You Have Every Right to Be Angry

You see so many social media posts, memes, and messages about anger these days. It feels like so many people are feeling angry emotions about the world we live in and things that are unacceptable to them.

Here in the United States, the list of rage-inducing things is evident. Racism. Bigotry. Homophobia. Sexism. Police brutality. Book banning. Politics. Poverty. Attempted Religious control. Women losing their reproductive rights. Skyrocketing housing costs.

Please, somebody stop me.

These are the first things that came to mind that make me angry. There are those on the other end of the political spectrum that supports most of the things that drive me nuts. They have their own list of anger-inducing things that make them feel terrible.

Our country has a lot of problems. Most of the world does as well. It’s only natural that we feel angry sometimes. While it’s important not to let it consume us and ruin our lives, it’s also a valid feeling and one that we need to realize is common and normal.

The self-help industry was worth over 10 billion dollars in 2020. You see constant self-help books, seminars, podcasts, and other media that tout the idea of you, as the consumer, being able to overcome so many things.

These topics may include overcoming anxiety and depression, how to make more money, lose weight, feel more spiritual, accept death, and of course, how to deal with your anger.

Most of these self-help books are bullshit.

We have the power within ourselves to live a more balanced, happier, and fulfilled life. But we have to want that for ourselves. And accept our full range of emotions when we feel them, without feeling shame from outside sources. And from the people trying to make a buck off of our perceived flaws.

Some of the self-help authors who write books to help you become a better version of yourself write these books to actually attempt to help others. But in my opinion, more of them than not write these books to make money.

The self-help industry is huge because there are a lot of angry, sad, and lost people in this world. Again, with all of the death, suffering, and conflicting views we’re exposed to and surrounded by, it’s natural to feel angry.

I know I do.

Every time I hear of a case like Tyre Nichols, the African-American man who was just murdered in police custody, my blood boils. Not only for the tragic, avoidable loss of human life but because of the ignorant dumb shits of the world who rise to the surface when tragedies like this happen.

They’ll blame the dead victim who cannot defend himself. They’ll point out how this wasn’t a hate crime because the dirty cops involved were also black. They’ll argue that police officers have a rough go of it and they have to administer brutal force at times to ensure they aren’t killed in the line of duty.

Uh-huh. Watch this video of this poor man being beaten to death while cuffed, screaming out for his mama while he’s being murdered, and tell me that 5 cops against one man who fled for his life was a just, fair thing.

You know things are fucked when there’s a warning like this before the video even starts. Proceed with caution.

It’s impossible to watch something like this as a decent human being and not feel anger and outrage. Kind of like when you hear of the latest mass shooting in any given week in America.

Ones that are usually committed with a large-capacity assault rifle. The types that belong in the hands of soldiers, not psychopaths who prey on innocent, random people in public settings.

Each time this happens, I hear people bawling and squawling about potentially losing their right to own such instruments of death. I wonder how they cannot seem to understand or care about school children being torn apart by these weapons and bullets. To the point that their little bodies aren’t easily identified after the dust settles from the rampage of the week.

And it makes me angry.

When we cannot sympathize and empathize with the family whose child has been murdered because we put our own selfish wants and desires to own these kinds of weapons, we are failing as human beings. It causes anger in many of us, that people just don’t get it.

You cannot legislate morality. I am talking about TRUE morality, not the misinterpreted version of it that the Bible thumpers use to justify their evil, selfish beliefs. Of course, we have the right to be angry and find this hypocrisy to be sickening and wrong.

Speaking of the Moral Minority, what in the fuck gives them the right to decide what everyone else should believe? If they don’t want to read books that scare them and make them doubt their beliefs, DON’T READ THEM.

If you are not a fan of abortion, don’t fucking have one. If you don’t believe in gay marriage, don’t marry someone of the same sex, or attend a gay wedding.

It’s really that simple.

But taking it way too far and trying to make the decisions for everyone else who does not share your religious beliefs is bullshit. What gives you the right to decide what others need to believe and follow? Nothing. You do not have that right.

This is yet another thing that makes me angry.

You see, it’s ok to feel anger. Through anger comes the desire to influence change. When something bothers people to the point when they say, “Ok, this is completely wrong, enough is enough”, then real change can occur.

So no, you don’t need fixing. Don’t be ashamed to feel your emotions and feel angry from time to time. Use that anger to influence change and to help bring better things to this world.

I use my anger in my writing. It inspires me to attempt to influence change. I will never stop calling out injustice and bullshit when I see it.

There will always be an audience for that type of thing, as long as there are good people left on this Earth. Ones who feel that equality and justice for all are both worth fighting for. &:^)