Blog Post #2

"Guilt is not a response to anger; it is a response to one's own actions or lack of action."

I pulled this quote on page 130 of author Lorde's article "The Master's Tool's will Never Dismantle the Master's House." In this context, Lorde is addressing how many people use guilt as en excuse not to express oneselves in the problem of racism. In fact, guilt is seen as an excuse for "impotence, destructiveness of communication; it becomes a device to protect ignorance and continuation of the way things are." I completely agree with this statement. Many issues, not just racism are unaddressed because of people's feelings. We seem to prefer holding things inside when in fact we are just bottling issues up, and making things worse. People as whole need to own up to themselves. If they have made a past mistake that prevents them from speaking about it, they need to own up to their mistake so they can move on. There are some people that have made racial judgements or may be influenced by friends that feel that way. In order to become better, they need to overcome the guilt of what they had either done or agreed with, so they can make strides to better themselves for the community. No human emotion should get in the way of what is right. Lorde says it is fairly common for white women in particular to hear a racist remark and feel resentful. In turn, they get angry but are afraid to say something, so they take it out any black women who brings up racism. We are not handling things correctly as a whole. Our anger consumes us. Lorde says that as a black women, she has been through many times of great fury; but has learned to orchestrate her angers into something that will not tear her apart. She has actually found a way to use her anger as a strength; to keep her going every day. I personally relate to this because I feel anger quite frequently. It is not from the same reasons as her. But I do believe that being able to channel your anger into something great is a necessary skill in this generation. There are so many emotional events going on; and times where we don't know what to say or do. However, the best thing to do is speak out; don't hold everything in, and know how to use your anger.