AMERICANS are becoming angry. Very angry. Recent polls carried out by CNN show that 69% of Americans are either "very angry" or "somewhat angry" about the way their lives are going, especially in the run up to electing a new president in November. And there is a similar trend here in the UK. The triggers are the usual suspects: money, stress, work/life imbalance, inequality and the perception that nobody really cares.
Anger is a powerful emotion that can hijack our rationale. Think of Donald Trump’s talent for hoovering up the loosely-formed, free-floating anger of ordinary American folks and harnessing it into a powerful, if primitive, machine that may well catapult him into a position where he can strike for the presidency. Sounds crazy; but misdirected anger is kind of crazy.
That’s why anger gets such bad press: more often than not, we direct it at the wrong person, at the wrong time, in the wrong way and for the wrong purpose. There is something shameful and demeaning about getting it so wrong.
Take that phone call to your broadband provider’s customer service agent. All you want to do is let them know you will be moving house and changing to another provider. Simple, eh? You feel perfectly fine as you dial the "helpline", blissfully unaware of the tsunami of rage that is heading your way. Imagine your surprise when the rage turns out to be erupting from inside li’l old you.
These seemingly mundane scenarios are the most dangerous snares for our misdirected and dormant anger, because in these situations we are at the mercy of the organisation we are calling and this helplessness that creates optimal conditions for anger to take hold. When it comes to call centres, you either learn to play the game by their rules, or you resist and get punished (by not getting what you need or want, or by having to pay more for it). If you really lose it, you might even face criminal charges.
Misdirected anger spreads like wildfire. And you don’t need much tinder to get things started: a hostile look can do the trick; a slight, supercilious flick in the tone of voice, a purposeful elbowing of your fellow passenger in the queue to get on the bus.
Anger is all around. Cast your net out, and you’re sure to catch something, and quickly. But ask yourself this: why do you want it and what does it achieve? The first reward for getting angry is a sharp rise in blood pressure and an accelerated heart rate. Next, a decrease in the ability to concentrate and think clearly. And after that, a disinhibition in behaviour that gives the green light on lashing out in verbal and physical acts of violence.
When it comes to interpersonal relationships, misplaced anger reaps few rewards, save the destruction of a relationship that you may value and not want to lose. At its worst, misplaced anger is murderous and irreversible. We read about it every day in the news.
So can anger ever be virtuous? Yes. If it’s directed at the right person, in the right way and with the right purpose, anger can be a transformative and awesomely powerful emotion.
The tricky thing about anger is that we often don’t understand what it’s really about or where it’s come from. How often do we hear ourselves say: “This rage just erupted in me, totally out of the blue.” This happens precisely because the bad experiences that made us feel helpless in the past are so distressing, so disconcerting that we choose to bury and then ignore them.
But anger simply festers in the dark, re-inventing itself, just waiting in the wings to make an appearance in a different guise. This is what makes the true origins of anger hard to identify. Our culture and society also frowns upon anger, repressing it and telling us it’s a bad thing and to keep it under wraps.
There is nothing inherently bad about the depth of passion that generates anger. It comes from the same source of energy as love, joy, sadness. Anger can be an excellent motivating force that enables us to survive and thrive in the face of adversity and to seek and find justice. It can also tell us when something is not working right in our relationships with others by acting as an alarm that opens up dialogue about our vulnerabilities and needs. It delivers insights into our own psyches because its fierce sharpness can illuminate the darker, obscured sides of ourselves.
It can also alert us to danger and, paradoxically, help us to avoid violence. Good anger can propel us towards action and growth. Despite its bad press, anger can be a force for good, but its complex and volatile chemistry should be respected, used discriminatingly and always, always handled with care.
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