“In the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move.”—Douglas Adams, “The Restaurant at the End of the Universe”

A weekend spent dodging floodwaters, taking care of four sweet floofs, and watching “Midsomer Murders” did wonders for my mood, though the pain in my arm did its best to bring it back down.

I’m not sure I have any body parts left that aren’t weather indicators. I’ll excuse that as soon as I can turn my left palm up again.

It’s hard sometimes not to feel angry at our lots in life. Had those steps been better designed, perhaps there would have been no fall. Had I not been determined to save time by carrying too much, I might not have stumbled when the suitcase wheel caught the edge of the step.

There’s not really much point in getting angry over some things, especially if you feel some sense of responsibility for your situation. Getting furious over minor inconveniences, such as someone getting the last bear claw before you could order, is useless as well, and flying off the handle would seem to indicate something else is at the center of your ire.

Other things, however, are worth the anger. Injustice is a big one, but what counts as injustice might vary depending on what’s important to you.

For me, it’s the rolling back—or attempted rollback—of rights that were hard-won at great cost, and I’m far from alone in that. But to those who cheer on this rollback, we’re being irrational. Apparently the very real demonstrated threats to due process (deportations are just the start), free speech (don’t you dare speak out of turn), and our ability to have a say in how we’re governed (what, you want to vote on something lawmakers might not like???) is nothing but fantasy. We’re just easily offended.

Well, pardon us for worrying about threats to our Constitution and system of government. Maybe we should get all up in arms over someone’s pronoun usage, insistence on bodily autonomy and fairness for all, and what genitalia they’re harboring in their pants. I mean, clearly those things, which don’t affect others unless they let them, are more important than the systems that keep our nation running.

Seriously, a sarcasm font is not out of the question.

Someone being part of a marginalized community (women, minorities, LGBTQ+, etc.) merely existing and not hiding who they are is not a great offense, nor should it be, since that’s just how they were made. If it really angers you, perhaps you need to look inside yourself to figure out why.

On the other hand, someone taking advantage of others, refusing to follow the same rules everyone else does, brandishing hate as a weapon, and insisting that only those who think as they do are permitted to have any advantage in life is making a conscious decision to do so. We were all taught morals as children, regardless of our religious upbringing. We know the difference between right and wrong. We’re responsible for the choices we make, and when they go awry, we should expect to suffer the consequences.

Oh, but consequences are only for those we don’t agree with, right? Not necessarily. If our decisions are truly personal, they don’t really affect anyone but ourselves and perhaps those in our inner circle. Coming out, having an abortion (whatever the reason), dying our hair purple, and many other things are decisions best left to the individual and any trusted people they choose. Any consequences for those decisions belong to the individual.

Willfully enabling corruption and further marginalization of certain communities is not personal, and it affects everyone. Like it or not, those consequences for the people you don’t like will eventually come back to bite you.

That’s why we have the rules and systems we do: to level the playing field and give everyone the chance to participate in what only the privileged could before. Don’t like the idea of diversity, equity, and inclusion? Then you probably never had to deal with not being allowed the chance to participate, and that’s called privilege.

When this nation started, only white male landowners could vote, even though the Declaration of Independence said “all men are created equal.” It took a long time and a lot of struggle before many of us gained that right and all the others guaranteed to us by the Constitution. All we ask is that we keep them, for our sake, and yours.

When rights are endangered for one group, they’re endangered for all. 

But what about my rights, I hear some of you grouse. Your rights end where another’s begin. You have the right of free speech, but not the right to an audience. All of your rights also come with responsibilities, which means accepting the consequences of the practice of those rights.

One of those responsibilities is to consider the implications of voting into power someone committed to tearing down the rights of those unlike you. 

Those of us in those historically marginalized communities have every reason to be angry, but I’d say most of us use that anger for positive change (which is how anger should be best used to preserve well-being), rather than just purposefully antagonizing people for entertainment.

Anger used in this way is useful and healthy, and generally results in greater rights for all. (As one of the stickers on my laptop states, “Equal rights for others does not mean fewer rights for you. It’s not pie.”)

But in our current environment, even something like women having jobs is likely to cause offense and anger in certain segments of the population (especially those who’ve never had to fight for their rights). Why is that? Therapist Charles H. Browning wrote in Psychology Today, “It’s not your imagination. People really are more reactive, sensitive, and angry these days.

“A 2022 study in Social Psychological and Personality Science found that individuals exposed to high levels of political content were significantly more likely to interpret neutral or ambiguous statements as hostile. When we’re constantly absorbing tension, our brains start looking for danger—even when there’s none there.”

It comes down to fear, said Browning.

We don’t have to let fear and anger lead us in unhealthy directions. Browning suggested that staying aware of our triggers will help get us back in control and keep us from biting on rage bait. We should also ask ourselves why we’re reacting as we are, replace distortions with truth, and choose how we want to respond.

We don’t have to attack others or defend ourselves for just being who we were created to be. We can decide not to engage. We can choose to use our anger as a positive force.

We can, as the late Rep. John Lewis urged, “get in what I call good trouble, necessary trouble.” That kind of trouble tends to end well for most of us, even if it takes a while.

💔💔💔💔💔

I want to extend my most heartfelt condolences to my friend Sarah Kinsey and her furry boy Ollie over the death of sweet Charlie last week. Charlie was the first cat I referred to as my fur-nephew, and along with his canine sister Josie and step-brother Spike, he kept me company for the two weeks I recuperated at Sarah’s after major surgery in 2022. I spent a lot of time with Charlie over the past two and a half years, and I treasure every moment of it. He was a gentleman who could also be a goofball, and though he wasn’t crazy about Ollie when he first made the scene, he grew to love the tiny puffball who soon outgrew him.

Charlie will be greatly missed for his love of belly rubs, kisses, chicken, and those people he considered family. Still, I’m sure he’s up there somewhere with Luke, Baxter Boo, and all of our group’s lost furballs keeping an eye on us down here.