© APEmotional sunburn can make people even touchier than the kind that afflicts the skin.
Some days, it can seem as if half the country has come down with rabies. A lot of people seem willing to tear your head off over the smallest thing.
Part of it probably comes from the
disinhibiting effect of social media-where the lack of filters or personal contact makes it easy to fire off a nasty personal attack in the heat of the moment... which only encourages people to respond in kind.
Part of it probably comes from the fact that Americans increasingly
sort themselves into like-minded communities. That means they're less apt to get to know people who think differently, and therefore less likely to understand where they're coming from.
Part of it might be
attribution error: I cut you off in traffic because I'm late for a meeting; you cut me off in traffic because you're a big fat jerk. I support my candidate because I've studied the issues; you support yours because the candidate lied to you and you bought it.
Part of the reason also could be
simple weariness. Many people these days might be suffering from what addiction specialist Abraham Twerski has called "emotional sunburn." A physical sunburn
makes you hypersensitive to minor physical affronts, such as getting bumped in an elevator. An emotional sunburn works the same way with other kinds of affronts.
Comment: There are some really good points in this article about the role women play in their over-sexualization in society, but it does seem that she has swung a little too far the other way on the pendulum by calling all the women involved in the Weinstein scandal who were put through a terrible experience "hos". Are they naive and innocent? Most are not, and some, who knows how many, probably had no issue with giving Harvey what he wanted to further their careers. That was probably why he continued to behave as he did - it worked on some women (by all accounts, many women). Some of those young women new to the Hollywood world probably are "naive and innocent". They have not sold their body for fame and fortune yet, so we shouldn't shrug off Weinstein's behavior and essentially say all the women had it coming.
The author makes a fair point that the actions of women in today's society will prompt reactions from men that are to be expected. Creeps like Weinstein have always existed, and always will. In that sense, the feigned shock and outrage has been just a tad over-the-top. At the very least, post-Weinstein, those "naive, innocent young things" will have a better idea of what to watch out for in the industry. It may come down to a choice: your career or your dignity.