Happy people don't shout

 So I'm standing in the makolet, ie the bodega, the convenience store waiting to pay for my chips. Above my head, a television is blaring. It's a news show. There are three anchors, journalists, Israelis, whatever you want to call them, and two of them are shouting at each other. The woman in particular is ferocious. It's hard to tell what they are shouting about because the voices crash into each other. The rage is palpable. And it goes on and on. Sometimes when I complain about Israeli fighting - and whenever you complain about Israel somebody rushes in to contradict or put a spin on it - I am told "Italians fight."

Italians lose their tempers for 3 seconds on the street or in the kitchen. They don't rage on television (or in the Parliament) for fifteen minutes or more.

This went on so long I thought to time it. She wouldn't stop. I felt my blood pressure rise, my tension grow. I tried to ignore it, but it gets to you. And it's so prevalent here. 

Once I was in an underground shopping area (a very crude, basement like place) and heard shouting for 20 minutes, enraged shouting. I went over finally to see what was going on. One Israeli was shouting at another who had three small children with  him. The shouting was so severe I expected manslaughter to follow. I was amazed that the second man just stood there, allowing his children to endure this.

I braced myself and said to the screamer, adoni, there are children here. Maybe it's time to stop.

To my surprise he did.

I found out later that the screamer was the manager of the shopping area and the screamee hadn't paid his rent. Was he a day late like my friend whose landlord called the police on him for being a day late? I don't know, but I don't know how screaming helps anybody, particularly not children. I would say that this was 100x worse than smoking in front of children. But it's so normal in Israel, even thought it's abnormal, that two grown men engaged in it in front of children.

These are not happy people. These are not humble people. Happy people don't shout at others. Humble people don't shout. 

And they don't bash each other in the head:

IDF Base EXPLODES: Israeli Troops Attack Fellow Soldiers In Ugly Clash Caught On Cam

Fighting in the Knesset

Fighting in Ponevezh