I am going to propose that contradictions are verbal constructs. Of course, all of modern life (urbanization) is a verbal construct, so that gives the contradiction weight within our society. In another society, they may be weightless.
When our mental capacity cannot make a plausible reason for our circumstances, we feel at risk, and feel that something is missing. The situation can be exactly the same for two people; but one person has a satisfying explanation for themselves, (no matter how far-fetched it is), and the other cannot justify it with his set of base assumptions. The first feels at ease. The second has an emotional upset, possibly leading to erratic or counterproductive behavior.
The way of looking that creates duel possibilities, often blocks people's ability to weigh their own actions.
1. That fright reaction is just the ancient human bodily mechanism. If you become familiar with the mechanism, you don't have to follow its urges. You are there to annul what you now know does not work toward your objectives. (That is totally different than suppressing emotion through the fear of consequences.) Within the mechanism, we react to what is programmed to be a threat, many things that we have learned, and/or the unknown. The programming comes from those explanations that are taken as fact, reality, or truth. But what part is real and what part is a construct? Let's look at these words: Contradiction, Paradox, Enigma, Conundrum, Dichotomy, Incongruity, Riddle, Mystification, they all lead to mental and emotional uneasiness. It is your reaction to any unwanted circumstance, or to the absence of claiming that you "already know".
Do you find anything of the sort in nature? Is there a contradiction built into every living or dead thing? Something is growing, and it is dying at the same time. Is that a contradiction? No, it is just the life process. Contradiction is just the human way of looking at it. All these words are a human construct, maybe useful for our way of analyzing, but also misleading to our emotions. We can either identify with these upsets and protect them as "who I am", or easily enough see through them. If they are harmless, we will know it, and we can play with them, create a drama. But when they are a limit to our possibilities, they could be quickly dropped. In concepts there are most always contradictions, because every concept itself is a human construct. People say; making a war to have peace is a contradiction. But nobody makes war for peace, they make war to right perceived injustices. And those might not in anyway be "just" to our present sense of it. Maybe it is a belief in subjugation, (which is a form of surface peace)?
2. We react, maybe 100's of times a day. So it must be real, isn't it? Somebody is impolite, or worse, aggressive, (against the way our culture thinks they should be). Shouldn't we hit them back, give them a taste of their own medicine, teach them a lesson? Has it ever worked? Yes it worked to make them more angry and revengeful. But is that what you wanted out of it. If you wanted to dominate them, then did you do it? "I think I have more power than them, so I should use it for my own benefit."
3. So what are your emotional reactions, if not only your own drama? And drama can be manipulative toward the other. Or it can be your excuse to withdraw from what you see as a limited payback. I won't get anything out of this encounter, so I'll justify to myself and run away. Then your payback is your separation and further isolation.
Maybe you have created lots of projects that already give satisfaction, and you have to weigh where to place your time. Something new has an untested payback. Something old has a track record, however limited, but it seems to be reliable up to that point. Is that satisfaction growing, or is it in a declining phase?
4. We still have to deal with it, because the mass of humanity is reactive, according to their own beliefs. With increased cultural mixing, people don't think like I do. But "deal with it in the other", doesn't mean to act it out within ourselves. I am saying every reaction is a waste of time and energy. Withdraw if it is not right. But don't take a stomach ulcer along with you.
Your most precious possession is your centered mind (and emotion). Call it equanimity. It is not an inert state, but your most balanced position to move from. It is the maximum of readiness, and your clearest point of vision. Ripples go through the system, but nothing sticks. You are cleared for renewed action in an instant. (or in a minute or an hour).
All reactions are built on justification. It is "your right" to express yourself. There is something called the "fed-up-factor", enough is enough. Of course we have to protect ourselves from physical harm. Part of that is judging the other's words, if they are inciting themselves into mal-action. Maybe some verbal drama shot back could be prudent. It is the war of propaganda narratives. Is that a normal public place of safety, or have you wandered into the "devils lair"? Why were you there in the first place, if there was a choice?
5. Some say; "I love to rant". Who's listening and what will they do about it? It is your job as a friend to listen and help me to dissipate it. (I do, but are you dissipating it or are you building it?) "Well, I really rant to myself, it seems like I have bottled up energy". What are the words that created that bottled-up feeling from seeming inconsistency. Those words are the villains, clear them out first. Don't wait to take a look; and then act it out when looking is too late.
It is so completely effortless, if that will become your desire.
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“…contradictions are verbal constructs…”
What about non-verbal people? There is some communication between them and verbal people, but we don’t really know how it operates. Things are easily explainable once we drag non-verbal people into the verbal world, but this is violence - we simply impose our constraints on them.
If they are not verbal, do they experience contradictions? Contradictions of what?
What about non-verbal animals? We may start with dogs and cats, which we “think” we know (really?). How do they process contradictions?