I just think it’s funny how..

There’s this video that was taken in a grocery store: a white woman was pushing her cart, and kept hitting the black man who was pushing a cart in front of her. He tried to push it away, but she kept hitting him from the back.

There’s another video that went viral a couple of years ago of this black person at an American football game. A point was scored, and this white female fan from the opposing team got in his face for a good maybe five minutes, egging him on. (She continued to goad him throughout the game, just not in his face.) The black person stayed calm the entire time, not responding to her once.

As you can imagine in both instances, the comment sections where filled with people praising these black people for staying calm, for not engaging. The black football fan was even invited to meet the team and it’s owner as a reward for staying calm.

Here’s what’s funny: what option did they have?

I don’t even have to quote history to bring to your foremind cases where black people have been killed for less than nothing, because they were perceived as aggressors, for being black— creating a group of people terrified to express an emotion for fear of the consequences of expressing said emotion.

This is also the same in the case of the ‘angry black woman’:

One of the things I’m getting in the habit of doing more is telling a man to stfu when the need arises. Are they mansplaining? Are they getting disrespectful? Stfu!

Not too long ago I had a man tell me that maybe this is was not the best way to go, ‘Feminists are already seen as angry and combative. Maybe you should be calmer— you will disarm the people, then maybe they’ll be more receptive of you, and then maybe they’ll listen to you rumble on about equality for women’

Uhm?!?!

And to this I say, ‘ Because men do not rape/attack/kill the calm, not-angry women? Because historically, hearing the man’s side (why they rape/attack/kill women) has actually reduced the violence against women? Because statistically speaking, a woman spending more time in the presence of a man has guaranteed their safety?‘

Anger has become a privilege— an emotion only a few people that don’t have stereotypes stacked against them can express.

I think we are denied a fundamental part of ourselves and our experiences when we’re denied anger.

There’s a lot to be angry about— there’s plenty of injustice that has been done, and it can’t be undone by pretending it didn’t happen.

Have a great week! Stay angry.