After you post your reflection, you will then be able to see other classmates’ postings. For full credit, you are to read and respond to at least two other student’s posting. Your response should be at least 50 words in length, meaningful, and substantive. Non- substantive comment might be, “yeah, that’s happened to me to!” with no elaboration.
Post 1
As our professor mentioned, it is (unfortunately) not difficult to find examples of aggression online. I immediately thought of checking Facebook since I have witnessed plenty of hostile conversations there in the past. Sure enough, a quick scroll prompted me to find an article recently shared by The Telegraph (shown below). In their post they explain that politician Suella Braverman believes current levels of asylum and immigration “cannot go on”, warning people that the UK will become “unrecognizable” unless the number of people coming into the country is brought down. The post goes on to share the full article, and also includes a photo of Suella Braverman. Suella is a British politician who was born in the UK. Her parents were from Mauritius and Kenya who immigrated to the UK. Many readers in the comments were irritated that she would speak on immigration when she apparently looks like an immigrant herself. It was interesting to read comments on the post such as “Let’s start by deporting her first” and “Start with you. Go back where you belong”. I found these comments to be very aggressive and also think it’s interesting because these comments also relate to our previous chapter regarding prejudices! The readers making such comments were acting on their own bias that if you don’t “look” British, you must be an immigrant and further, that to be an immigrant makes you “bad”. These commenters, by acting on these prejudices, are behaving discriminatorily towards Suella Braverman. Since these were verbal attacks, this would be considered a form of social aggression. Also, I could see how such comments could be forms of both hostile, and instrumental forms of aggression. By commenting that Suella should be deported first, a commenter may be hoping that other readers will be influenced by their comments in order to get more people to agree with their perspective (considering this post could easily be overlooked and not seen by Suella herself). Or, these commenters could in fact be directing their insults directly to Suella, in hopes that she will read their comments and be hurt or offended.
As far as real-world examples of hostile attribution bias goes, I can think of many examples! One that sticks out and is quite embarrassing honestly, pertains to a conversation I had on Facebook (what a surprise!) with an old high school classmate a few years back. It was fathers day, and she’d posted a huge paragraph dogging on how her father won’t pay her tuition so he is a horrible father and she won’t be wishing him a happy fathers day. I was going through some personal issues with my own father at this time, and had cut communications with him about a year prior. The situation I was in had broken my heart, and I felt, if you still have a father in your life, how dare you make such a privileged post! So I commented something along the lines of, you should be grateful you have a father. I quickly deleted my comment, and the girl reached out to me privately. She explained that there was a lot more to the situation than she’d mentioned in her post, and by the end of our talk, I realized how much I had misjudged her situation. I felt horrible! I had attributed her angry post as her being spoiled and mean, but later found that was completely incorrect. I have grown a lot since this happened, and have learned how important it is to not act on snap judgments. My own sensitive emotions to the subject led me to act on hostile attribution bias. I think that both myself, and society as a whole, could lessen aggressive behaviors if we all made a conscious effort to be empathetic and not quick to act on snap judgments. If we separate ourselves from another person altogether, we make it easier to view this person as a “non” person who is different and therefore okay to judge and assume the worst of. When we strip ourselves of this separation and act on empathy, this becomes much more difficult!
Post 2
TikTok has become the place for the expression of diverse opinions, identities, and unfortunately, aggression. Recently, I came across a TikTok video with a transgender individual addressing performative support within the LGBTQ community. The individual highlighted the sad reality that some claim support just for personal satisfaction. This led to a lot of hateful comments.
The contrast of this online aggression with Tim Larkin’s talk on “The Paradox of Violence” raises interesting questions about aggression and its roots. Larkin’s exploration of violence as a tool, when necessary, makes me reconsider my preconceptions about aggression. However, in the case of the TIK TOK video, I don’t believe aggression was the answer.
Malika Verma’s perspective in “The Power of Aggression” adds another layer to the discussion, emphasizing the nature of aggression as a driving force in human life. She challenges the fear of aggression and insists that it’s an important role in fostering creativity, passion, and ambition. While I understand Verma’s approach, I find it hard for it to be applicable in all cases.
Verma’s perspective aligns with theories of aggression discussed in the text. Verma’s argument aligns with the instinct view, suggesting that aggression is an inherent and vital aspect of human existence. The TikTok reflects the social learning theory, where online interactions and media encourage aggressive behavior.
Moreover, the frustration-aggression hypothesis comes into the picture as the TikTok user expresses frustration with performative allyship, leading to aggression in the form of hateful comments. This incident reflects the gap between expectations of genuine support and the perceived lack of it, resulting in aggressive responses.
As we explore aggression, I think it’s important to deepen our understanding of the various aspects of it, as aggression plays a big role in shaping our digital and real experiences.
