That was my first reaction to Dan Finkel's article, "The Left, Online and Outraged" in which he profiled Maryscott O'Connor of My Left Wing. Having known MSOC since I first appeared on the scene at Daily Kos almost two years ago, I was definitely familiar with her unapologetic, raging style that was chock full of expletives. In fact, I told her more than a few times that her level of anger concerned me because I felt it distorted her message. I often found her rants difficult to read because that much rage spilling out on a page disturbed me. She was certainly not at a loss for a fan base though.
I'm a Buddhist and I believe in the teaching that anger is basically a useless emotion. And, it is the one emotion that is often the most hard to deal with on a rational basis. I'm certainly not perfect and I let MSOC know that when I told her that we are actually more alike than she probably thinks. I feel the outrage - as do most opponents of the corrupt and soulless Bush administration - but what overwhelms me after I feel anger is a deep feeling of sadness for which anger and rage are just masks. I often took my licks from people over at the Big Orange Place for not being angry enough. Sadness, I was told, was too meager a reaction to the horrors of war and torture. I simply accepted the fact that we don't all express ourselves in the same way. Anger can motivate people, but it can only take you so far.
The problem I have with Finkel's article is the overbearing focus on the so-called angry left. There's no doubt that anger is the overriding emotion on many blogs, but the depth of well-researched, reflective and reasoned arguments about the policies of an administration that is wildly out of control that appear on lefty blogs everyday was overlooked.
Right-wing pundits like Hugh Hewitt have been quick to pick up on this "outraged" angry left meme and are actually taking heart in it by predicting:
The best thing the GOP has going for it in November, 2006 and in the presidential campaign to follow is the fury of the unhinged left. The vast majority of Americans reject politics of this sort, but there's no hiding what the left has become or the Democrats' endorsement of it.
What Hewitt seems to ignore is that the Bush administration, led by Karl Rove, is full of venomous snakes spewing poison against its perceived enemies. Witness the Plame affair or the constant berating of the media by Donald Rumsfeld. And Tom DeLay isn't exactly the model peace-loving Christian either. If you want to see displays of anger on any given day, simply tune into an interview with a Republican politician.
Hewitt's right: the majority of Americans do not appreciate that kind of politics and that's exactly why the Democrats will regain power in November. A look at Bush's lowest approval numbers ever and the high poll numbers of citizens who now regard the Iraq war as a failure indicate why outrage is so prevalent.
No matter how hard right-wing mouthpieces like Ann Coulter, Rush Limbaugh and Michael Savage try to manipulate their audiences, the truth of what this administration represents as expressed by left-wing bloggers every hour of every day is definitely prevailing.
So, whether it comes out via MSOC's angry rants, which contain much more useful and thought-provoking information than Finkel gave her credit for, or through more reserved posts like mine, the fact is that we are having an impact.
I suggest that if Hewitt or Finkel truly want to see what "unhinged fury" is like, they take a trip over to Free Republic or Little Green Footballs to see what rage that's not based in reality looks like.
That's not what you'll find at My Left Wing - far from it.
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