You've been discriminated against and don't know what to do with the anger
You have been discriminated against — treated as less, denied, demeaned for who you are — and you are left with a burning anger you do not know what to do with. It churns inside you, and you are torn between swallowing it, which corrodes you, and unleashing it, which frightens you. You need somewhere to put the anger that injustice has left in you.
You have been wronged, and I who wrote against my age's injustices will not counsel you to be calm about your own mistreatment. The anger is just, and you need not apologize for it — it is the correct response of a moral being to being wronged, honoring the injustice by refusing to accept it as normal, so permit yourself the anger without apology; it is not the problem, the injustice that provoked it is. Anger unaimed corrodes; aimed, it can build — left to churn inside it sours into bitterness that harms you more than those who wronged you, so aim it toward something: speaking the truth, building what excludes you, standing for others, making your life a refutation. And choose your battles, and preserve yourself for the long fight — you cannot answer every injustice without being consumed, so pick your ground and husband your strength, for you are more useful alive and lasting than broken. What was done to you?
What changes unlock by starting
- You permit your just anger without apology
- You aim the anger at purpose, not inward
- You keep it from corroding into bitterness
- You choose your battles and preserve yourself