shot and killed or injured every 18 hours, said Sarah Burd-Sharps, the group’s research director. -Pew Trust

Where to go from here?

We can't control another person's emotions, but we can control our own. We can understand our own triggers and put a lid on them before they get out of hand. We can also attempt to deescalate the situation. I went to the NSW Website to find out more.

This is from NSW Government Health.

When there are signs of anger or verbal aggression it is important to remember that:

• you need to stay calm
• anger may be a sign that the person is in distress, experiencing fear or frustrated
• it is not possible to reason or problem solve with someone who is enraged
• effective communication skills are the key to settling, resolving and de-escalating a situation.

Use the strategies below to de-escalate a situation:

• Listen to what the issue is and the person's concerns.
• Offer reflective comments to show that you have heard what their concerns are.
• Wait until the person has released their frustration and explained how they are feeling.
• Look and maintain appropriate eye contact to connect with the person.
• Incline your head slightly, to show you are listening and give you a non-threating posture.
• Nod to confirm that you are listening and have understood.
• Express empathy to show you have understood.

It is not possible to stop another person being angry, but these steps may help to make the person feel calmer. Something more constructive begins then.