Grievance, humiliation & revenge
Names and abbreviations on this page
US — United States. US$ denotes United States dollars.
FBI — Federal Bureau of Investigation. A United States federal investigative agency; cited here for published research on warning behaviours.
Human mind, violence & prevention
How a perceived wrong can become a justification for harming someone—and why that outcome is not inevitable.
Evidence reviewed: 16 October 2026. Educational information; individual assessment requires appropriate professional context.
The basic concept
A grievance is a sense that someone has treated a person unfairly. The perceived wrong may be real, mistaken or a mixture. Revenge seeks to answer that wrong by making another person suffer. These ideas help describe a possible motive; they do not make retaliation justified or predict what an angry person will do.
What the evidence supports
The Secret Service’s study of U.S. mass attacks during 2016–2020 found grievances among recurring motives, including personal, relationship and workplace disputes. The study examines people who attacked; it cannot tell us that people with similar difficulties generally become attackers. Its setting also differs from organized warfare or genocide. [1]
An example to think through
Illustrative example: after losing a job, someone may seek advice, challenge the decision through an appeal, or begin describing coworkers as deserving punishment. The loss is the same starting event; the interpretations and subsequent actions differ. A useful question is how the person is responding, rather than whether the setback alone explains everything.
Where prevention can intervene
Take communicated threats and aggression seriously while preserving fair ways to resolve complaints. Trained assessment considers patterns and context rather than making a prediction from anger alone. Practical support and legitimate dispute procedures can be part of a response; they do not replace protection when a specific danger is present. [2]
The essential distinction
Understanding a grievance explains part of a person’s account of events. Responsibility concerns what they chose to do. Neither the victim of a threat nor a wider group should be blamed for another person’s decision to use violence.
Related learning
Escalation, warning behaviors & responding to concern
External Resources
[1] Secret Service — Mass Attacks in Public Spaces, 2016–2020
Research on U.S. targeted attacks; dated study
[2] FBI — behavioral analysis and concerning behavior
Public prevention guidance