The American Anger Diet

Americans seem to be angry at everything all the time

Photo by Erfan Rg on Unsplash

In the winter of 1982, I stopped for lunch at a Taco Bell in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The place was busy with the usual lunch crowd. People sat in their booths eating and talking. Everything looked normal. It was just an ordinary day.

Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a young man with a scruffy beard stand up quickly. He picked up his tray filled with his food and drink, hoisted it to shoulder level, and began marching quickly toward the counter. Just before he got there, he stopped and threw his tray at the people behind the counter and angrily shouted, “I ordered a Burrito Supreme, not a fucking regular burrito.” The tray hit the counter and splattered food all over the front counter and the workers standing behind it. One of the female workers broke into tears as the man huffed and puffed and stormed out. The place was plunged into silence.

Those of us eating were stunned.

After the man exited, the crew behind the counter began the clean-up. The people sitting in the booths resumed eating their lunches, and I am sure many of the conversations revolved around the incident. The reactions were mixed. Some people were smiling and laughing about the outrageous incident. The looks on other people’s faces revealed shock and…