That is very sensible of you, Bert. Despite the fact that people go on and on about how upset they are about something, the fact is, they keep coming back to it. That indicates, as you say, that they are at some level enjoying themselves even if they won't admit it.

A lot of people enjoy being upset. It strengthens their sense of who they are and who they are not.

This is why it's such a popular tactic in politics to be "mad as hell" about something in order to attract attention and get votes. People enjoy blowing off steam, and they're attracted to a candidate who helps make them feel good about being mad and blows off steam on their behalf.