Addicted to Outrage

2015-09-04 · letter vlog · Hank · 3:52 · watch on YouTube

Topic: US politics & society · mode: Personal essay

Hank argues that America's most common irrational fear, that half the country is terrible, comes from an addiction to manufactured outrage that blinds people and fuels an electoral arms race; he counters it with awareness of his own biases, belief in others' goodness and compassion.

What is said

The parts of the video and what is said in each (★ — how much it matters to the video).

00:00:00 — A visiting friend's six-year-old suggests 'tarantulas in the guacamole'; Hank turns it into irrational fears

★ A visiting friend's six-year-old daughter, asked what Hank's video should be about, said 'tarantulas in the guacamole'; Hank takes her to mean big, irrational fears. (playful) — 00:00:01

00:00:21 — The irrational fear that half of Americans are terrible; addiction to manufactured outrage, which Hank once encouraged; what angry people actually do; the outrage arms race

★★★ Hank calls the fear that the 50% of Americans around us are thoughtless, terrible and foolish America's most common irrational fear, as irrational as guacamole tarantulas. (hedged) — 00:00:21 · United States, othering
★★★ Hank thinks this fear comes from our absolute addiction to outrage. (hedged) — 00:00:39

“our absolute addiction to outrage”
★★ Hank excludes anger at systems of oppression, frustration at disenfranchisement and fear of decisions harming future generations, which are rational; he means continuous cycles of manufactured outrage and fear. — 00:00:43
★★★ Hank says he used to be part of and encourage manufactured outrage, believing it was the most powerful tool for positive change because it gets people up and acting. — 00:01:05
★★★ What Hank has seen in 35 years: angry people mostly tell each other how angry they are and how wrong others are, then are mean to them. Everyone does this. — 00:01:17
★★ Hank says fake statistics get passed around and straw men burned, and we convince ourselves that this hatred is somehow leading to positive change. — 00:01:34
★★★ With manufactured outrage as fuel, Hank says, we enter an outrage arms race in which the election winner is the side that can terrify its base the most. — 00:01:48

00:01:59 — Entering the 2016 presidential season, Hank's armor against the outrage cycle: awareness of biases, belief in others' goodness, compassion; asks for strategies

★★ Curbing his own outrage has made Hank sensitive to outrage peddlers on both sides, who already sicken him; with the 2016 presidential season starting far too early, he's building armor. — 00:01:59 · United States presidential election
★★★ Resisting outrage calms Hank and, he truly believes, makes his understanding of the world more accurate, because outrage blinds us, rests on and builds bias and stereotypes. — 00:02:23
★★★ Hank's armor against the outrage cycle: awareness of his own cognitive biases, belief in the fundamental goodness of others, who want good things for themselves and their families, and compassion. — 00:02:48 · empathy
★★ Hank asks viewers with strategies for dealing with the outrage cycle to talk about them in the comments. — 00:03:03

00:03:08 — Results of the 2015 Nerdfighteria Census analysed on hankschannel; viewers want a news show; sign-off

★★ Hank has just analysed the whole 2015 Nerdfighteria Census over at hankschannel and found the results fascinating. — 00:03:08 · hankschannel
★★ Census results: Nerdfighteria has gotten three years older in the last year, which Hank finds weird, and has gone from 24% to 33% college graduates. — 00:03:15 · Nerdfighteria
★★ People love Crash Course, and the vast majority of census respondents have suggested it to friends or family. — 00:03:23 · Crash Course
★★ Respondents want the brothers to do a news show; Hank feels compelled to, but it's very hard and he doesn't know if they can; they're looking into it. (hedged) — 00:03:30

In the description and comments

★★ In the description Hank calls the topic hard: outrage has driven him to learn and act, many reasons for anger are legitimate, and he won't tell less-privileged people how to feel. — video description
★★ Hank writes that, watching the outrage cycle grow stronger and push people into bubbles of toxic dehumanization, he is genuinely worried about our future ability to handle hard challenges in time. — video description

Threads in this video

restate · Is there really an 'us' and a 'them', or are distant and different people just facets of us? — Hank says the fear that half of Americans are thoughtless, terrible and foolish is irrational, and counters it with a belief in the fundamental goodness of other people. (00:00:21)
shift · Is outrage useful? — Hank says he used to think outrage was the most powerful tool for positive change; now he sees manufactured outrage as an addiction that blinds people, breeds bias and drives an electoral arms race. (00:01:09)
asked · Hank asks viewers to share strategies for dealing with the outrage cycle in the comments (2015) — Hank asks viewers who have strategies for dealing with the outrage cycle to discuss them in the comments. (00:03:03)
kept · Hank: analyse the full 2015 Nerdfighteria Census results (2015) — Hank says he has just analysed the whole 2015 Nerdfighteria Census over at hankschannel. (00:03:08)
outcome · Nerdfighteria Census 2015 edition — Hank reports 2015 Census results: Nerdfighteria three years older, college graduates up from 24% to 33%, Crash Course widely recommended, and many wanting a news show. (00:03:15)

Where the stories that moved here went next

Hank: analyse the full 2015 Nerdfighteria Census results (2015) — kept

Mentioned

Central: moral outrage · othering

Also: cognitive bias · Crash Course · empathy · hankschannel · Nerdfighteria Census · stereotype · United States · United States presidential election

Also centred on moral outrage: Feeling Thankful in Portland · Crime and Outrage · Ending the Age of Outrage (at least in ourselves, if not in the world) · I Keep Thinking About Taylor Swift · I'm Scared of 2024...So Here's 3 Optimistic Thoughts · The People I Hate Most in the World

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