Anger Can Be Power

A manifesto for righteous anger.

Paul Simonon of The Clash destroying his bass at a New York concert. Also known as the cover of London Calling. Source

Well hello there, cats and kittens. Welcome to the inaugural post of Rage Quit!, a manifesto for righteous anger in all its forms.

I’m starting this because I needed to set free the black sheep of my emotions: anger. The one that I’m usually told to shun, ignore, lest it grow like a gremlin fed after midnight.

I don’t know about you, but I have so much fucking reason to be irate right now and keep being denied that right. But not here.

Here we get to scream. We get to shout. We get to fume, bristle, seethe, rant, rebel, foam at the mouth.

What’s funny is that I’m the last person you’d expect to do this. I’m a small, young woman (if you consider thirty to be young), introverted, quiet and non-threatening. The kind of person who is used to being seen, not heard; overlooked and underestimated. There’s nothing forceful about me, at least not at first glance.

And therein lies the problem. I’ve grown used to holding my tongue, believing that no one cares about what I have to say, that none of it matters. That it wouldn’t make a difference anyway. I’ve grown used to that feeling of choking on my own words while other voices shout over me.

But that, my friends, is about to change. Yes, yes.

I’ve always been a writer, or at least I’ve always thought of myself as one. To me, writing is an act of rebellion and resistance. But I’ve never had the nerve to go public with it.

I didn’t do it because I didn’t think anyone would care; because I was ashamed, scared of being judged, misunderstood, rejected, or worse – unheard, again.

So, for thirty years I kept on writing mostly to myself, sharing it time and again with a few trusted loved ones, lending it to corporate bosses who needed me to sell their products. But I never managed to muster up the courage to use writing for the things that truly mattered to me – my principles, my values. I still haven’t, to be honest, but I decided to do it anyway, scared and all.

So that’s what this is going to be. A home for all of us wrathful motherfuckers who are sick and tired of biting our tongues, who are fed up with the world’s nonsense and are just about ready to rage quit all of it – from toxic workplaces and dysfunctional relatives to crumbling democracies and predatory capitalism.

To be clear, this isn’t about moping, sulking, whinging or doomsaying. It’s about setting something free, something that has been caged and simmering for too long, and harnessing it for (hopefully) something good. Because I believe we need more righteous anger out there, more voices willing to call bullshit on the status quo, more people willing to resist, question and challenge the system. Contrary to what they want you to believe, it can be resisted and it can be changed.

Anger can be power. Do you know that you can use it?

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