The room full of 15 yelling boys drowned out the sound of my voice. My brow furrowed out of frustration, it was my third hour as presiding officer of this debate tournament and each hour somehow became worse than the last. As hard as I tried, I still could not earn the respect of these boys. Finally, I stood up and called for recess; this had gotten out of hand. On my way out of the chamber, a boy about my age grabbed my arm. I whirled around to see who it was, and he gave me the smuggest look while whispering the ugliest words, “You’re just a girl; no one is going to listen to you.”
Pause. I had two options here.
Shrug it off and walk away
Get angry.
I felt like someone had slapped me in the face. I left the room with my eyes filled to the brim with tears. I chose silence.
Years later, I’m a sophomore in college reflecting on that situation as I have many times throughout my life. But this time, I see it in a new light. A light that allows me to show my anger without jeopardizing my moral high ground, as I previously thought it would. For the first time in my life, I realized I had a right to be angry.
In her book, The Case for Rage, Myisha Cherry argues we as a society are in desperate need of noble rage (which she refers to as “Lordean rage”). Just as love encompasses many different targets and action tendencies, so does anger, and anger should not be painted with a broad brush. Lordean rage, as Cherry explains, is a sign that morality has returned (Cherry 5), and it is an expression of love for justice and good (Cherry 6). The aim is change, contrasted with other types of anger, which has the purpose of justice for the individual. The change must be inclusive rather than exclusive, though, because there is no true freedom in society unless everyone is free.
Still, anger is typically viewed as a negative and counterproductive emotion. It’s often seen as inappropriate, causing long-term destruction and short-term gain. I counter by asking if any change has ever occurred in history without the feeling of anger against injustice. This argument could be made about America as a whole, if there was no anger at the colonists’ treatment at the hands of the British, would America even exist? In the past century, why have policies regarding women changed? The answer: people started getting angry. Through their anger, women raised awareness for the way they were being treated, and as a result, a change occurred. Anger itself is not dangerous; it’s all about the aim and action tendencies.
As a woman, though, I am discouraged from showing anger; if I do, I am seen as crazy. How often that word is thrown around about women! In the media, there are character stereotypes for women, one being the crazed ex-girlfriend. There is a wildly disproportionate amount of crazy female roles compared to crazy male roles in the world of television and movies. Men are more encouraged in their expression of anger, but they are silenced in their expression of other emotions, such as sadness. Why must everything be viewed through a gendered lens?
Lordean rage is the desire for better. It requires that we recognize wrongdoing (Cherry 28). It is also the desire for inclusive freedom, a freedom that says, “I am not free until we all are free!” (Cherry 28).
This rage applies not only to the fight for women’s rights but to all fights against injustice, specifically emphasizing the fight for racial justice. It is the only way to create change in the anti-racist, anti-homophobic, anti-sexist, etc. struggle. We must feel this rage deeply, motivated by a longing for a better world for those after us. A rage that encompasses a wanting for justice for all oppressed minorities and a change in policies for more equality throughout the country. After all, America stands for “liberty and justice for all,”…. right?
WRONG! Change requires us to get angry, and evidently, radical change for justice is not happening on its own. It requires us to be movers and shakers, toppling over societal standards one by one. We must break the unjust system to build a just one. The system we have now is relentless and powerful, built against minorities. America, the “land of the free,” is not truly the land of freedom for some. If we all are truly free, why are there citizens storming the capital and waving flags representing hatred and disgusting movements? Why are the rights of the LGBTQ+ community called into question so frequently by the supreme court? Why are the decisions of women made for them by the government? Why is there extreme racism and police brutality experienced by people of color throughout the country?
When will it all end? When will people be valued regardless of race, gender, sexuality, and social class? Will we ever see that during our lifetime?
As much as we all hope for a utopian future of equality, the reality is that we will only see that future if racists stop being racist, homophobic people stop being homophobic, and sexist people stop being sexist. To achieve this future, we need to fight. We must fight with resilience and dedication, showing “diligence in the face of perpetual struggle” (Cherry 8). This can only be done if we raise our voices.
Looking back, I shouldn’t have stayed silent that day. I was afraid of being uncomfortable, of making him uncomfortable with my anger. I just took it.
Never again.
Topple societal standards! Claim your love for good and FIGHT FOR IT! Don’t be afraid to share your anger in the face of injustice. Make prejudiced people uncomfortable.
I wish it didn’t take long to figure out that my right to anger was valid, that it wasn’t immoral to express my anger. So much time has been wasted in an effort to keep the peace. It’s not worth it.
I’m a woman who will not tolerate being called crazy for my anger. Working harder for my voice to be heard has taught me to live a life full of power and passion- a life which no longer allows my voice to be drowned out by a room full of men. Every voice brings us one step closer to changing everything, until we truly have liberty and justice for all.
Shared by: Anonymous
Image Credit: https://www.reddit.com/r/Art/comments/h0gh9k/with_liberty_and_justice_for_all_me_digital_2020/