“When angry, count to four. When very angry, swear.”-Mark Twain
When a child gets angry, the child will do one of two things: scream or pout. Usually it's the screaming. And usually there's a lot of it. The question is: how do you get them to stop?
Do you give them what they want? No. That'll teach them that screaming and crying works; it'll become a habit.
Do you yell back? Of course not, you're just as bad as they are if you do.
You're patient. You're firm, you tell them that no, they can't have what they want right now, but they'll have something later. You tell them that life comes with compromise, no matter what. And five seconds later, they move on.
And so do you. You understand; they're children, this is what they do. They want something, can't have it, throw a fit, scream, get angry, pout, and they move on. What're you supposed to do? Set an example. Stay calm, and move on.
Why is it that so many people today--grown, mature people--want to act like children? Why do people want to scream and point fingers and swear and witchhunt people trying to help them? I personally find it ridiculous that anyone would even consider the possibility of being taken seriously when they're cursing and blubbering and pointing a chubby middle-aged finger as if they were pointing a gun. Really? Since when do people think that overreacting works? It can't be that this same generation has been teaching me to stay calm and listen to reason--and other people, for that matter--all my life.
Anger totally falls into this category of Stupid Things.Of course we all get upset, we all have something we want changed. We all have noble motives. But anger, especially this exploding, overreactionary anger, expresses an incompetency--whether we have it or not--of solving problems like adults: maturely, patiently. If you're sitting here screaming at me, I'm definitely less likely to listen than if you came up front looking and acting like an adult--someone I can respect--and ready with an argument.
And that's another thing: anger not only shows our immaturity, but it screams ignorance. My papa always says 90% of fighting stems from ignorance, and I completely agree. A lot of the time, people get angry because a) they don't know what's really going on or b) they didn't know what was going on, but because the effects of the goings-on are not to their liking, they throw little fits. Look at the US right now: it's not like Obama had this evil plan. It's not like he wasn't saying all this was going to happen, all these changes for the future, and as soon as he got elected, he wasn't like "Mwa haha, gullible fools!" But the screamers and the cursers claim "Oh! We didn't know! We're the victims!" Please. Really? You watch and support this guy for more than six months and now you're screaming you didn't know what was happening? Hint: rhymes with fypocrite, fignorant, or ftupid.
“Anger is never without a reason, but seldom with a good one”-Benjamin Franklin
My mom always says that what you say defines you as a person. And she says you're no better defined than when you're upset. It shows how you can handle a situation, and honestly, I've seen people who I respected and admired get angry and start swearing and pouting. What does that do for me? What does that do for all the other people listening? It makes us think:
1) Your vocabulary isn't large enough to hold words other than S*** and ClusterF***
2) A bad-mouthed five year old seemed to overpower your body and mental reactions
3) You're totally not worthy of my respect. Do you really expect me to think of you as a good person, a smart person, when all I see you doing is whining and blaming someone and yelling?
And I really feel like this is what other countries are thinking when they look at America. My dad's family in Russia, for example, is appalled by this apparent spat between the people and the man they chose to lead them. Land of the free, land of opportunity, understanding, peace, toleration, open-mindedness. Hahaha, I can't say it enough: really?
There are countless instances that I can recall where I've lost my temper, screamed at friends, parents, my sister, and I never got what I wanted. That's what overreaction gets you: nothing. Getting angry and getting loud doesn't show leadership, it shows incompetency. It doesn't show organization, it fuels chaos. In short, anger accomplishes nothing and gets you nothing.
Nothing, of course, if you don't count labelling America as a hothead country, or losing respect for the "leaders" in our community.
“Speak when you are angry - and you'll make the best speech you'll ever regret.”-Dr. Laurence J. Peter
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