A secondary emotion is an emotion caused by, and often used to mask, another emotion: the primary. Classic secondaries are the “ads”; mad, sad, glad.
It’s an idea I’ve come to believe in fiercely, and one I use at work everyday. It’s a fantastic investigatory tool for unpacking complex affect.
This afternoon I got to use it on myself.
The track on the right was outgoing, the left track incoming, about 10 minutes apart.
What happened?
The only reason I didn’t chuck my bike in the bushes at some point was it’s 80+ pound heft. Yes, the mud was itself sufficient to keep the thing upright.
After scraping and dragging back to the trailhead, I cleaned things enough to ride, but was hemmed in by muck, unable to got further than a quarter mile in either direction. So I tried to salvage the ride, cruising some normally unrideable washes, and doing some 30 second intervals on a short hill. I still came home frustrated.
Frustration being a secondary emotion at best, more likely a tertiary one. I was frustrated at being angry at myself, wasting time and energy. I was angry because I was disappointed, I should have known better than to go ride the one trail in the area that has clay soil to such an extent.
Duh.
PS
Watching The News Hour as I write, and they have some fucking blond, white US Attorney trying to convince us that mandatory minimums for crack cocaine (v. powdered) aren’t racist. Bullshit.
Bedrock & Paradox 
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