Why so many angry audiophiles?

Perhaps because of my age I have recently developed a certain intense dislike for the over abundance of self-righteousness I perceive around me in social media as well  as another forms of media.  Regardless of the subject matter politics, religion, love, sexual inclinations, and yes speakers and cables,  ..I forgot the great dialectic about analog versus digital ,  it appears that this psychological malady is permeating our social fabric. Since I think it would be challenging to treat those individuals suffering from this malady, the best we can do is to treat its manifestation, so it does not infect the rest of us. How?  Since ego plays such important role in the attitude of the self-righteous a possible solution is the use of shame. Hence language is the tool, we should not stand indifferent or silent to any instance, but point out how laughable that utterance is, the intensity of the ridicule measured to the degree of stupidity of the  self-righteous manifested in its message, not only based on its content but as important in the tone of voice used to deliver it. 
I hope I am forgiven, it’s too early and I have not had my first cup of coffee.

OP: Good question. It has been one of the thing most likely to abandon the forum. While you posed it as a rhetorical question, my assumption is that we can’t just "call on our better natures" to stop being angry. We need to think about why it’s happening.

Here are a couple thoughts. I’m sure there are other reasons. This is a forum and I’m spitballing.

1. We are in a culture where debate is modeled constantly for us on television and other popular media. There, disagreement must be stark and dramatic or it’s not entertaining. If it’s not entertaining, it’s not watchable and people turn away -- and the purpose of TV is to make money. This is why it’s called an "Attention Economy."

So, many of us (consciously or unconsciously) repeat the way we see argument modeled on TV. That leads to anger in our lives.

2. Political debate has become more acrimonious because it takes place largely according to its dominant format -- TV. (See point 1 above.). We create political debates (in tone, form) out of debates about audio. We need to stop doing that. As you point out, we’re debating over luxury items.

3. People ask questions they care about, but these wind up requiring deeper technical knowledge or greater experience than most on the forum have. Yet, it’s no fun to participate in a forum and not write *something.* When people get a bull-hockey answer or a half-assed answer to a question they care about, it annoys them, and they express that. Or -- their question is just ignored. Conflict is now lit.

4. Relative anonymity leads people to say things they wouldn’t in person. For some reason, people think that they can discharge whatever off-forum anger they have, here. Weird thing about anger, though. Unlike the "catharis" theory of anger -- the idea that anger is like pressure that needs to be "released" -- acting in angry ways just makes you (and others) angrier. (See: "Venting doesn’t work even among people who believe in the value of venting, and even among people who report feeling better after venting (Bushman, Baumeister, & Stack, 1999). In fact, venting has the opposite effect—it increases aggression. The better people feel after venting, the more aggressive they are. Venting can even increase aggression against innocent bystanders." https://alltheragescience.com/commentary/four-questions-on-the-catharsis-myth-with-dr-brad-bushman/ )

These are volatile times for sure. That's why I have decided to not engage in any political arguments or discussions on THIS site. I have a lot of opinions but I had to ask myself why I joined this site and engage in these forums. It was to learn from others all things audio. I have learned much with a long way to go. I will have my political discussions/ arguments on other social media sites and in person and leave this for all things audio! Happy New Year, left or right and may we all enjoy the wonder of music to the fullest extent possible.

Agreed! Get off merry go round and just enjoy what you have. That's what this hobby is about in the first place. The holly grail is unobtainable. 

Absolutely!!! 100% agree with this post. Music (even without concerts) will get us through these dark days.