HOUSE
Why do we derive such satisfaction from being offended?
I’ve come to believe some people find their value in being perpetually, terminally upset.
Like when they get only two pickles on their Super Clown Smashburger instead of the advertised three.
But it is more than that. The terminally offended group of people are never satisfied with just describing their latest confrontation with a frontline worker at a fast-food drive-thru. No, there are two more steps: 1) telling as many strangers as possible about the depth of their offended-ness, and, 2) convincing everyone else to be just as offended as they are.
If you don’t immediately react and agree with their position, they will keep repeating and escalating the story until you take up arms and join their revolution against the bad guys in their fantasy.
To illustrate, I am sharing a random bad review I found online. In full disclosure, it is from another place far, far away, so don’t try to hang it on a local business. The original rant was 360 words, but I cut it in half to save you outrage fatigue. As you read it, try to imagine what type of world this person must wake up to every day…
“I don’t normally do restaurant reviews but REDACTED BBQ did us really dirty for Mother’s Day! We went… at 4:45 for Mother’s Day dinner and had the worst experience! When we got there… we were told they were out of the sliced brisket and ribs but had BBQ pork and shredded brisket. When we went to order they said they only had burgers left but they couldn’t do any of the burgers with BBQ meats. We told the waiter you just said you had BBQ available and he said it was gone now so we had to order burgers. We decided we were not going to stay so he told my father it was $10 for one iced tea and 2 children drinks… I looked at the menu online and the waiter charged my dad full price for kid’s meals not just drinks. When my dad called to ask why he was charged the waiter hung up on him…I was very disappointed because we have heard so many good things about this place… but to be out of BBQ before dinner even hits on Mother’s Day is unacceptable… we won’t be back.”
Whew! Even after reading it multiple times, I don’t really understand what caused such a level of outrage. But that doesn’t matter. I have come to believe that individuals who are this unhappy, can only be happy by confirming others in their circle are just as unhappy. And if they are not, they will do everything in their power to make that happen.
I once ran a community education program that offered hundreds of classes to thousands of adult students. I came to expect the occasionally dissatisfied student. But I remember one normally popular class where suddenly more than half the students gave poor reviews and wanted refunds.
It turned out that all of the cranky customers came from one group of ladies who carpooled from a neighboring town. I later learned there was one member in that group who was upset with the way the teacher taught. During car trips back and forth, the lone maverick had convinced everyone in her group to be just as upset as she was.
I almost admire someone with her tenacity. She was not happy until she had convinced every single person in her van to be just as unhappy as she was. And that made her happy.
I guess that answers my original question.
Phil Houseal is a writer and owner of Full House PR. Contact him for help with press releases, social media, web content, and copywriting. www.FullHousePR.com fullhousephil.substack.com/
