Everybody’s angry.
Middle-aged and older white Christian men are angry big time. They think they’re losing status to people they’ve been accustomed to looking down on.
They sit in front of the TV for hours and watch FOX. The owner of FOX, Rupert Murdoch, a Jewish immigrant from Australia, serves up a steady diet of slop for those who need their hate Obama fix. They simply cannot miss a day without marinating in the muck that has made Murdoch a billionaire a dozen times over.
I heard a guy being interviewed at a Trump rally say he “was really angry”. When asked why, his reply was “Look what’s on TV … Look what’s going on in the world”. The interviewer asked him what he was going to do about his anger. His response, “Watch more TV”. Seriously.
A sure-fire applause generator to open a Republican rally nowadays goes something like this: “I don’t know about you, but I’m mad as hell. (Huge applause). And I’m about to tell you why … but first, if there are any of those deeply sensitive, politically correct souls here, I suggest you excuse yourself, because I’m going to tell it like it is, and you’re not gonna like it. Go home and water your plants.” (They’re going wild now).
Whatever is said after that is immaterial. What’s important is that you show that you’re mad and you’re willing to throw your weight around and bully anyone who doesn’t agree with you. That’s leadership!
Talk like that and Murdoch will give you all the airtime you’ll ever need.
While white middle-aged Christian men may register high on the anger meter, they’re not alone. Let me explore the response to angering events with two individuals and one group: a Pakistani-born taxi driver in New York City; the American Jewish community; and my own experience.
The Pakistani-Born Taxi Driver
About a month ago, in New York City, I had occasion to spend about forty-five minutes in a taxi with a driver who was born in Pakistan. As is my custom, I engaged him in conversation about his country and world events. Continue Reading………….