Pandemic rage: Everyday frustrations in times of the COVID-19 crisis

Abstract

In this study, the authors use data from qualitative research to examine the phenomenon of pandemic rage in everyday life. They define pandemic rage as an emotional reaction to feelings of anger, frustration and helplessness resulting from the conviction that fundamental rules have been violated during a pandemic, which is perceived (by the person experiencing pandemic rage) as provocation, impertinence, insolence, and crossing boundaries. The article takes a closer look at the relations between space, normative order, behaviours and pandemic rage. It first introduces the linkages between the occurrence of pandemic rage and the experience of spatial compression in the private and public spheres, situations of feeling ‘condensed’ and ‘condemned’ in the presence of others, and proxemic disturbances. Then the article discusses endogenous and exogenous catalysts of pandemic rage. The last section provides a summary with interpretations and conclusions.