“The rage you are feeling
comes from the same place inside
your heart as the love.
This is why you refuse to accept
a world where cruelty reigns and fire consumes all.
You have known hope
and joy and kindness,
like you have known water.
And justice is a river
that demands
you do not give up on it.”
Nikita Gill
Gill’s words could have been my own. On the regular, I am not prone to anger, let alone rage. A pacifist who has been known to be anger avoidant, I like to think I use carefully chosen anger as a tool and not a weapon. When I see injustice, I speak up. When I witness someone in emotional or physical danger, I take action. I call that persona the Mama Bear who comes out, claws bared, demanding to know “How f-ing dare you hurt that person!” I share that tendency with my therapy clients who are survivors of abuse and trauma. I ask them if it’s okay that I am angry at their perpetrators on their behalf. To a person, they say yes and they smile, knowing that even decades after the abuse they have an ally.
One of my triggers to anger is the silencing of voices, the marginalizing of human beings with vile names and dehumanizing actions taken against them, by an administration I wouldn’t in a million years have voted for. Most in my life didn’t cast their ballot in their favor either, but a few did. I can’t wrap my 67 year old mind around anything that would justify these otherwise caring, intelligent and educated people to embrace someone who I am now referring to as the Bully in Chief who takes delight in all the cruelty he can muster. I do my best to be grounded in my expression, not lowering myself to their level, with demeaning language.
There are so many reasons to be angry now. They include denial of the abuse of children by the current occupant of the Oval Office, fighting for his political and perhaps actual life by creating distractions. Another possible assassination attempt at Mar-a-Lago, a war in Iran, a riddled with lies State of the Union address. I wish there was fact checking in real time at which a really obnoxious buzzer would sound each time he fabricated and ripped the fabric of truth. Then there is the adolescent display in the locker room following the Olympic men’s hockey team win, in which Kash Patel is chugging beer with ‘the boys’ and the congratulatory call from ‘the pres’ who invited them to the White House but added that he would reluctantly have to invite the women’s team who had also earned the gold medal or he would get heat for it. Not one of them said a word in correction and laughed at ‘the joke’. If they were really stand up guys, they would have supported their team members. Turns out that the joke was on them, since the repast they were served during their visit was gourmet McDonald’s cuisine. The women, were treated by Stanley Tucci with lunch in Milan and this summer will be lauded by rapper Flavor Flav in Las Vegas. Lots better than Big Macs and fries any day.
Said the ardent supporter of women’s sports, “If the USA Women’s Hockey team wants a real celebration and invite ,,, I’ll host them in Las Vegas. Do some nice dinners and shows and good times,” he wrote. “I’m sure I can get a hotel and airline to help me out here and celebrate these women for real for real.”
Last week, I had an opportunity to calmly and methodically address a wrongdoing. I was at our county courthouse to handle some business. On the way out, I notice a security guard standing behind his desk. On the top of the piece of furniture were some cute rubber duckies….and one not so cute. It was a Tr*mp duck, complete with a blue suit and red tie and perched on top of its signature yellow hair was a red MAGA hat. I flinched and then walked out. I don’t think he noticed. When I got home, I reached out to my local political contacts. While this man certainly has the right to vote for who he chooses, the courthouse is not the appropriate place to display his partisan position. Within short order, the offending duck waddled away.
I invite you to stand up for what you believe in. A Philly local singer songwriter named Gary Scarpello penned an anthemic song called Stand Up. With its marching beat sound, it is a clarion call for those who want a brighter future for our country. In the 60s and 70s, the Viet Nam War, the Civil Rights Movement, the environmental crises, No Nukes and Women’s Rights were met with the talents of singer songwriters. Gary is one among them, now in this era of conflict and chaos.
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This Post is republished on Medium.
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Photo credit: Unsplash
