Oppression, anger, explosion

Did you ever shake a carbonated bottle of water, or soda pop or something similar? Of course, you have. The pressure inside the bottle builds-up. You can't see it but when you open the lid, the liquid explodes outward in a forceful spray. If you were to keep shaking it without opening the lid, eventually the pressure would be so high that the explosion would still happen. The bottle would break, spraying the liquid and pieces of the bottle in all directions, which is an extremely dangerous situation.

What does this have to do with psychology? It is an analogy for a person not expressing anger. If anger isn't expressed, eventually a person will explode, as if the lid on the bottle is removed. When the anger is released, a violent and potentially dangerous explosion is likely. Considering the current social protests in this country and around the world, the analogy seems appropriate.

Aside from individuals holding their anger for years, the entire Black culture (or collective) has as well. Experiencing centuries of oppression and racial bias, a tipping point has been reached. The latest trigger – the murder of a black man George Floyd – has resulted in an explosion of anger, protesters and rage, covering almost all states and other countries.

Unexpressed anger held for long periods of time can change to rage and hatred. When we see people in the White culture using racism, judgments and bias, we are seeing rage and hatred expressed. When people protest, we see anger being released. In some cases, we see rage and hatred as well. Obviously, rage and hatred from anyone or any culture are destructive; therefore, the anger must be met before rage and hatred form.

Social triggers, that is events and behaviors, temporarily release anger. Over the centuries, the Black culture experienced one trigger after another releasing some anger. Now, one trigger too many has occurred and released an outpouring of centuries old oppression and emotion. This is certainly not a surprise!

When pointing to the angry protesters, some people in the White culture use names or accusations, such as terrorists, in an attempt to close the lid. These attempts, however, only serve to impose dominance (a word associated with oppression), fueling the explosion. Meeting the anger with an open awareness (consciousness) and recognizing the oppression and the racism with authentic and empathic understanding is the only way to keep the lid off the bottle, eliminate the oppression and enable an entire culture of people to live life as natural as possible.