Why is everybody so angry?

News last week out of Norway hit hard. So many dead, so much devastation, so much anger.

Days after the attacks, the world was still reeling and Norwegians were still in shock, albeit vowing to rise above the tragedy and stand strong. In the words of Khalid Hussain, a Norwegian of Pakistani descent, "This is a tragedy for the whole of Norway. Whenever anyone tries to harm democracy, it doesn't matter what skin colour you are or what nationality, it's every person's duty to show solidarity."

Given all the mayhem and madness of late, it might seem that the entire world is going completely bonkers. Deadly natural disasters, man-made tragedies, self-inflicted pain, violent intimidation, intrusive and insensitive computer hacking, poisonous name calling, and incessant silliness and juvenile behaviour from our 'leaders'. And that is only the tip of the proverbial iceberg.

On a local scale, there are other problems that co-exist with us on a daily basis in our communities - drugs, gangs, theft and worse. That's all bad enough, but for me, the real sign of seething unabridged anger is "no rhyme or reason" vandalism. Most crimes are targeted at specific individuals, but vandalism is purely because it's there.

Just last week, one of our neighbours woke up to find his new shed trashed - in Oz, one never trashes a bloke's shed! - and another was confronted by foul language spray painted in big letters on his otherwise well-kept lane-accessed garage. Walk around any neighbourhood, especially on Saturday and Sunday mornings, and you will see evidence of deliberately lit fires, torn-up gardens, pushed-over mailboxes, smashed windows, and an inordinate amount of litter. And that, too, is only the tip of the proverbial iceberg.

Maybe I'm just a bit sensitive after reading about and personally witnessing so much bad news, but it does seem that people are getting angrier and angrier. Indeed, communication, discussion, common sense, respect for others, respect for self, and - my favourite - counting to 10 have all gone out the window, replaced by yelling and cursing, verbally abusing and insulting, gesticulating and throwing things, fighting and bullying, ignoring and ridiculing. And yes, spray painting garages.

There are so many reasons for and degrees of anger and its delivery, but for those of us who prefer to curse in private, talk things through, think before acting, and paint inside, it's hard to connect with the kind of anger that debilitates, denies and destroys.

I'm not sure why everybody is so angry, but maybe that's something we can talk about when we all calm down a bit. If ever ....