Passive aggressive

Aggressive is, in most cases, not as good as peaceable. But given that, I'm puzzled by the widespread belief that passive aggressive is in some way worse than active aggressive. I suppose this is because passive aggression has the odour of dishonesty, or disingenuity, about it; where a good honest punch on the nose is a good honest punch on the nose. But this is quite wrong. Active aggression is much worse, and results in much greater actual harm and intimidation. Passive aggression, by contrast, not only breaks no bones, but (in a receptive individual) may even initiate a person into the wonders of ironic interaction.