A rambling monologue of one man's views on society, politics, business, environment, consumerism etc. If you want to know which trash can to put this in, "dissident American independent with liberal and tree hugger tendencies" will do.
Monday, September 05, 2005
Anger Management
If you are angry, you are too late. Your "managing" has failed and you are in damage control.
Gerry, you are actually ahead of a lot of people...you at least are aware you are angry. The worst outcomes and the worst tricks an angry mind plays on us come about when we mistake the strength of our anger for the strength of our logic.
And anger is hardly inappropriate or unnatural...its just generally not productive.
At the anti-war rally in DC this week, a friend of mine was in the midst of the crowd as they moved along a street. While the demonstrators numbered over 100000, there was a counter demonstration which many hardly noticed: a foolhardy 100 or two scattered in pockets. My fried witnessed a confrontation between a 50-something Viet Nam vet marching against the war and a placard carrying pro-bush 20-something. The frustration of the man who had been through the whole bloody stupidity of the Viet Nam war was palpable when he could not change the mind of the idiot kid, who one assumes was doing what he supposed to be the right thing even as he was drowning in his own chauvinism. It became a 5 minute shouting match and probably no one escaped anger nor changed any minds. My friend was struck by the futile and ironic state of working for peace while being angry...it was such a human moment.
Sorry I haven't been keeping up the blog or responding much lately...been busy as hell.
I am happy enough with this response I think I'll post it too.
2 comments:
Too deep for me...
But then again, I'm almost permanently angry...
Gerry, you are actually ahead of a lot of people...you at least are aware you are angry. The worst outcomes and the worst tricks an angry mind plays on us come about when we mistake the strength of our
anger for the strength of our logic.
And anger is hardly inappropriate or unnatural...its just generally not productive.
At the anti-war rally in DC this week, a friend of mine was in the midst of the crowd as they moved along a street. While the demonstrators numbered over 100000, there was a counter demonstration which many hardly noticed: a foolhardy 100 or two scattered in pockets. My fried witnessed a confrontation between a 50-something Viet Nam vet marching against the war and a placard carrying pro-bush 20-something. The frustration of the man who had been through the whole bloody stupidity of the Viet Nam war was palpable when he could not change the mind of the idiot kid, who one assumes was doing what he supposed to be the right thing even as he was drowning in his own chauvinism. It became a 5 minute shouting match and probably no one
escaped anger nor changed any minds. My friend was struck by the futile and ironic state of working for peace while being angry...it was such a human moment.
Sorry I haven't been keeping up the blog or responding much lately...been busy as hell.
I am happy enough with this response I think I'll post it too.
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