“Going by mail” is a term used to describe sudden and extreme anger that can lead to violence, often associated with postal workers. Workplace violence can have serious consequences, and predicting behavior is difficult. Law enforcement may need to intervene to prevent harm.
The term “going by mail” is often used in American slang to describe a very sudden and extreme anger that often leads to violence. While the term was initially used to refer to workplace violence, it is also used more generally. The consequences of such an episode of violence can sometimes be very serious and quite shocking for victims and survivors.
The roots of the term lie in a number of incidents of workplace violence committed by members of the United States Postal Service (USPS). The first such incident occurred in 1986, when 14 USPS employees were killed by a distraught postman, who later also shot himself. This incident was not isolated; by 1997, 40 USPS employees had been killed in their workplaces in bouts of sudden violence. While many workplaces are unsafe for other reasons, most people like to believe they won’t be put in danger by their co-workers. As a result, these incidences of going by mail were terrifying for many people on multiple levels, as they suggested that ordinary jobs could be deadly under the wrong circumstances.
Much to the USPS’s dismay, the term “going postal” entered American parlance in the early 1990s when a number of people commented on the sudden violence attributed to disgruntled postal workers. The USPS has tried to discourage the use of the term, arguing that such acts of violence have also been documented in other workplaces, including the technology sector. However, this type of violence appears to be permanently associated with postal workers, who often work long, stressful hours which could lead to frustration.
Such violence is usually committed by someone who has reached a state of hopeless frustration. This may be due to external factors or a less than congenial workplace. Behavior is often very difficult to predict, although many workplaces attempt to address disgruntled workers before they reach such levels of anger and frustration. Oftentimes, targeted colleagues and bystanders are completely innocent victims of misplaced rage when someone goes by mail.
When someone outside of the workplace is extremely angry or irrational, people may even say they are going by mail, in reference to their dangerous mood. When someone goes by mail, it can be very difficult to reason with, which can make it very difficult to defuse the situation. In some cases, law enforcement agencies are trained to deal with people who go by mail, in hopes that someone can be stopped and treated without harm to anyone involved. In other cases, someone may be so upset that more drastic measures such as physical or chemical restrictions need to be taken.
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