Anger Can Be Used As A Positive Force

ANGER CAN BE POSITIVE

Jack Bragen

Billions of years of ruthless evolution (in which those not fit to survive did not pass along their genes) gave human beings the emotion called anger as an instinct for self protection and for asserting territory. Anger is not easily undone or avoided because our ancestors relied on it as part of their survival instinct that brought us into existence. Anger is a fundamental force in human existence, a part of us like a hand or a foot.
Many people who practice meditation commonly reiterate the idea that we should eliminate anger. Yet, the people who peddle the idea of not being angry continue to get bitten by the same dog. I have seen people who teach meditation get angry, and for them it was an awkward moment, as they are invested in the effectiveness of their practices. Regardless of how much effort is put into meditation, meditative practitioners do not always get past their anger. Furthermore, anger is not always a bad thing.
The absence of anger is not by itself a true indicator of an enlightened person. A person who lacks anger is not always a saint; one who has anger isn’t necessarily ignorant. In order to judge whether or not someone is “enlightened” we must take into account what is done with the anger and how it is used. And for the person who has no anger, it is likely they are in a coma, or perhaps may have brain damage. People realistically can not live up to a standard of never getting angry.
Enlightenment could be judged by someone’s behavior and not necessarily by what is felt internally. Feeling anger, and yet not criticizing oneself for it and also refraining to “take it out” on another being or on oneself, shows virtue. Anger plus refusal act on it, is just as virtuous as the absence of anger, maybe more so. Meditating to the point where you don’t have feelings is not by itself sufficient to signify that all actions will be virtuous. God, or the universe, doesn’t rate you on your thoughts or feelings but rather on how you behave.
The late Isaac Asimov, in his “Foundation” series, said, “Violence is the last resort of the incompetent.”
You could look at a person’s day to day actions, such as whether or not one stops one’s car for pedestrians crossing the street, giving kind words which are not for the purpose of “getting something,” and for the absence of attitudes molded by passive or manipulative aggression.
The habit of suppression, of not allowing oneself to experience the anger fully, can prevent someone from dealing with, or doing something about, the issue at hand. If you have anger and sweep it under a rug, things don’t get dealt with. (You are not suppressing anger if you allow yourself to acknowledge and feel the emotion. Aggressive or abusive speech or actions in the name of not repressing your emotions are unnecessary and are not justifiable.)
For many people, the anger that they have encountered in life has sometimes become a positive force for change. When I was angry, twenty-five years ago, at the people at a photocopier repair company I had worked for, because of their nasty treatment of me, I reported to Cal OSHA the violations in their storage of chemicals that apparently made me and others sick on the job. I later learned that Cal OSHA ordered this company to shut down because of not correcting the violations. Revenge is nicer when you get it through official and legal channels.
For another example of “positive anger” I give you the time I had problems with my pharmacy. They were stalling on the fill of an important medication for a loved one. I phoned a competitor and asked to have all of my prescriptions transferred, which works out to a lot of money. Also, I filed a complaint with the State Board of Pharmacy. (They have complaint forms that can be filled out online.) These are legitimate avenues for resolving a problem, without necessitating threats or “mean” behavior. And it was because I was angry.
The head pharmacist at the first location phoned me said that I was a good customer, and asked for another chance. And since then, there have been no problems with that pharmacy. This is an example of a nonviolent method for “getting” someone, and it also ended up fixing the problem. When anger seeks legitimate avenues to express itself, great things can happen.