February - The Most Important Sentence

The Most Important Sentence

“…hatred and anger are very different. Hatred is the fury of those who do not share our goals, and its object is death and destruction. Anger is a grief of distortions between peers, and its object is change.” – Audra Lorde

Often times, when we think of anger, we think of it as a negative emotion that expresses feelings of dissatisfaction and aggression. It is very common for others to say that they can “hear” the anger in one’s voice. If you Google search for images of “anger,” the majority of results consist of images where (usually men) look like they’re screaming, with furrowed eyebrows and clenched fists. It’s interesting to note that my results displayed a 2:10 female to male ratio, almost automatically connecting anger with men, but that’s for a different paper. It’s also interesting to note that all of these expressions and actions together represent anger when on their own could each symbolize different things. For example, furrowed eyebrows are also correlated with questions or concerns. A clenched fist alone can be used as a symbol associated with solidarity and support. When raised, a clenched fist is correlated with the civil rights movement (a Buzzfeed article on what it means now if you’re interested). Anger, however, is defined as “a strong feeling of annoyance, displeasure, or hostility.” Screaming, clenched fists, and furrowed eyebrows are essentially just reactions to anger.

Audra Lorde takes this definition of anger one step further and gives it a purpose, which is so important. Taking into consideration the fact that anger is usually associated with being out of control, I don’t think enough people focus on the root of that anger. If someone were to start screaming in my face I would automatically deem the screaming unnecessary before considering why there was any screaming in the first place and I doubt many others would act differently in that situation. For this very reason, the root of anger can go without resolution, creating more problems down the line. Ignoring that anger can even lead to hatred, which according to Lorde, ultimately results in death and destruction. The ability to look at anger and understand that there is an issue at hand that needs to be addressed is what’s going to ignite change. Anger is necessary and the ability to act on it efficiently is required in society. Instead of being afraid of anger, we need to embrace anger, acknowledging the passion that comes with it.

Lorde wrote this piece in the context of using anger as a response to racism as a woman. We’ve all read the piece, but I would like to briefly highlight a couple of other sentences that really stood out to me in support of what I’ve discussed thus far: “When we turn from anger, we turn from insight, saying we will accept only the designs already known, deadly and safely familiar.” Again, I think that Lorde is really encouraging us to use our anger as a tool to fight for equality.  When we remain silent, we ignore our responsibility to make a difference in our own lives and in the lives of the oppressed – it isn’t over until everyone is free from oppression. With that being said, I’d like to end with words of inspiration.

We use whatever strengths we have fought for, including anger, to help define and fashion a world where all of our sisters can grow, where our children can love, and where the power of touching and meeting another woman’s difference and wonder will eventually transcend the need for destruction (133).

It would be nice to see the hatred and destruction we see today be done away with, so I encourage you to channel your anger and use it for good.