Anger Resources: What To Do With All That Rage

"If you're not angry, you're not paying attention" - Tom Morello

The last time I wrote a newsletter was on November 4th. Election Day Eve. I wrote from a place of hope and optimism while remaining keenly aware that assholes exist and that those assholes vote for other assholes. So I wrote about my bumpy political past from stoner hippie to Texas Republican to the activist you know now, showing readers the importance of evolving, changing our minds, and thinking critically. Just because you voted one way in the past doesn’t mean you must keep voting that way perpetually.

Today, I write from a place of fear. Fear about what fascism 2.0 means for a mixed-race bisexual woman of reproductive age like me. Fear of getting pregnant in a political climate where pregnancy complications can equal death or a prison sentence under state abortion bans or a potential national abortion ban. Fear knowing that countless marginalized communities who already live in a heightened state of anxiety now must watch our backs even more than we already do. Fear of what the increasing power of oligarchs and monopolies means for small business owners, consumers, and the planet. Fear that journalism, as we once knew it, is dead.

It’s not just that the asshole won; it’s that hate won. Lies won. Misinformation won. Bullying won. Racism won. Sexism won… all for the fucking economy. As Jia Tolentino wrote in The New Yorker last week, women can’t participate in the economy if we’re not treated as equals.

“Abortion was the second most important issue among all Harris voters, the most important being democracy. For Trump voters, the economy was the top issue. The funny thing is the pretense that we can separate these concepts. Without the right to choose, women are not full participants in a democracy or an economy,” Jia Tolentino writes in The New Yorker.

Which, rightfully, leads me to rage, anger, and pure fucking disgust. I have no idea how I’ll make it through these next four years. I really don’t. But I know that I will. I know that we will.

My hero, Lisa Simpson

Women, I urge you to let yourself get angry even though it’s “unladylike.” Swear. Break things. Word vomit until you understand just how angry you are. Talk to the men in your life about how fascism 2.0 impacts you and the people you care about. Talk to men about what we’re going through until they HEAR you. You’ll know they hear you when they’re upset, too. Urge men to read these books thoughtfully curated by

Holly Whitaker

.

Now, in moments of devastation and grief and heartbreak at the fact that millions of humans don’t want me or people like me to have equal rights, I look to people with grit who inspire me. People who fight for civil rights every single day, no matter how hard it is. RuPaul. Jia Tolentino. Bernie Sanders. AOC. Roxane Gay. Lin-Manuel Miranda. Dubbs Weinblatt. Lisa fucking Simpson.

Support queer art.

Support BIPOC art.

Support art made by the nastiest women who dare to get even nastier in our art.

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Anger Resources

Donate or Volunteer

• Stand With Trans (mental health support for the Trans community)

• Road Recovery (peer support and music programming for at-risk youth)

• Pineapple Support (emotional support and education resources for the adult industry)

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Read This Book by

Lilly Dancyger

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Subscribe to These Newsletters

• Gemma Hartley
  ’s
  No One Loves An Angry Woman

• Amanda Montei
  ’s
  Mad Woman

• Jessica Valenti
  ’s
  Abortion, Every Day

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Listen to These Songs

• “Break Stuff” by Limp Bizkit

• “You Oughtta Know” by Alanis Morrisette

• “Rebel Girl” by Bikini Kill

• “Prison Song” by System of a Down

• “We’re Not Gonna Take It” by Twisted Sister

• “Bulls on Parade” by Rage Against the Machine

• “Dear Mr. President” by Pink

• “What’s Up?” by 4-Non Blondes

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Consider Anger Management

Already in touch with your angry side and want to learn how to channel your anger as a superpower? Gillian Tietz works at the important intersection of anger and sobriety. Check out this episode called Frustration Tolerance. Check out her work here.

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Fuck Shit Up

I ripped this page out of a magazine and then bled all over it

• Go to a smash room and break a bunch of shit. It's truly amazing, y’all!

• Make blackout poetry

• Rip pages out of a magazine, then write poetry on top of them

• Let yourself write/paint/act/draw bad. Pour your emotions onto a canvas without editing them. Create without thinking. Let your artistic expression be just as imperfect as you are.

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Listen to This Podcast Episode

This week on Recovery Rocks podcast, Lisa and I discuss the U.S. election and its devastating implications. We discuss what happened, what it means, and how we can organize going forward.

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Look at This Dot

Pale Blue Dot

When life feels overwhelming AF, I look at this photo of the earth to get some perspective. Yes. That little dot is a photo of the earth, thanks to Carl Sagan.

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How are you dealing with… everything? Any resources I left out?

XO,

Tawny