Have we all developed a much shorter fuse?
Today I read this article about a bus driver in Eijsden who was severely assaulted after confronting two passengers who refused to pay.
It stuck with me because I witnessed something yesterday outside the hospital in Maastricht.
A young man on a scooter blocked a woman in her car. He called her a “kankerhoer” and spat into her vehicle. I don’t know what led up to it, but the scene itself was aggressive and intimidating.
Two very different incidents, of course, and I’m not suggesting they prove anything about society as a whole. But it did make me think. It sometimes feels like the gap between irritation and outright aggression has become very small.
Do others recognize this? Are people actually getting more short-tempered, what do you think is driving it?