ON DISPLAY
Hey Bruh! I believe in non-violent resistance, civil disobedience, and “getting into good trouble” to quote the late Civil Rights icon and the 17-term Congressmen from Georgia John Lewis! I agree with it wholeheartedly, however, it is not for me! Why? Because I have never been the kind of man who would let anyone slap, kick, punch, or spit on me because I’m black or for that matter, any other reason, then just stand there and take it! Now I will admit that this philosophy has its merits and has slowly but surely brought about some changes in the world and the United States.
On the other hand, as it pertains to the Civil Rights movement, the sacrifices that our ancestors made did not secure lasting change. We know this because we are still fighting that same old battle! The primary reason for this is that we keep using that same old weapon! Despite this truth and regardless of the way that I feel about this philosophy, I must give credit where credit is due and say that non-violence is an imperfect yet proper use of anger that has been on display for millenniums in this world and at least four hundred years in America, long before the United States of America became a country!
At the base of the philosophy of hegemony is the use of overwhelming force! In fact, when it comes to Geopolitics or the study of international relationships and the threat of war, the more political, economic, and military might a country has at its disposal, the more tentative its adversaries are and should be to try to engage in a physical conflict with them. This is what we call a cold war! In fact, this is the proper use of anger on display when it comes to the proliferation of conventional weapons and weapons of mass destruction!
Athletes must have that very same mentality when they participate in sports! Football and hockey are considered the most violent of the team sports, while MMA and Boxing top the list of individual full-contact sports. However, taking down your opponent or opponents by using overwhelming force is a part of athletics in general! That means that athletes at the risk of causing permanent damage and ending their or their opponent’s career must be able to walk into their perspective venue, turn on a switch, try to beat the mess out of each other, then turn off that switch, leave that venue, and go back to acting like normal people! That ironically is the proper use of anger on display!
The first part of Ephesians 6:4 says, And ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: This is a difficult area for me because I was not as successful with this as I should have and could have been! With that said, I would eventually learn that being firm, patient, understanding, and consistent is always more effective than the ignorance of yelling or shouting threats and condemnation that provoke children to wrath! While raising children, (your own, step, adopted, or foster), is never easy because they will do and say things that will make you angry, it becomes easier as you learn the proper use of anger because when you do it in love your children will receive correction and honor you when you get are older, not hate you and wish you were dead! We need to highlight those fathers and mothers for that matter a whole lot more so that this perfect example of the proper use of anger is on display!
The T-shirt dubbed “wife beater” has to be the most disgusting and disrespectful nickname that has ever been thought of and given in the history of mankind! The fact that both men and women proudly wear it knowing what it symbolizes has in some sick way romanticized domestic violence! But let's be clear, the T-shirt is not the problem and you can wear it if you choose! However, Real men don’t beat their wives and won’t allow themselves to get to that point because they have outlets for their frustration! Real men honor, protect, promote, respect, and cherish their wives!
I recently started to buy my wife flowers again because I realized that it had been a while, in fact quite a long time, that I loved on her in that way! I didn’t do that because I made her mad or we were arguing, I did it because she is the love of my life! That alone is reason enough! By the way, we like all couples have gotten angry at each other over our 27-year marriage, but we have never put our hands on each other! No one has the right to put their hands on anyone, especially their wife or for that matter their husband except in the case of self-defense! There are many examples of marriages and long-term relationships out there on display that can show us the proper use of anger!
Words can hurt longer than a wound that is caused by physical assault. Emotions run high when we go about our busy day but when you take the time to choose your words, they can calm a situation that is on the verge of turning ignorant! In fact, words are the gasoline or the water that gets poured on that fire, or words can both escalate and de-escalate conflict! If you are able to use your words to squash a beef, then you have used anger properly and violence was used appropriately!
There are more examples of the proper use of anger and the appropriate use of violence on display in and around our lives. But, in answering the question of whether or not we have gone past the point of no return we must seriously consider the fact that yes, we probably have! However, let’s not allow that consideration to be an excuse to continue being ignorant! The “If things are not going to change why should I try” justification is not going to cut it because lives and livelihoods are at stake! We, both men and women, but particularly men need to step up because we have failed miserably in setting the right example for posterity to follow and now we have to go to them in that imperfection and try to save this generation from themselves! Why? Because the legacy that has been left by mine and preceding generations is one that is filled to the brim with willful ignorance and misappropriated violence!
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