There is an overwhelming amount of news about the imploded OceanGate submarine. This leads to social conversations about the submarine. Some people try to steer the conversations around their “joy” of seeing billionaires die.

I ignored the comments at first, but then someone commented that they were excited about the death of billionaires on a post I made about drama addiction…irony? Yes.

I told him I did not think that mentality is healthy. He then tagged me in a video, with thousands of views and comments, of a woman who said she thinks people who do not wish death on billionaires are lying or they are ignorant to what billionaires do to get to their billionaire status….apparently this perspective is gaining traction.

The commenter then said he thinks I am delusional for not wanting people to die, or in his mind billionaires are not people…I am still not entirely sure. 

As an expert in emotional intelligence and mental health, I would like to offer a different perspective. The reason I do not wish death on anyone is because, as an expert in emotional intelligence and mental health, I know better. 

Let’s talk about it. 

Emotional ignorance

Because emotionally ignorant people typically express anger by yelling and with aggression, anger get’s a bad rep. But, like the rest of emotions (and most things), anger isn’t good or bad, it just is. And, like other emotions, when you feel anger, it is telling you something needs to be addressed.

Typically, a secondary emotion to sadness, if you feel anger you are likely just sad about something. But since it feels more powerful to be angry, and it is scary to be sad (which feels vulnerable), and people haven’t been taught how to express and process emotions they just get stuck in anger.

That’s what people who wish death on others—what these people wishing death on billionaires—are doing: getting stuck in anger. And they are using it as a superiority flex where they think if other people aren’t blindly leaning into anger and wishing for the death of others, then those people are stupid or liars. It’s all a form of protection…derived out of fear.

Emotional intelligence

Wishing death on someone doesn’t hurt them, it only hurts you. And when you wish death on someone, you choose that person and you choose to live in anger instead of choosing to live for you. That leads to, or compacts, depression.

Mentally healthy people do not wish for the death of others. In a moment of anger, maybe, but not to the extent of the people on social media who are saying the death of billionaires brings them “joy”…that’s hella awkward.

If I did ever wish death on someone, I would acknowledge that it was an indication of anger. and I would ask myself questions to try and figure out why I was upset:

• Why do I want this? 
• Am I blaming this person (or group of people) for a larger issue?
• Is there something I am not accepting? 
• Do I need to do something to ease these emotions? 
• Do I need to talk about this with someone? 
• Would writing this out make me feel better? 

And then I would work to process the unresolved emotions so I could come to acceptance and stop letting anger negatively affect my life.

Ending thoughts

I didn’t come to this level of emotional and mental awareness by just reading books. I lived it. And I know what it is like to want someone to die with every fiber of your being. I know what it is like to feel so angry you’re frozen.

So I can tell you firsthand, I know that if you think billionaires dying is exciting, then your anger is negatively affecting your mental health. It’s holding you down. It is only hurting you. And you need to learn how to choose yourself. To prioritize your mental wellness over your emotional ignorance. (It might hurt to hear this, but I hope you can sense that I say this with love.)

This looks like acknowledging that wishing death on someone stems from anger and rage and then exploring where the rage is coming from. It might be because you feel upset by the current condition of the world, and I don’t blame you. 

But there is a difference between billionaires and billionaire culture. And wishing death on people isn’t doing anything but hurting you. Instead of anger, work on acceptance. In that acceptance you might decide you want to do advocacy work or something else that will help improve the current situation. 

…aand now I need to find a picture for an article about people who think they revel in billionaires dying because of repressed anger.