Should We Anger The Right People?

Is that the best use of our time?

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Aversion

I detest angering people. I would need to be quite desperate for attention to consider annoyance an acceptable way to grab some. I have met my fair share of human beings who seem to relish disturbing others. It is one of those things that took me a rather long time to grasp, for I lacked the experience: I was spoiled as a kid since my brother is equally inclined, and we grew up keeping irritation at a bare minimum.

Those Buggers

Indeed, now that I think about it, in my family, there is a significant aversion to bothering folk. We are so radical in our respect of each other’s space that we almost come full circle: sometimes, we annoy ourselves at having perhaps annoyed each other. Remarkable as this is, it is not the real world. Those buggers are out to get you. I ignore why, but some people are not only keen on provoking those around them but they are also very good at it. As I understand it, they must have been taking inventory for years, and now they know exactly how specific types of people respond to specific types of irritation. Once you understand that some enjoy perturbing the general peace, you can start coming to terms with it, as opposed to launching into thoroughly inappropriate violent outbursts.

Serious Challenges

Still, with that out of the way, the person who deplores being a nuisance faces more serious challenges than understanding that nobody is the same. Often, we cannot avoid it. Our sheer presence, our mere existence is offensive to others. What could we do about that? ‘Sorry, I will cease to exist now, you can stop frowning.’ I don’t think so. More frequently, however, it is our actions that disturb others. Our actions are ours. We can do something about them. We decide upon them. What if our actions are right, though? In other words, what if we are annoying the right people?

Slippery Slopes

Of course, this is a slippery slope, as we can justify almost any irksome action if we convince ourselves of its righteousness. Nevertheless, if we are to do something with our lives, regardless of how committed we want to be to objectivity, at some point, we will have to take a leap of faith. We will have to believe…