A rising number of people in the United States are retaliating in violent and frequently brutal ways in response to laws or behavior they don't like, according to a recent report published by The Washington Post.

This year, the Federal Aviation Administration has opened more than 1,000 disorderly passenger investigations, more than five times the number it opened in 2020. In the face of public animosity, health and electoral officials have expressed concern for their safety.

Experts believe that the pandemic has inflicted collective trauma which lingered across the US for the past two years.

Attorney General Merrick Garland has urged the US Justice Department to look into a "disturbing surge" in threats against educators, as school board meetings have become cultural battlegrounds.

In recent months, some American shoppers who have become accustomed to getting their way have displayed their worst behavior.

It's unclear whether aggressive behavior has grown this year or whether the public has just focused more attention on it in some of these cases, the report suggested.

However, mental health professionals believe that the world's continual state of crisis has led to an increase in inappropriate and aggressive behavior.

Many Americans are deeply tense about two years into a pandemic that has coincided with several national crises.

According to the experts, some of these behaviors appear to be the outcome of living through a long-running public emergency with no obvious resolution.

Meanwhile, evidence suggests that Americans as a whole are experiencing mental and emotional difficulties.