Anger is power. Anger is protection. It is raw energy. Anger is frightening. It is meant to be that way. That is why human beings do it so well. It is a step in the cascade of emotions of survival. First, the organism feels a sense of threat; then it makes an attempt to seek protection. If that fails, anger emerges to fortify the fight against the foe. This is the anger of fear. When animals calculate that they are in jeopardy, anger erupts to protect the status quo. Animals snarl and growl. Fear and anger go together. Children will often display anger only as 3-year-olds can when they are nervous or frightened about the unfamiliar.
Once, upon telling our son we were going downtown, he became extremely agitated. It was only then we realized the youngster didn't know what downtown meant. He was uncomfortable about the unknown, and anger was his attempt to protect himself from the terrible downtown monster.
Anger also follows hurt. If a person is pained, then anger often ensues. Being slighted or ignored is a threat of sorts to our sense of well-being, so it is a parallel to the traditional fear of strangers or strange places. If we feel weak, anger makes us stronger. Our hearts beat faster, the muscles are flexed, and our thoughts race. This is the power and energy of anger.
Anger is important in every stage of life. Toddlers display it particularly when separated from their attachment figure. If a child is bullied at the schoolyard, an angry response is likely to halt the attacks. While a soft voice turns away wrath here, the mean look is understood by others as "don't tread on me."
Often, the justification of being angry is frustration. A person can rise up and shout: "I'm mad as hell, and I am not going to take this any longer." So what does a rational individual do with the anger of injustice? The first impulse for some is to be like a toddler and break down anything in their path to get to the safe place. But that uncontrolled destructiveness is the behavior of a 2-year-old. The tempered response is controlled by the executive portions of the brain to move forward to better understand, and reevaluate the alternatives. The objective is to find better ways and not just yell.
There is a lot of anger in the air these days. Death threats are mailed to Congress members. There are the irresponsible comments and Internet postings that could be interpreted as an invitation for violence or even assassination. So is this reaction from fear, from hurt, or would one call it righteous anger? Mean and nasty shouts for people's heads to roll can't be called righteous if they provokes unrighteous rhetoric. Shouting scurrilous epitaphs definitely comes from anger, but does the action come from fear or hurt?
Righteous anger doesn't exist if the anger leads to unrighteous deeds.
Is it anger from fear that the status quo is going away? Having African Americans use different drinking fountains and schools was the status quo 50 years ago. The same could be said for the denial of food services. When blacks were legislated to have unfettered voting rights, some people were angry then, as many are today. Then, the exclusion was considered a state's rights issue. To date, health service has been rationed by money. Thirty million are to gain health insurance for the first time. Those previously denied coverage and many of those who care for them believe the status quo is the problem. Their anger is different, due to hurt. Being excluded from care by price and prior health conditions sounds like being excluded because of color.
Anger is power. Anger has purpose. But anger from changing the status quo should not be confused for anger from righteous indignation.
Joseph Cramer, M.D., is a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics, a practicing pediatrician for more than 25 years and an adjunct professor of pediatrics at the University of Utah. He can be reached at jgcramermd@yahoo.com.