Mrs. FKB stopped what she was saying, she looked right at me, and she said, “I insist that you fight with me!” It was one of the biggest gifts that she has ever given to me.
Kent suggests to us that, when we encounter a child who is acting out or is in a rage or is deeply sorrowful, we refrain from saying, “Why is he acting like that?” or “She’s just looking for attention.”
I was at the Saturday Coffee Talk (though late) discussion and the topic was self-righteous anger.
My experience is that anger has always led to violence and we (humankind) would be better served if we could find, and use, new ways of promulgating change than through using anger as the touch stone.
From a Buddhist perspective, I could keep this short and sweet, and regurgitate the words that “righteous anger” is part of the “three poisons” in Buddhism — greed, hatred, and ignorance —end of conversation.
I am increasingly concerned about two trends in our culture that may or may not be related. This blog is about the first trend — a trend of insisting that people be ‘nice’. My next blog will address the second trend — incivility — and a possible relationship between the two.
I, personally, experience this demand for niceness mainly in two settings.