How to differentiate

Idle threatening from dangerous threatening

Threatening, intimidating as well as ultimate together with promises and requests belongs to a common index of communication means, which we use to influence the other. As a rule we want to make him / her to do something or on contrary not to do what they intended. Each of us uses these tactics time from time although we fell that for example threatening, intimidating and ultimate do not belong among fair proceedings. But both sides know that the used threatening (e.g. “I’ll kill you,”) is not meant seriously and more than the intention expresses emotion of the speaker.

Next to these natural and quite harmless ways of verbal violence there exists dangerous threatening. In dangerous threatening it is not about giving vent to emotions of the moment for example because of a quarrel going on. There is hidden a thought, intention, malice behind dangerous threatening. Threatening of this kind has very different psychological base, aggressive communication becomes punishable a the main thing is that it leads to clear roles division - on one side there is a victim suffering from intensive fear and helplessness and the perpetrator or aggressor who brazenly terrorizes on the other side. Long – term dangerous threatening traumatizes the victim (in the same way as other forms of contact less i.e. non-physical violence, e.g. stalking or telephone harassment).

Examples speak for themselves: Colleague from work is stalking a secretary for weeks although he knows her only very superficially. Without having any relationship with her before he is convinced that she is destined to him and he acts according to that. He ignores her protests and dissatisfaction from the side of her boss. The released employee does not hide his hatred to his former boss. He accuses him of unjust evaluation of his work and firing which destroyed his family. In front of his colleagues he says that he will revenge his boss, he anonymously terrorizes him on the phone. Unsatisfied patient repeatedly threatens his doctor. Aggressive neighbour abuses his wife, after divorce he calls her names and is very vulgar, he threatens other families living in their area. A 17-year old teenager often speaks about having it out with his teacher, he cannot overcome that she let him fail. He boasts with guns he can borrow from his father.
Suggested stories describe real stories. Some of them are over, unfortunately