So for any readers that stumble across this blog and wonder, “Why is this blogger so angry?”, please be cautioned.

• I’m an abuse survivor.  The unstated rule in my abusive family was that children were not allowed to express anger.  It’s not that we were told we couldn’t.  It’s that we were often emotionally abandoned, physically beaten, and suffered emotional incest if we kids showed our parents any disapproval.  We got really good at faking happiness with our emotionally distant mother, emotionally inappropriate and physically abusive father, and emotionally abusive ex-stepfather.
• I’m a Black American.  If you’ve ever heard exasperated black people refer to the “Angry Black Woman / Man / Person” stereotype, you should then proceed with caution before you leap to the question “Why are you (they) so angry?”  Flavor Flav from Public Enemy states “I’ve got a right to be hostile.  My people are being persecuted.”  This answers the majority, not the totality, of that question.

Healthy anger helps identify problems that need correction.  Unceasing and unhealthy rage and it’s subdued cousin, depression (anger turned against oneself), don’t help people, especially us black folks.  My anger here is directed at problems that need correction, not myself.

I won’t pretend to be cool with fucked-up shit (abusive child rearing practices, abuse in general, bigotry, ignorance, rape, sexual harassment, rape culture, misogyny, misogynoir, etc.) any more.  I’ve already spent a lifetime pretending I didn’t have a right to my anger.  Everyone who isn’t me (including other black folks who think child-beating and insults are A-OK), please don’t attempt to lecture me out of it.