Adulting 101: Redirect Your Anger

Since I am ensconced in my home these days, as are most of us, I have time to keep track of various "wars" on the interwebs.  I don't normally participate, because a)nobody appears to be actually listening to anyone else; b)nobody seems to be actually speaking for themselves, just repeating what someone else told them; and c)there's a lot of poop-flinging.  I am not a fan of the poop-flinging; if you can't make your case without resorting to name calling and whatnot, your argument is weak.  But some people do derive enjoyment of the poop-flinging.  

I have noticed a trend.  A ridiculous trend, where people are becoming angry at the wrong things.  People are angry about having to wear a mask in public, even though it has been proven to save lives.  People are angry about having to acknowledge that yes, a black man was killed in front of their eyes on television by a white police officer.  People are angry that statues of people they never cared about in the first place are being moved.  People are angry that they can no longer enjoy pancakes the way they used to.  All of this anger seems to be directed toward a nebulous "other".  It's all someone else's fault.  Someone else has done this.  

No. 

If you choose not to wear a mask in public because it inconveniences you, and you take COVID19 home to a loved one, that's on you.  It's not some nebulous "other"; YOU made a poor decision, and there is a consequence.  If you are unhappy about pancakes, or statues, or a flag that was never official, ask your self what you're truly angry about. Maybe that anger is truly directed at yourself, for not noticing these issues?  Maybe that anger is a defensive anger, reacting to anything that might upset your comfortable world.  

The first reality that an adult must face is that nothing occurs in a vacuum.  You are responsible, either by your actions or your inaction, for things around you.  You are responsible for your behavior.  You are responsible for your ignorance.  You can deny that responsibility, but it still exists.  Acknowledge it, like an adult.  Then redirect that anger.  Be angry about the lack of social justice.  Be angry about income inequality.  Be angry that there are children going to bed hungry.  Then get off your butt and do something about it.