"Watch your anger."

No. YOU watch my anger.

When I was a young writer just starting out in gas-baggery (newspaper column writing), I would frequently hear from readers who suggested I was too angry in print.

It was as if they’d accused me of some gross perversion. What I heard was the admonishment that dogged the girlhood of so many of us, that girls should act like ladies. Every time someone suggested that, I would imagine a gaggle of pasty-faced women with tall, stiff wigs and dresses that allowed for little movement, like what women wore in a pre-revolution French court:

In fact, a lot of us were more like this:

Incredibly full of myself, I would tell those perhaps-well-meaning readers that they should meet me in real life, because if they thought I was angry in print, good Lord, in person…

Snappy comebacks come fast because I’d had years of practice slapping down advice to tamp it down, speak more quietly, let my feminine wiles (joke’s on you, I HAVE NONE) do the talking. I do not understand people who worry about other people being “too angry.” What they’re often saying is you are “too angry” for their comfort, and that you are upsetting the apple cart when the apple cart is more important to them than whatever set you off.

Witness some of the Democrats sitting quietly — and then some even joining MAGA to vote to censure Texas Rep. Al Green who stood the hell up at the Not-State-Of-The-Union speech, who should have been joined by every last one of these public employees.

From that linked story, here are the representatives who exhibited quisling-adjacent behavior in rushing to fan themselves over the indignity of Rep. Green speaking the truth. These people, sadly, include Rep. James Himes, of Connecticut:

The 10 Democrats who voted to censure Green are all moderates: Reps. Ami Bera and Jim Costa, both of California; Ed Case of Hawaii; Laura Gillen and Tom Suozzi, both of New York; Jim Himes of Connecticut; Chrissy Houlahan of Pennsylvania; Marcy Kaptur of Ohio; Jared Moskowitz of Florida; and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington state.

Rep. Himes, we are going to moderate ourselves right out of business. You have a fascist wanna-be dictator who is dumber than a box of hair cutting off necessary services for people who will die without them. But sure. Let’s all keep our voices down.

If you are not angry, well, good for you. But a lot of us are, and we would really appreciate you not clutching our sleeves to suggest caution or calm.

Are you angry? I am. Now: How will you turn that anger into action? We are battling willful stupidity on an epic level. “Transgenic mice” becomes “transgender,” and they’re tossed as tiny bombs thrown at common-sense funding and human rights initiatives. Ignorant tariffs tank our economy (if you own stocks, do yourself a favor and don’t check them today). Ridiculous cuts hurt the veterans we say we support, but really don’t.

You don’t need a litany of indignities here. Sure, we need to look out for one another, but we also need to understand that we are not here for one another’s comfort. I am not here for yours, and you are not here for mine.

Funny thing, I no longer hear from those folks who worried about my anger so long ago, probably because if they kept reading they saw their advice fall on deaf ears. Plus, I’ve been doing this a very long time, and I may have outlasted the nay-sayers, who’ve gone on to their eternal rewards. What killed them? Probably repressed anger, while I? Will live forever.

Swords up.