In the last two years there has been something interesting happening here in the Metro Atlanta (Georgia) area. Lots of young people are moving here from one of the five boroughs of New York City. Not all, but most I’ve met are angry.
Frowning faces. Shoulders squared in readiness for a fight. Unpleasant responses. Aggressive ripostes. Eyes rolling in frustration at anyone who dares to ask a question of them. Refusing to answer questions. Walking away.
What is going on up there that so many young folks are angry? I mean, sure, they’ve got crazy politicians up there whipsawing them every week with nuttiness. Okay, so maybe the question has been asked and answered.
At a recent encounter of this type, I finally said, “Well, honey, I know you are probably angry because maybe things like this don’t happen in Brooklyn, but here in Georgia we talk to folks. We ask about their mama and how they’re doing and such as that.”
This young fellow, mid-twenties, in Georgia for only eight weeks, had his fist in the air but his heart was in his hand. We parted and I didn’t expect to see him again.
Fast forward six weeks.
The young man and I had chance to cross paths again in the same place we had originally met (his place of employment). When he saw me, he stopped short, fear showing. I smiled, and said, “Hey! How are you today?” He was fine and I went about my shopping.
After a few minutes he passed by. I didn’t look up, just kept to my business, not wanting to intrude on his schedule. But on his way back he stopped and, somehow, in a natural fashion, we fell to talking. I made him laugh and he got back to work.
But then I notice him walking my way again. He stops, hangs his head, looks me in the eye and says, “I…I need to apologize to you for how I acted the other day. I shouldn’t’ve done that and I really don’t know why I did. So…I am sorry.”
I smiled gently at him and made some appropriate awwww noises that girls make, and said, “Thank you so much. We all have our bad days. I appreciate your apology.”
Well, let me tell you what. This one angry young man, fresh from Brooklyn, New York, where he was born and raised, learned something and I’m happy for him. He’s a nice fella. Maybe it was a bad day he was having, but under him was an anger that was personally directed toward me and I bet it was because he was reacting based on being manipulated by the Mainstream Media’s messaging, radical community organizers rhetoric, Black Lives Matter’s piling on, and others who drilled into his psyche that Whites, especially those in the South, are his enemy.
So, now here he was in the South surrounded by the enemy. Maybe his initial reaction was self-protective and who could blame him? After all, he was acting on one set of information he’d been given.
But you know what? He moved to Georgia where he got new information and real experiences and changed his attitude based on those. Folks, that should give us hope for the next generation coming up.
Surprise! Surprise!
Also for the last couple of years, I’ve met a lot of young people who’ve moved to Georgia from other places in the US. After welcoming them to Georgia, I ask what brought them here. Almost all said they’d come for a better life, better job. Which they’ve found. Almost all have said this: They’ve had two surprises.
One: How nice all the Whites are. They are treated with respect by the Whites in stores and on the job. You see, they expected to be treated badly by Whites in Georgia because, you know, “Y’all are crackers!” At that, we both have a good laugh.
The second surprise, though, made them very sad. It was the disrespect at their jobs from the Georgia Blacks they were working with. You see, they go on to say, “I expected to be welcomed by them, but I wasn’t. Do you know why?” At that I always say, “I do not know!”
To everything there is a season.
There’s a time for anger, but anger and irritation and rage as a constant state of being isn’t good for anybody. But our response to that anger is what can change the day. Does the way we react allow for someone to come and apologize or does it ramp up the anger with no end in sight? What is the goal sought in the reply? To bring a rapprochement or start a war?
Seeking peace doesn’t mean being a wimp or a pushover. It takes more strength and self-control to work toward peace than to give in to anger. We can still show strength for truth without being constantly angry. Take Jesus as an example. Twice — two times! — he cleaned out the temple of the moneychangers and other cheaters taking advantage of worshipers come to make their sacrifices. Twice — two times! — he took whips to them, turned over their tables, and ran them out. His anger was righteous. But was he an angry man at his core? No. We can see that in all the interactions Jesus had with people in many situations.
For instance, when the guards came to arrest Jesus, Peter wasn’t aiming for the guard’s ear he whacked off. Peter was angry and not making a good decision with how to deploy that anger. Jesus put the guard’s ear back on good as new and had some words to say to Peter about that. Self-defense is one thing, but Peter knew outworking of prophecy was happening but he didn’t want Jesus to go. His actions interfered with the bigger goal that benefited many more.
Anger — loud and mean and snarky and smart-alecky and swaggering — may make us feel really good, but does it help to better the situation? No.
Here’s another prophecy coming to fruition right now: Radical elements in this world are working overtime to shake the foundations upon which peacefully inclined people build their communities. That’s why you have the Mainstream Media’s unrelenting lies, radical community organizers unrelenting rhetoric, Black Lives Matter’s unrelenting provocations, and others working together to benefit financially and ideologically from the instability they foment.
Yesterday I was talking to a neighbor down the street who pointed to another neighbor who causes trouble on our block. And here he came, swaggering over, intent on trouble. I did not wait for him to set the tone. Hollering over the traffic noise, I smiled and said, “Hey, neighbor. How you doing?”
His angry face changed to a smile. He got close and made some rude sexual comment at which point the woman whispered to me, “He’s always doing that. It scares me.”
I whispered to her, “Watch this!”, then responded back to the man with That Mama Tone [you’ll remember I wrote about it HERE], saying, “Now, Chicago, you know a real gentleman wouldn’t be talking like that to ladies.” After a couple of minutes of talking about the weather, he turned back to go home, then turned to say something, but before he could get it out, I said, “Bye, now. Be a good boy!”
You know what he said? He said, “Yes, ma’am.”
The woman looked surprised, but gave in to her fear, saying, “I am very afraid of him.”
I said, “Be afraid…be careful — but don’t let your fear show. You need to talk to him like a Mama would talk to her son. You take control in a way he doesn’t expect.” She understood what I said. Will she put it into practice? We’ll see.
In any case, that’s what we must do: Shake the ground upon which these demon-led rabble-rousers stand. They want us to believe they have the upper hand. They do not. They want us to believe they are strongest. They are not. They want us to believe they have all the power and control and wherewithal to grind us into the dust. They don’t.
Spiritually and emotionally and morally they are empty vessels. Everybody knows you can’t run for long on empty. They are working overtime, folks. Don’t let them trick you with their campaigns.
Folks, take back your control. We aren’t pushovers. Show them who’s really boss. Win them over by using your First Amendment Right in ways they don’t expect. And do it —
One Angry Person at a Time.
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Born and raised in Georgia, Angela K. Durden is an author, publisher, editor, songwriter, performer, and more, living in the Metro Atlanta, Georgia, area. Support your Citizen Journalist by visiting her Consolidated Author Page and buying a book or three. See more about Angela here. Want to watch a fun video? Click here.
