You may not be alone. The British Association of Anger Management (or, in its onomatopoaeic acronym, BAAM) has mashed up a bunch of publically available data on crime, unemployment, and ONS figures, to conjure a map of the angriest places in Britain. Their conclusion? A cocktail of low employment (just 67% of adults are in a job), poor health, drugs, and population density, means that Lambeth is the angriest place in the country. The bristling rage isn't limited to Lambeth, though: Enfield and Barnet are close behind, and London as a whole is ranked Britain's most blood-boiled city.
In a naked advertisement for his organisation (and using the kind of wording normally found on a Scientology pamplet), BAAM diector Mike Fisher said:
"Crime, violence, domestic violence, road rage, addiction, eating disorders, depression and many other mental health issues all stem from our inability as a culture to handle or express our feelings, especially those of anger. Our courses are designed for anyone who is experiencing anger and stress related problems."
He may be right about that, but is BAAM's methodology for divining Lambeth as the locus of British irascibility correct? The borough may suffer disproportionately from the maladies of modern urban life, but it seems lazy to simply marry unemployment and high-density living with rancour. There's probably more anger to be witnessed on the Central line during rush hour than at the local Jobcentre Plus. And Lambeth residents have the added benefit of living near to the geographic centre of London, with its myriad delights.
If Lambeth is the angriest London gets, we can consider ourselves lucky to live in such a chilled-out city.
