David Sims,Cass Business School, London, UK
Abstract: Our patience with forming interpretations and reinterpretations of others' behaviour is not unlimited. The time comes when we lose interest in trying to understand, and conclude that another person is behaving in a way that is simply unacceptable. This paper explores the narratives that go with immoderate indignation, even for those best versed in the idea that they should attempt to understand the perspective of the other. The paper offers a reflexive comment on the difficulty of analysing such a topic, on the grounds that the phenomenon under discussion can debilitate analytic writing. Three narratives are discussed in which one person was seen as behaving in a despicable way by others. The description and analysis of the narratives are used to offer a narrative understanding of the process by which some people become indignant with others. It suggests a narrative construction of how sense is made of indignation, particularly in cases where two narratives come up against each other. It concludes by considering how the process of being indignant can produce conflicting emotions of joy and guilt for those involved.
3 comments:
Shakespeare nailed this in The Taming of the Shrew. That Kate was a shrew was a narrative she was talked into, which Petruchio didn't buy. It became no longer relevant for Kate to be indignant about her childhood, while Petruchio politely impolitely prepared her for a lifelong love affair with life. Shakespeare is the textbook for this, although Gandhi and ML King are considered the modern masters. Also all roads lead back to Lincoln who was a Shakespeare disciple.
What is bad about this?
^ Swing and a miss, as the punchline flies right by...
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