USE the rage - as a scalpel, a razor, a white-hot cutting torch - to cut through the old dead wood. Use it to hunt down, like a searchlight, those insidious sources of long-buried old (and new) shame.
Be merciless, as they were with you.
Take care not to damage that which may be of further use to you. Go slowly, carefully, thoughtfully. Consider each move; picture the outcome. Bonsai your relationships so that they suit your purposes.
Shame comes from somebody abusing their power. Rage is the impulse for revenge, to even the score. The rage is a right and proper emotion; like a thunderstorm, it is meant to clear the air.
Rage is an emotion of the oppressed.
This is a dominator culture. The patriarchal paradigm believes in 'might makes right'; it is the air it breathes, the water it swims in. To question this order of things, this way of being, is to topple the entire power structure, to undermine the foundation.
This is why rage is so frowned on: It means the 'powerless' are not so powerless after all - their will has not yet been completely broken; they may yet rise up against their oppressors and even the score.
They give the game away with language like 'playing the victim' - showing your pain, resenting your suffering undermines the so-called victor's ability to feel good about himself. He doesn't want to feel bad about himself; he just wants to win. And he doesn't want to hear any fucking whining from you about the fact that you got the raw deal, the short end of the stick. In the old days, if you complained you'd get punched, literally, to shut you up; now that open violence is slowly becoming a more legally punishable offense, bully types tend to try the sneak attack instead. Verbal violence: Threatening you, intimidating you. They don't actually have to lay a finger on someone to terrify them - threatening body language from someone who's bigger or stronger than you can be enough. Or some other kind of threat, such as job loss or other power play can be used to 'keep you in line'.
There is no recognition of the feelings, needs and emotions of the 'losers' in a dominator society - we are considered non-people, like lepers or the Untouchables. We do not matter; we do not count. The line about 'the meek shall inherit the earth' is another bullshit snake-oil-salesman distraction tactic to keep the downtrodden from noticing just how far their faces are buried in the mud - keep 'em looking skyward, then maybe they won't notice.
Being a victim means that someone else has inflicted suffering on you.
All victims rightfully want some retribution, reparation or remuneration: They want their pain acknowledged and recognized as a real and valid reaction to being hurt.
Rage, or outrage, is the proper reaction to being shamed. Rage says, I will not be ground underneath your bootheel. I will rise up and strike back.
Be merciless, as they were with you.
Take care not to damage that which may be of further use to you. Go slowly, carefully, thoughtfully. Consider each move; picture the outcome. Bonsai your relationships so that they suit your purposes.
Shame comes from somebody abusing their power. Rage is the impulse for revenge, to even the score. The rage is a right and proper emotion; like a thunderstorm, it is meant to clear the air.
Rage is an emotion of the oppressed.
This is a dominator culture. The patriarchal paradigm believes in 'might makes right'; it is the air it breathes, the water it swims in. To question this order of things, this way of being, is to topple the entire power structure, to undermine the foundation.
This is why rage is so frowned on: It means the 'powerless' are not so powerless after all - their will has not yet been completely broken; they may yet rise up against their oppressors and even the score.
They give the game away with language like 'playing the victim' - showing your pain, resenting your suffering undermines the so-called victor's ability to feel good about himself. He doesn't want to feel bad about himself; he just wants to win. And he doesn't want to hear any fucking whining from you about the fact that you got the raw deal, the short end of the stick. In the old days, if you complained you'd get punched, literally, to shut you up; now that open violence is slowly becoming a more legally punishable offense, bully types tend to try the sneak attack instead. Verbal violence: Threatening you, intimidating you. They don't actually have to lay a finger on someone to terrify them - threatening body language from someone who's bigger or stronger than you can be enough. Or some other kind of threat, such as job loss or other power play can be used to 'keep you in line'.
There is no recognition of the feelings, needs and emotions of the 'losers' in a dominator society - we are considered non-people, like lepers or the Untouchables. We do not matter; we do not count. The line about 'the meek shall inherit the earth' is another bullshit snake-oil-salesman distraction tactic to keep the downtrodden from noticing just how far their faces are buried in the mud - keep 'em looking skyward, then maybe they won't notice.
Being a victim means that someone else has inflicted suffering on you.
All victims rightfully want some retribution, reparation or remuneration: They want their pain acknowledged and recognized as a real and valid reaction to being hurt.
Rage, or outrage, is the proper reaction to being shamed. Rage says, I will not be ground underneath your bootheel. I will rise up and strike back.
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