I have a friend that has some rage issues. He is one two friends I hang out with at this point in my life.
It's important to understand that anger is not something that people choose it express. It comes out. I am naturally not an angry person but I feel that anyone who has ever been enraged understands that once it is happening, it's hard to stop.
I grew up in a household where there were regular spats of depraved argument and it always left me shaking. Currently I live next door to a man that at least once a week can be heard screaming in fits of rage towards his wife. I have called the police a few times. Enough said.
What I want to touch on with this post is the core of anger. Some psychologists believe that anger stems from narcissism, that the person expressing it is doing so because they feel threatened and must maintain control of the situation. Therefore they attack others who call out their anger as the perpetrators and build a facade of innocence through circular conversations in which they are always the victim.

I have always aimed to defuse a situation rather than attack the person causing it. Why? Is that pathetic, apologistic approach.
Maybe it is, maybe not. All I know is that the people expressing it are suffering in their own way. To write them off as deranged lunatics is only to perpetuate their anger.
It has to be addressed gradually. To break someones jaw in this state is no good. You express your own feelings but at a cost.
It is rare for people to decline the instigation for war that is brought on in any hostile situation. If you can and become close with a person you might be able to make a difference. If you just snap and attempt to derail their violent expression of anguish then you only push them further into it.
If you wait for an opportune moment and try to help them before an episode occurs then you might be able to help them before they hurt someone else.