The Power of Outrage – ‘Anger is an Energy’ (2017)

I was invited through the Regroupement des éditeurs canadiens-français (RECF) to take part in two events in this year’s Burlington Book Festival. The first event Text(e)/Image was a performance with Herménégilde Chiasson at the Contois auditorium. The second event was called The Power of Outrage, a panel discussion with Shenaaz Nanji, Mary Dingee Fillmore, Leda Schubert, Melissa Febos and myself. It was moderated by Cora Siré. The discussion was centered around the question of ‘What fuels writers to take on burning issues? How do they handle the political? Does writing give them refuge from despair?’

I think that writing is a way to make sense of the world that exists around us. That is probably the main reason why I write and because the world is always moving, always transforming, the situation is always new and the need to understand it never-ending. My practice is multidisciplinary but economy and the political economy of our world is something that I continue to visit and to revisit. I believe that this is the foundation of societies; an uneven field. During the panel, I spoke about the vast empire created by Irving and our dependencies as citizens in New Brunswick, Canada. I spoke about glyphosate, ‘an herbicide sprayed throughout New Brunswick’s forests to kill hardwood growth’ [1] and the surrealistic battle forcing citizens of Moncton to demand that the spraying by J.D. Irving near Greater Moncton’s drinking water supply be halted. [2] The chemical itself is actually paid by the Province of New Brunswick, a practice that maximizes the profit margin of Irving. To me, this is a proof of whom is in charge. Obviously, the taxpayers are not, because we are forced to demand for the discontinuation of a practice that is polluting our forests, our groundwater and our very drinking water itself.

On my way back home, driving through Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine, I had time to think more about the panel. There are a few things that I wanted to say but they did not surface. In the last few years, our feelings as a society towards outrage have changed. Even Facebook now recognizes the importance of anger as normal, or at least a possible reaction.

If, for Facebook, anger is data to tailor a more personalize experience for its users, it can be form of energy to others.[3]

Anger Is An Energy, like the lyrics of Johnny Rotten’s song states. It can force someone to take a stand, to make a point in the hope of making something better. But anger can be a difficult road and sometimes, it can only take you so far. To be angry is to give out sparks, to shed light where it is often needed. The outrage must be voiced but it demands an enormous amount of energy. It can suck the light out of the room, the sanity out of an individual. To be distressed and in pain all the time cannot be healthy for anyone. This is why it has to be dealt with extreme care.

Driving through the Green Mountains of Vermont, the White Mountains of New Hampshire and into the forests of Maine gave me enough time to ponder about anger, its potential and its drawbacks. Yes, anger is an energy with dangerous currents, but it can also be a form of resistance that can protect individuals from getting electrocuted by the aberrations of the world.

[1] California places popular N.B. herbicide on list of cancer-causing chemicals http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/gylphosate-herbice-new-brunswick-california-1.4182805

[2] Moncton mayor calls for halt to glyphosate spraying inside city’s watershed https://globalnews.ca/news/3694180/moncton-mayor-calls-for-halt-to-glyphosate-spraying-inside-citys-watershed/

[3] Facebook’s Five New Reaction Buttons: Data, Data, Data and Data http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2016/02/24/facebook_s_5_new_reactions_
buttons_are_all_about_data_data_data.html