Being Angry and British: A Guide
Bohiney Magazine | The London Prat
The Rage Journal: What’s Wrong With Everything
I’m angry. Not in an elegant way. In the way where you’re making tea and suddenly furious about something stupid the government did three months ago and never got properly angry about at the time.
This is the thing about British politics: there’s always something enraging, but by the time you process your rage about it, something new and worse has happened, and your rage gets distributed across seventeen different outrages simultaneously.
The Accumulated Fury
Right now I’m angry about: six different policy decisions, two politicians who said objectively stupid things, one budget that seems designed to harm the people who need help most, and the overall direction of a country that seems committed to being worse in every measurable way.
But I can’t focus my anger. It’s too diffuse. It’s like trying to fight fog. By the time I’ve formulated an argument about one thing, I’ve learned about three more things I should also be furious about.
Political Rage as British Sport
British people are obsessed with being reasonable. We argue politely. We acknowledge the other side’s points. We end statements with “but I do see where you’re coming from.” This is how we ensure nothing changes.
What I’ve learned is that rage is actually the appropriate response to incompetence. Not elegant rage. Not articulate rage. Just pure fury that things are allowed to be this badly run.
I’ve started allowing myself to be absolutely livid about things. Not in public. But in my house, alone, I get furious. And it’s clarifying.
Anger as Political Engagement
Everyone tells you to stay calm, stay measured, stay reasonable. You know what that gets you? Nowhere. Because while reasonable people are carefully articulating their objections, unreasonable people are actually changing things.
I’m learning to be angry. Specifically about things that deserve anger. Not the quiet, disappointed kind. The loud, frustrated kind that says: This is unacceptable and I’m not pretending it’s acceptable anymore.
Read more at The Poke.
SOURCE: https://bohiney.com/
