Sarajevo Outrage after the Assassination2

Outrage is a strong moral emotion characterized by a combination of surprise,

disgust Disgust (Middle French: ''desgouster'', from Latin ''gustus'', "taste") is an emotional response of rejection or revulsion to something potentially contagious or something considered offensive, distasteful, or unpleasant. In ''The Expression o ...

, and

anger Anger, also known as wrath or rage, is an intense emotional state involving a strong uncomfortable and non-cooperative response to a perceived provocation, hurt or threat. A person experiencing anger will often experience physical effects, su ...

, usually in reaction to a grave personal offense. It comes from old French "ultrage", which in turn borrows from classical Latin "ultra", meaning "beyond". Moral outrage is the emotion of outrage experienced in reaction to an

injustice Injustice is a quality relating to unfairness or undeserved outcomes. The term may be applied in reference to a particular event or situation, or to a larger status quo. In Western philosophy and jurisprudence, injustice is very commonly—but n ...

, as such involving a

moral judgement Morality () is the differentiation of intentions, decisions and actions between those that are distinguished as proper (right) and those that are improper (wrong). Morality can be a body of standards or principles derived from a code of cond ...

, and is often accompanied by a desire to shame and/or punish wrongdoers.

outrage

The 21st century and its social media have seen an increased display of false or manufactured outrage, with power and prestige being hypocritically sought by professing concern for others, in a highly selective and temporary manner. In ''The Sociology of Everyday Life Peacebuilding'', John D. Brewer, et al., observed: The authors, whose work focuses primarily on post-conflict peace and resolution, propose a

paradox A paradox is a logically self-contradictory statement or a statement that runs contrary to one's expectation. It is a statement that, despite apparently valid reasoning from true premises, leads to a seemingly self-contradictory or a logically u ...

: Individual "preferred victims" lack much if any

agency Agency may refer to: Organizations * Institution, governmental or others ** Advertising agency or marketing agency, a service business dedicated to creating, planning and handling advertising for its clients ** Employment agency, a business that ...

to control how perception of them is manipulated in the public sphere, and can thus feel "owned" by this process and those who are deeply involved in it. Yet, as a social class, they collectively may be surrounded by considerable socio-political power, which is wielded by self-appointed spokespeople and "allies" who do not always have the best interests of the victim class at heart, and may even be competing with each other at cross-purposes, for dominance within the political sphere of issues surrounding that class, and at the class's expense.

Historical and sociological examples

George Gascoigne George Gascoigne (c. 15357 October 1577) was an English poet, soldier and unsuccessful courtier. He is considered the most important poet of the early Elizabethan era, following Sir Thomas Wyatt and Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey and leading to t ...

in his eye witness account of the Spanish sack of Antwerp described what he called “these outrages and disordered cruelties...Rapes, spoyles, Incests, and Sacriledges”. *

Kate Fox Kate Fox is a British social anthropologist, co-director of the Social Issues Research Centre (SIRC) and a Fellow of the Institute for Cultural Research. She has written several books, including '' Watching the English: The Hidden Rules of Engli ...

in her

anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of behavi ...

of the English observed that drunkenness came with a standardised set of outrages to perform, ranging from swearing and scuffling up to

mooning Mooning is the act of displaying one's bare buttocks by removing clothing, e.g., by lowering the backside of one's trousers and underpants, usually bending over, and also potentially exposing the genitals. Mooning is used in the English-speaking ...

. She also noted how “the English take great pleasure in being shocked and outraged, and righteous indignation is one of our favourite national pastimes, but the feelings expressed are nonetheless genuine”.

Literary examples

*At the climax of ''

The Libation Bearers The ''Oresteia'' ( grc, Ὀρέστεια) is a trilogy of Greek tragedies written by Aeschylus in the 5th century BCE, concerning the murder of Agamemnon by Clytemnestra, the murder of Clytemnestra by Orestes, the trial of Orestes, the end of th ...

'', Orestes, murderously confronting his mother over her murder of his father, exclaims “You killed and it was outrage – suffer outrage now”.Aeschylus, ''The Oresteia' (Penguin 1981) p. 219

References

{{Emotion-footer Emotions Moral psychology

outrage

Historical and sociological examples

Literary examples

See also

References