Angry America

Andrew Coatsworth
Honors 211
3.8.2016

I. Introduction- Angry America

In modern American society, the idea of white privilege has become a hot topic.
According to Ian Ayres of the New York Times, white privilege means to live in the world while
being given the benefit of the doubt (Ayres). Additionally, reports have shown that Caucasians
are less likely to be pulled over, arrested, incarcerated, harassed or killed by police than African
Americans. Beyond interactions with law enforcement, research has found that job applicants
with white-sounding names are more likely to be contacted for job interviews than applicants
with black-sounding names (Haltiwanger). However, despite this clear advantage for
Caucasians, a recent poll of over 3,000 adults conducted by NBC found that 54% of white
citizens are angrier than they were one year ago compared to 43% for Hispanics and 33% for
African-Americans (Haltiwanger). The editors of Esquire magazine opine that although AfricanAmericans as a whole are upset with the way they are treated by society and especially law
enforcement; African-Americans are more likely than whites to believe that the idea of the
American Dream is still alive (Esquire). As a result of this optimism, many African-Americans
are able to combat their anger with a sense of hope. The escalated sense of white anger is best
summarized by the campaign slogan of current presidential hopeful Donald Trump: Make
America Great Again. This slogan stems from a sense of white entitlement and a belief that
although whites still constitute the majority of the country, they are now being treated as a
minority.
Obviously not every white United States citizen sides with Donald Trump and his
ridiculous goal to a mythicized version of the US that never truly existed (Haltiwanger).
However, as the NBC study found, levels of anger among the white population have increased
since the beginning of 2015. Although recent studies have shown that Caucasians currently
experience more anger than other groups, anger is clearly not an exclusively Caucasian emotion.
The existence of white privilege leads to much anger and unrest among minority groups.
Additionally, other sources of anger include: police violence, mainly in response to their
treatment of minorities, religious and political tensions and, many U.S. citizens are angry as a
result of their financial status especially as the country continues to recover from the Great
Recession. When pairing these sources of anger with the existing levels of white anger, it is
clear that much of America is impacted by this negative emotion. While outlets for this anger

range from stating personal opinions to horrific acts of terror, it is necessary to understand how
anger is viewed in society in order to fully understand its implications.
II. Understanding Anger in American English
In order to understand the anger within the United States, it is important to define the
emotion in the most basic sense. According Anna Wierzbicka, anger can be described in Natural
Semantic Metalanguage as:
X was angry at Y
(a) X felt something because X thought something
(b) sometimes a person thinks:
(c) something bad happened
(d) because someone did (didnt) do something
(e) I dont want things like this to happen
(f) I want to do something because of this if I can
(g) when this person thinks this, this person feels something bad
(h) X felt something like this
(i) because X thought something like this
(Wierzbicka 89)
This definition can be applied to the current sense of anger in the United States. For example, in
the case of white anger, someone experiencing this feeling is upset because they feel that they are
wrongly being treated as a minority. As a result, they are angry about the state of the country.
When they think about this, they understand their desire for change. They want to do something
to change how they are treated. These responses can range from exercising free speech to
heinous acts of violence. No matter what the response is, the resulting feeling from these
thoughts is negative.
a. Describing Anger
In American society, anger is considered a negative emotion. According to Lakoff and
Kvecses, anger prevents individuals from functioning normally and thus poses a threat to
others. As a result of the potential danger, anger is often treated as an opponent. The authors
provide examples of this internal battle such as, she fought back her anger, he was battling his
anger, and Ive been wrestling my anger all day (Lakoff and Kvecses 205). Although anger
is treated as an opponent, it is not always controllable. In these cases, anger can be viewed
metaphorically as the heat of fluid in a container. This involves a four step process beginning
with the fluid rising as feelings of anger increase. An example of a metaphor to describe the
rising liquid is, we got a rise out of him (Lakoff and Kvecses 199). The second step occurs

when the intense anger produces steam. This idea is captured with phrases such as, I was
fuming (Lakoff and Kvecses 199). After the production of steam, the pressure in the container
begins to build. Building pressure is explained through statements such as, he was bursting
with anger ((Lakoff and Kvecses 199). Finally, when the anger become too intense, the
person explodes. Common sayings used to describe these explosions include, she blew up at
me (Lakoff and Kvecses 199).
While the process outlined by Lakoff and Kvecses helps portray how anger escalates in
American society, it does not effectively explain how anger is talked about. In my personal
experience, it is very uncommon for someone to use the word angry to describe their emotional
state. Rather, the most common descriptive words include mad and pissed off. Saying I am
so angry right now sounds too formal and unnatural. However, phrases such as I was so mad,
or You are really pissing me off right now fit with the modern vernacular. Additionally,
pissed off and mad can be more impactful. Mad carries more emotion than anger as it
suggests a state of severe mental illness and the inability to think in a rational way (MerriamWebster). Pissed off on the other hand, is viewed as a vulgar and offensive phrase and thus
captures as stronger feeling of anger.
b. Showing Anger
Although anger is treated as an emotion that should be suppressed in American culture, it
becomes more acceptable if there is justification for the anger. For example, as discussed in the
introduction, there is a strong feeling of anger among Caucasians in the United States. These
individuals attempt to justify their anger with their belief that they are being mistreated.
Although many may disagree with this justification, since there is a root cause of the anger, it is
thus more socially acceptable. Additionally, freedom of speech is a constitutionally protected
right in the United States. This provides citizens with the ability to voice their beliefs and
opinions. Often times, when an individual or a collective group of individuals feels strongly
enough about a specific topic, they will voice their opinions publicly in the form of a
demonstration or protest. In 2015, protests swept across the country. These ranged from Black
Lives Matter demonstrations to oppositions of police violence. In many cases, these protests
are justified. Baltimore, Maryland was overtaken by protests in April after a 25-year-old
African-American man, Freddie Gray, was killed by police officers. Once the identities of the
police officers involved were released, protests throughout the city escalated. Although the

initial protests were justified, when the peaceful protests became violent, the expression of anger
was no longer appropriate. Angry individuals began throwing bottles at police, smashing cars
and lighting arson fires. This led to significant police intervention and the arrests of 12
protestors (RT International).
In addition to protests, it is not uncommon to see smaller scale public displays of anger.
For example, individuals openly display beliefs such as their anger towards the government or
strong religious beliefs. Demonstrators who oppose President Barrack Obama have publicly
pushed for his impeachment as they compare him to Adolf Hitler. Also, religious protestors such
as the Westboro Baptist Church are able to angrily warn the public of their belief that God is
against homosexuality. While these are both radical public displays of anger, they are examples
of groups exercising their right for free speech. They also show that, although many will take
offense to their opinions, nonviolent public displays of anger are allowed in the United States.
III. Conclusion
While anger is often treated as an emotion that should be suppressed in the United States,
public displays of anger are acceptable as long as they remain nonviolent. As previously
discussed, anger is treated as an opponent. However, when this opponent is not suppressed,
individuals are eventually overcome by anger. As recent studies have shown, Caucasians
currently experience higher levels of anger than other ethnic groups in the United States.
Additionally, other sources of anger include racial issues such as white privilege, police violence
towards minority groups, and religious and political tensions. Public displays such as
demonstrations and protests serve as outlets for these groups to express their anger. Although
these displays may become the center of controversy, they are the result of individuals exercising
their constitutionally protected right of the freedom of speech. These protests may be viewed in
a negative light, yet as long as the remain nonviolent, they serve as an outlet for angry
individuals.

Works Cited
"2015: A Year of Protests in America." RT International. N.p., 30 Dec. 2015. Web. 06 Mar. 2016.
Ayres, Ian. "When Whites Get a Free Pass." The New York Times. The New York Times, 23 Feb.
2015. Web. 06 Mar. 2016.
Esquire Editors. "American Rage: The 'Esquire'/NBC News Survey." Esquire. N.p., 03 Jan. 2016.
Web. 06 Mar. 2016.
Haltiwanger, John. "There Are A Lot Of Angry White People In America, And It's A Problem."
Elite Daily. N.p., 07 Jan. 2016. Web. 06 Mar. 2016.
Lakoff, George, and Zoltn Kvecses. The Cognitive Model of Anger Inherent in American
English. Trier: Linguistic Agency U of Trier, L.A.U.T., 1983. Print.
Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 06 Mar. 2016.
Wierzbicka, Anna. Introduction. Emotions across Languages and Cultures: Diversity and
Universals. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1999. 89. Print.