RE: Selective Outrage, From a Strictly Extra-Terrestrial Point of View
Funny and well-written stuff! :D
I personally think the problem with outrage is that when we are outraged about something "the others" are doing, it strengthens our belonging to the group we have labelled ourselves a member of, and helps strengthen our resentment towards the others. And since we are social creatures this feeling of belonging to a group feel rewarding on a deep level. So outrage spreads through our chosen group like wildfire and makes us band together even more tightly and continues to paint the picture of the other side as more and more evil or unreasonable. This breeds more outrage and you suddenly you see a group of people that is by no means a real minority (like the Christians in your story) start developing persecution complexes.
Outrage is so infectious because it breeds more outrage and blinds reasonable thinking and analysis of "the others" making all kinds of social divides even wider.
You're completely right, it absolutely blinds people who get upset about insignificant things, I think it would help to step out of the situation to see how ridiculous it is.
Thank you for the great comment!
Unfortunately, stepping out is not that easy as outrage is really an emotion and not exactly a conscious thought which makes it even harder to control. It's really worth examining ourselves and our motivations when we get angry at "the others". Sometimes anger is actually due, but sometimes it an overreaction and dehumanization of the other side of a minor and/or insignificant issue.
Thank you to and thank you for the thought-provoking post! :)