“There are some who love the faults of others and use them to feed their own strength. The object of this love is also to be pitied, and they dare not outgrow their weaknesses.” –Geraldine Harris, author of the “Seven Citadels” series of novels.
In the world of blogs, the “rant” is the favorite disclaimer of those who post tirades of criticism about anything and everything.
We all let off steam one way or the other. Yet I wonder if those who rant daily, online or offline, actually get a rush out of it and depend on their anger for their survival, enabled by all that is wrong with the world.
I think there is nothing wrong in letting off steam if someone has done something to annoy us. If the feelings arise, we should express them. But when we take to the ranting with glee and it becomes habitual, when we sit done for a good moan in our favourite armchair with a cup of tea at our side, then our fault-finding has become altogether too cozy. It allows us to think that we ourselves are superior. And that, of course, is a misconception. We are all of us at different stages of development – and some of us have suffered more from the elements than others. But all of us are leaves from the same tree.
Secret Simon,
Cozy fault finding. Just like old shoes. Otherwise, yes, letting off a little steam keeps us from going balistic.
Yes, I would say that some live to rant, they feed off the mistakes of the world and they look through a filter that sees what is wrong with the world instead of what is right with it.
tobeme,
I like your phrase “they feed off the mistakes of the world.” This “food” looks good, but isn’t very nutritious.