New Kind of Anger

So I was an unprecedentedly calm and cool the night of the election. A lot of it was that it was over. The kind of calm I used to feel after the conclusion of a big exam for which I prepared little or not at all. Don't get me wrong. I was not happy. But I went to bed thinking we move on. It might suck. It might be okay.

Then I woke up. The next morning I was surly. After dropping the kids off at school, I started feeling a little bit sad. I was looking at Facebook and saw all the 'Day after' photos (people were calling them 'day one' photos, but technically, that day is not yet here), of racist epithets and acts of hate against people of different races. Still on Facebook, I scrolled to find that an old acquaintance of mine had called people who were upset about the election "butthurt whiners."

Click.

I didn't get angry, all hot in the head. I realized that there is no reason I have to respond to anything. No rule says I have to read and respond. What is also true is that I also don't have to take shit from people. Just because someone types in all caps does not mean I need to take them seriously or be scared of them. Most of the time, name callers just want to break you down; all they want is an argument. I used to get all nervous about starting arguments, avoiding confrontation. If you want to open dialogue, don't be scared of bloviating assholes, calm them down and talk to them.

The whole point of getting involved is to converse.