I was talking to a friend the other day, and he said that my blog made him angry at the world. Which got me thinking – do I want to sound angry? Is this an angry blog? Am I an angry person?
On reflection, the answer is yes on all counts. That requires a few caveats, since anger is generally deemed to be a negative emotion. It can be, but I think it’s probably a misunderstood and unappreciated commodity. There’s nothing wrong with anger if it’s the right kind and directed at the right things.
First, it’s right to be angry about some things. There is plenty about the world that should make us very angry, and if you’re not angry then you’re not paying attention. If the behaviour of the City, the enduring double standards of global trade, or the failed promises of politicians don’t make you angry, then something has gone wrong. As any anger management theorist will tell you, anger is a warning sign, and there’s plenty about our world that can and should trigger it.
Many of the things I write about remain unsolved global problems because we’re not angry enough. Just one example: given the premium prices paid for their gadgets, why are Apple customers not thoroughly pissed off that their beloved company still uses sweatshop labour? Apple fans could change this in a week if they could be bothered.
Anger can be an agent for change, a driver for action. It’s not the only one, but it’s a powerful motivator. It can shake us out of our complacency and make us do something about those problems, even if it’s just to sign a petition or write a letter.
Not all anger is created equal, obviously. There’s the selfish anger of someone slighted, ‘I’ve got a right to be angry’ grandstanding, which gets us nowhere. There’s rage or fury, when anger gets out of control. There’s ranting and powerless fuming. And anger can often fuel hatred and spite, which is never useful.
Good anger on the other hand, is not about temper. It is about principles and justice; it is outward looking and concerned for others. It understands power, and is protective of the weak. It forms slowly, and it remains as long as the problem does. It is held in balance, so that it does not define us or dominate our minds and relationships. And it is patient – change takes time, sometimes decades.
So if this blog makes you angry, that’s fine by me – as long as it doesn’t make you want to break things and shout at people. But I hope it’s the good kind, and if you think a post crosses a line into ranting territory, tell me. It’s what my wife does out here in the real world. If a post makes you angry and also makes you feel powerless, I’d take that as a failure too. I try and post links to campaigns or list actions that all of us can take, so that we can do something useful with that indignation. Again, if I forget to direct that anger anywhere fruitful, tell me and I’ll do something about it
Anger on its own doesn’t change anything. It’s nothing without vision, hope, grace, and patience. But it’s a tool of the conscience, a natural human response to wrong and a motivator to make things better, and we should not be afraid of it.
The Earthbound Report 
Please don’t question yourself too much. You’re right about anger, but I think your blog is fantastic. I randomly discovered it doing a google search one day about ethical banks, and have been an aid reader ever since. You’ve informed me about tons of stuff, made me angry about a lot of issues, and spurred me to action numerous times.
Keep it up!
Lovely stuff, Jeremy, your blog doesn’t make me angry at all, I find it a great encouragement that your work is so well-informed and principled, and the sense of solidarity from reading views that so many of us agree with set out with such articulation can’t be underestimated.
I discovered your blog in exactly the same way as Michael and have been reading it ever since. You have the most rational and balanced version of anger that I have come across. I have no idea how you find the time to research your topics and write about them in such measured tones but I am very glad that you do.
I firmly agree with everyone else’s comments – another great post.
English is such a fantastic language, but I wonder if we don’t need another word – the powerful sense of injustice and unfairness I often feel about the wrongs in the world, and a strong wish that things were different, is a type of anger, or outrage – but not in a blood pressure raising kind of way.
I think most of our emotions serve us well, the challenge always being to know how to respond to them . . . and as you realise, we must take action in support of our principles and beliefs, otherwise we risk becoming the worst kind of hypocrites.
Would you be happy for me to repost this on my blog ?
-STEVE-
http://www.nextstarfish.com
Yes, there ought to be another word here. Righteous indignation is probably correct, but it’s become a little pejorative and has connotations of tabloid spluttering.
And yes, please feel free to repost.
I am reminded of Stéphane Hessel’s book/extended Essay “Indignez-vous!” which interestingly is translated to English as “Time for Outrage!”. Hessel writes from the perspective of a diplomat, former member of the French Résistance and concentration camp survivor. Reasons for outrage. Now if I look at the world and see that amidst incredible wealth and technological possibilities more people are living in absolute poverty now than have been around in the first place 150 years ago, that despite the enormous economic “success” of China 700 Million Chinese people have no access to clean drinking water, that we are possibly (what the chances are is unclear, but the possibility exists) heading towards a global syndrome, an Earth Syndrome, that could lead to a complete alteration, even collapse, of the Bio-Geosphere – with incredible suffering going along with it. And all that only to increase the flow of money from which very few benefit and produce goods 90% of which nobody needs. What could be more reason for anger, indignation – OUTRAGE. It is OUTRAGOUS. And unfortunately it occasionally does make me want to shout at someone. But at who? We are mostly dealing with faceless entities here, with an out of control apparatus that has no soul.
I should read Hessel’s pamphlet. I’ve heard about and never read it for myself, but I think he foresaw the Occupy movement by a couple of years. And the French title does have a punchy imperative to it that is almost impossible to translate.