Are you angry about what's happening in Portland? Here's a way to vent.

Your neighbors on Reddit are here to help.

Photo by Alexandra Mirgheș on Unsplash

There's a lot to be upset about in Portland right now. Nightly shootings. Homeless camps and trash everywhere. Rampant car thefts. An infrastructure that is buckling under climate change.

And then there are all the minor frustrations like dogs pooping in your yard, street racing blocking traffic. Fighter planes noisily circling the city, and people stealing your tomatoes off your plants. What's a frustrated Portlander to do?

Our friends at Reddit have created a great release valve. Portland's subreddit has thousands of people who offer their insights on everything Portland -- good and bad. And every Monday the moderators of the Portland subreddit offer a weekly "Dear Portland Weekly Rant Thread" where, in the great tradition of Festivus, residents can air their grievances.

Photo by peter bucks on Unsplash

The "Weekly Rant" thread is a great place to vent your frustrations with the city, no matter how small. The thread description lays out the rules succinctly:

GREETINGS MEATBAGS. PLEASE TELL ME YOUR MISFORTUNES SO I CAN LAUGH AT THEM. Caps lock on, inhibitions off, but if you break our rules so help me I'll delete my account. And yours.

What follows is sure to make you either laugh or nod in agreement at how annoying people are.

There's often something about people driving and using cellphones, like this post from a recent thread:

MY MOTORCYCLE IS NICE AND TALL SO I CAN SEE ALL OF YOU TEXTING IN YOUR LAP WHILE DRIVING. YOU ARE NOT BEING SNEAKY. YOU ARE PUTTING ME AND OTHERS IN DANGER. IT CAN WAIT. AND I KNOW THE BLACK VISOR DEHUMANIZES ME IN YOUR EYES BUT IT KEEPS THE SUN OUT OF MINE, SO 😎 DON'T COME AT ME, YOU BLIND, ROAD-RAGEY A-HOLE. I WILL DE-ESCALATE YOU WITH SUCH GRACE AND KINDNESS AND SCOOT AWAY INTO THE BLINDING SUNSET SO YOU CANT CHASE MEEEEE ✌️

There are posts about crime and lack of police response:

6 AM YESTERDAY A PRETTY NEW TOYOTA CAMRY WITH NO PLATES OR CAT CONVERTER WAS DOING ITS BEST TO BURN RUBBER ALL OVER SAINT JOHNS, BLOWING STOP SIGNS AND HITTING CURBS. OBVIOUSLY A STOLEN CAR. THEN THE GUY PARKS ON THE SIDEWALK IN FRONT OF THE BLUE HOUSE AND PASSES OUT ON THE PORCH. I DON'T EVEN BOTHER CALLING THE COPS ANYMORE.

And sometimes people just want to share their minor frustrations, such as this post:

I DON'T WANT TO CALL THEM OUT, BUT I DEFINTELY GOT FOOD POISOINING FROM A CERTAIN BAGEL PLACE. BOTH ENDS HAVE BEEN ANGRY FOR A WHILE NOW AND I AM MISERABLE.

And, as you might expect, COVID is a hot topic:

YA’LL NEED TO PLEASE STOP DYING FOR A LITTLE BIT. ALL OF OUR FUNERAL HOMES ARE BEYOND CAPACITY AND EVERY MORGUE IN TOWN IS FULL OF COVID BODIES. WE CAN’T...KEEP UP AND BODIES ARE ARRIVING FASTER THAN THEY ARE BEING CREMATED. THIS IS UNPRECEDENTED AND EXCEPTIONALLY WORSE THAN THE FIRST TWO COVID WAVES WE EXPERIENCED LAST YEAR. WEAR YOUR...MASK AND PLEASE STAY ALIVE.

Photo by Elisa Ventur on Unsplash

Many people find rant sites and threads like this to be cathartic. It can be fun to read people's posts and commiserate.

However, a study by the American Psychological Association (APA) disagrees. According to their research, ranting can produce long-term health consequences for both the person ranting and the reader. In both cases, people may often find themselves even more worked up after writing or reading a rant.

Then again, in these days of ongoing social isolation, online relationships are all that some people have. As one writer noted on the rant thread:

I HAVEN’T HAD AN ACTUAL CONVERSATION WITH A FRIEND SINCE JULY. AND OF COURSE, IT WAS VIA SCREEN.

What do you think of the weekly rant thread? Do you contribute? Share in the comments.

#portland #oregon #reddit #rant

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