June 8, 2020

"So, don’t ever, ever let anyone tell you that you’re too angry, or that you 'should keep your mouth shut.'"

Says Michelle Obama — in "Graduates, 'Don’t ever, ever let anyone tell you that you’re too angry'" (WaPo).

If you don't let other people say things, then you are the one who is silencing the other. Where does anyone get the power not to let other people say things? I know, it's a figure of speech, and when you don't "let" another person "tell" you something, what you mean is that you don't have to believe what you're told. They can tell it, but you don't have to accept it as true.

But is it never true that you're too angry? Is Obama saying that no one should ever believe that they're too angry. No, she's just saying form your own opinions about whether your anger has gone too far. You can't trust anyone who tries to impose that opinion on you — to tell you you're too angry.

When I read Obama's advice, the first person I thought of was Donald Trump. Maybe somebody told him that at his graduation: Don’t ever ever let anyone tell you that you’re too angry. But doesn't he let Ivanka tell him that he's too angry?

107 comments:

rhhardin said...

Trump is too cool to get angry. Anger is a child's emotion. Michelle Obama for instance.

Matt Sablan said...

Man. I remember when being angry all the time over everything was a bad thing.

Also, it's weird that we're telling students that they shouldn't be told to keep their mouths shut, when during Obama's presidency, he did nothing to stop the universities from engaging in the heckler's veto -- and sometimes actual violent silencing -- of voices they didn't like on campus. It might be unfair to hold Michelle Obama for President Obama's failures there, but still. Some consistency would be nice.

Matt Sablan said...

Also, can you imagine the dogwhistles the media would hear if Trump went out telling people not to listen to people who tell them to shut up and listen or that it's alright for them to be angry?

iowan2 said...

Anger is emotion. My parents modeled the action of "cooling down", dont take rash actions, dont let emotions rule your life, think before you speak, maturity is how you act, not how you react.

Emotionalism is infantalism.

(Taking her literally)

Kevin said...

WARNING: Comments by Michelle Obama should not be not consumed by people of pallor. Side effects include doxing, race baiting, loss of friendship, loss of employment, suppression or banning by social media platforms, disdain of the media, loss of faith in the American Dream, and increased desire to stockpile food and purchase weapons.

Quaestor said...

People who haven't paid their debts have no right to be angry.

Dan in Philly said...

Be ruled by your emotions, graduates! Ignore reason, logic, self sacrifice, self control. Let anger and resentment guide your life!

As a stoic, I'd be appalled if I wasn't a stoic :)

tim maguire said...

Michelle Obama is like Hillary Clinton--her entire career, the full measure of her public existence, arises from who she married. But because she's famous (because of her husband) and people like her husband, she is considered a person of substance to be treated seriously. "We loved Barack, therefore Michelle should be our next president! Listen to her! What she says is important!"

Such are the fruits of celebrity politics.

BTW, does it ever work the other way? Are there any examples of men put up for fame and advancement soley because of who their wife is?

Gusty Winds said...

Michelle Obama is and angry White Man.

gilbar said...

If you don't let other people say things, then you are the one who is silencing the other.

EXACTLY!
this exactly what the (new) freedom of speech amendment to the (living) constitution says!
and i Quote: "MURDER AND KILL ANYONE THAT DISAGREES WITH THE THE PARTY LINE. LONG LIVE BIG BROTHER!"

bgates said...

Whether you're burning down a police station in Minneapolis or murdering a retired police captain in St Louis, don't ever let anyone tell you you're too angry, kids.

dbp said...

Ms. Obama you are too angry, but by all means do not keep your mouth shut! The more you express your anger, the more you undermine your apparent goals. This is good, keep it up.

The Crack Emcee said...

I don't let Michelle Obama tell me what to do.

joshbraid said...

Anger is by nature designed for waging war with the demons and for struggling with every kind of sinful pleasure. Therefore angels‚ arousing spiritual pleasure in us and giving us to taste its blessedness‚ incline us to direct our anger against the demons. But the demons‚ enticing us towards worldly lusts‚ make us use anger to fight with men‚ which is against nature‚ so that the mind‚ thus stupefied and darkened‚ should become a traitor to virtues.
Abba Evagrius the Monk [Fourth Century Desert Father]

wendybar said...

Like they try to shut conservatives up?? Like Drew Brees can't have a patriotic opinion without blacklash, and hatred??? Like that??? Then maybe Michelle should tell her activists to back down I am sick and tired of their self rightous crap, when THEY divided us by gender, class, religion and color. THEY did. Take your "we go high" crap back to Chicago and do something about THAT shithole.

Craig said...

Commenter Achilles, you heard Michelle O. Don't ever let anyone tell you that you're too angry.

RichAndSceptical said...

She's angry even after her husband was a 2 term President. She and her husband live a life most of us can't even imagine, yet she sees racism at every turn. Once individual responsibility is factored in, racism becomes a minor obstacle to achievement.

By my count,there are 5 black US billionaires and over 35,000 black millionaires. The US needs to improve on equal opportunity, not equal outcome. From an early age, those who are taught self responsibility and value of hard work tend to be high achievers. Maybe try teaching that instead of victimhood.

n.n said...

The first person to kneel will be trampled. Baby steps and then a great leap forward. A dysfunctional convergence seems to be inevitable.

re: Trump and Ivanka

The relationship between a parent and child is moderated in a special frame of reference. In principle, we are not competing interests.

Butkus51 said...

Well shes a proven BS artist, so theres that.

Leland said...

Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.

Michael said...

Great. Tell a group already Seemingly incapable of controlling their emotions to never control their emotions. She really isn’t very smart.

AllenS said...

I stay away from angry people. You can't go wrong if you avoid angry people.

Michelle is an idiot. Why on earth should she be angry?

Just think about how angry she would be if there wasn't affirmative action to propel her through life.

Craig said...

I guess nobody's telling me to keep my mouth shut, but what's the point of opening your mouth if only one type of opinion is allowed?

Craig said...

It's not just that only one type of opinion is allowed... facts aren't allowed, either!

Sebastian said...

"So, don’t ever, ever let anyone tell you that you’re too angry, or that you 'should keep your mouth shut.'"

Has anyone ever said that to any black student in the last half century?

Althouse almost gets to the point: the statement is a prog power move, intended to undermine any criticism of any prog, since such criticism is always just another way of saying someone is too angry.

Sebastian said...

When is Trump "too angry"? He engages in hyperbole, he gets excited, he issues baiting tweets--but what counts as "anger"?

The one thing he has been genuinely angry about is the collusion hoax--how could he be "too angry" about that?

JML said...

Unless you don't agree with us. Then shut the hell up - you have no right to anger.

Lloyd W. Robertson said...

Whatever Trump's faults, I doubt that he is really deeply angry very much. Testy and demanding, why isn't my water or Coke where I want it, sure. But my guess is everything blows over. Even if that's not true, his haters think he is a hater, and I'm pretty sure he's not a hater.
At the risk of going horribly off-topic: the ancient Athenians built an empire (which probably paid for the Parthenon), and often faced rebellions from subject cities who liked to see themselves as allies. In one case, Thucydides presents us with a full debate: whether to kill basically all the adult males in a rebellious place, or do something a bit less violent. A guy named Cleon, not exactly a famous statesman, says: it's best to kill them all. They're either guilty, or they're somewhat passively helping the guilty, or killing them will set a good example, (switching to modern French) encourager les autres. He sums up: just remember your anger, maintain your anger, and you'll do fine. Not exactly an appeal to reason or education.

Bill, Republic of Texas said...

Is Obama saying that no one should ever believe that they're too angry. No,

I'm glad Althouse whitesplained that to Michelle Obama. Of course an ivy league lawyer who happens to be black, doesn't have the verbal skills to clearly express herself in prepared remarks.

Fernandinande said...

#STFUMichelle

MayBee said...

Hahahahaha.
I definitely have some people in my life who are too angry.

Here's the thing about being angry all the time: it robs you of your own joy, which is precious and needed to get through life. It turns into a spiral inside of you, turning inward and inward until you have a bitter ball in your heart.
Why are you angry? Is it serving you? Is it serving anyone else? Is there something you can change? Are you trying to control other people with your anger (hint: you can't!).

People are better off reading The Four Agreements when it comes to keeping your mouth shut. Sometimes you should!

Sally327 said...

This is terrible advice. Excessive anger can be incredibly destructive. It clouds one's judgment and can lead to acting out physically, and otherwise, and harming one's self as well as others. But maybe Mrs. Obama considers that a positive aspect. If she had said don't ever let anyone say you care too much, that might have gotten her point across better (although that can still be bad advice).

As is so often the case with Michelle Obama, I feel that her statements here arise out of personal issues that she has struggled with and not been able to overcome or resents having to acknowledge. She always seems a tantrum away from full meltdown.

rehajm said...

I know, it's a figure of speech

When it comes to interpretation of language lefties always get the benefit of the doubt, the most favorable reading...

That advice...I can think if a few you should listen to. Voters, your base, your boss, your spouse, your children, the social worker.

That police officer...

chuck said...

Terrible advice from a women of little accomplishment. Angry people lack judgement, screw up, and just get angrier. It is a loser's game most of the time. Occasional anger used with good judgement can be useful, but you better be ready to turn it off.

DanTheMan said...

Ann, you are judging a black woman by dead white male standards of logic and rhetoric.
By today's standards, that's racist.

Your ritual self-denunciation will be required.

jaydub said...

"No, she's just saying form your own opinions about whether your anger has gone too far."

Sad. Another Woman of Pallor whitesplaining to a Woman of Color what she meant to say.

Time to riot.

Craig said...

I don't think of Trump as angry. In light of his treatment by the media and Congress during his presidency, he's been remarkably even-tempered.

rightguy said...

Anger is an emotion. Yes, you can be too emotional.

Bob Boyd said...

So, don’t ever, ever let anyone tell you that you’re too angry, or that you 'should keep your mouth shut.

And once you have your new badges...

Patrick Henry was right! said...

Not even your parents??

Or your professional mentor??

So, the message is, I can do or say whatever I want because I know everything. Which, as any parent knows, is the standard logic of teenagers.

MadisonMan said...

Finally, a quote from Michelle Obama that I can use.

Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...

weird, Michelle. Your side, the radical left, are all about speech police and making sure 'the other side' are silenced.

See: Drew Breez. He can't even stand up for the flag and the national anthem without being slut-shamed by the radical democratic Obama era leftwing speech police.

MayBee said...

Oh! Do you remember the election of 2016 (and 2018) when we were told the Republican voters were just so frighteningly angry.

Wince said...

She's just expressing her confidence that, after four years of college, graduates with eyes on careers have pretty much been acculturated to the free-speech hypocrisy and bullying by the left.

Limited blogger said...

Don't think I've ever seen Trump 'angry'.

Annoyed, yes.

Dave Begley said...

Yeah, STFU Michelle. You had your 8 years. Now go hang out at the Vineyard and enjoy your money. And the rising tide that's going to flood your house.

ga6 said...

But don' call me when you get fired or divorced.

SoLastMillennium said...

Michelle Obama seems to be addressing just SOME people, on one subject, to never shut up. For those with a different view, or of a different group, will any speech be allowed?

As an example, try to modify "Black Lives Matter" in any form such as "Black Lives Matter for ALL lives Matter. Their life is as valuable as your or mine". Best be ready to duck some bricks.

There is never talk of equality and how to reach it or know when you have got it, and that's a tell.

narciso said...

I recall one journolister, before we knew it was a thing, said the huntress was brimming with 'ressentiment' because of an analysis of her handwriting, who was much more civil than needed to be, but this screaming harridan, well she's an authority, well in how her college roomate,
was given the contract to design the exchanges, that were vulnerable to the russian hackers, the no show job she was gven at the u chicago, the looting expedition her husband and bill ayers undertook at the annenberg fund,

Calypso Facto said...

Obamas doing what Obamas do best: lobbing verbal Molotov cocktails into crowded streets, fueling fires and exhorting injury, all from the safety of their well-policed palace walls.

Poor neighborhoods hardest hit. Just like after Trayvon. Just like after Ferguson.

exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...

MayBee said...
Oh! Do you remember the election of 2016 (and 2018) when we were told the Republican voters were just so frighteningly angry.

6/8/20, 8:15 AM

Leftist anger and hate is righteous and good.

Deplorable anger is racist.

gilbar said...

live a life most of us can't even imagine

i (for one), can't even imagine accepted (WITH a FULL scholarship!) to Princeton, just because of the color of my skin (And the fact that my basketball star older brother demanded it)

She believed that her brother's status as an alumnus — he graduated in 1983,[36] before being hired as a basketball coach at Oregon State University and Brown University[37] — may have helped her during the admission process

AlbertAnonymous said...

I have exactly ZERO interest in reading or hearing about anything this person has to say.

Why do the grad speakers always suck? Too long. Too much me me me. Ugh.

SGT Ted said...

Abusers use anger to coerce and control others. Abusers don't let anyone tell them they're too angry either.

tcrosse said...

Don't get mad. Get even.

Ken B said...

So much of America worships anger. They call it “rage”. They stoke it, flaunt it, tend it like a child.

And demagogues exploit it.

NorthOfTheOneOhOne said...

Great advice from a woman who is financially set for life to a bunch of young people just starting out.

Pardon me while I go throw up!

narciso said...


well they learned it in reverend wrights' pew

https://amgreatness.com/2020/06/06/barack-obamas-insurrection-evangelism/

Rory said...

"Don't get mad. Get even."

The four years of insanity have had a cold calculation, along with plenty of money, behind it. Whether Biden or Clinton, their owned candidate is in place. We'll see in a few months if they win.

Michael K said...

I am so old that I remember when Michelle had a "press availability" to explain that she was not "An Angry Black Woman" as depicted by many.

I guess that story is no longer operative.

Her writing skills are slightly better than Barbra Streisand but, like Barbra , she has people to do that for her.

Lurker21 said...

Not very good advice, and I'm pretty sure that in private she doesn't act on it. People talk up "anger" as a public pose, but they often know enough not to be a pain in the ass in their personal interactions with people.

We're told that "well-behaved women rarely make history," but we're also told that women have a less confrontational, more supportive and collaborative administrative style. There seems to be a contradiction there. But it's not just women. It seems to be a political or ethnic thing. One is expected to be confrontational and angry with the other side or with outsiders, but not be a human relations problem with one's own side or people.

I don't much like MO or her m.o. or the adulation she gets from some people just for being African-American or for having married a Democrat president, but she gets so much really awful shit from some people, that it's hard for me to get angry about anything she says. Spend enough time around people who really hate some politician or political family and you have to give those public figures a little credit for just getting up in the morning.

Paul said...

So Michelle is giving Trump advice to speak out? MAGA!

Michael K said...

So much of America worships anger. They call it “rage”. They stoke it, flaunt it, tend it like a child.


If by "so much" you mean black America, I guess you could be right. That is not an American tradition, though. Owen Wister began it in literature with :"The Virginian." Ever read it ? John Wayne movies are a m ore modern example for those disinclined to read. Even Harry Callahan saying, "Do you feel lucky?" is an example of the role of humor and restraint.

iowan2 said...

Terrible advice from a women of little accomplishment.

OK, I'll bite. Exactly what accomplishment does Michelle boast, to get all the way to "little accomplishment"? I get something so close to zero, I cant define the separation.

narciso said...

'its repressive tolerance,' a trick from herbert marcuse fmrly of the frankfurt school,

Ignorance is Bliss said...

The issue is not that people are too angry. The issue is that they are angry at the wrong people, for the wrong reasons.

madAsHell said...

She's a little smarter than Joe Biden, and could probably kick my ass in a push-up contest.

That's really all she is......

The Crack Emcee said...

Yesterday, a French white woman who supports BLM told me I was too confrontational.

I showed her this quote today.

DarkHelmet said...

So says the angriest multi-millionaire of no personal accomplishment in the entire world.

Michelle has less to be angry about that the most pampered golden retriever. She is loved, fawned over, rewarded and allowed to do what she likes while other people take care of her every need.

I Have Misplaced My Pants said...

Better advice to young people: if you want to avoid being a chump in someone else's agenda, understand that anyone trying to inflame your emotions wants something from you. Every.Fucking.Time.

BRB, off to text my teenagers a helpful reminder

DarkHelmet said...

Let us now in this time of COVID agree that graduation ceremonies can be discontinued, and with them, the need to hire bloviators to preach to the choir at such events.

Send the diploma in the mail.

tcrosse said...

So it's OK to be angry about rioting and looting. Good to know.

Bilwick said...

Shut up, Wookie Karen.

rcocean said...

We've just had 17 deaths, a week of looting and rioting. Is it a good time to tell people "Don't let anyone tell you you're too angry"? And everyone should listen to people telling you've gotten too angry and emotional. Unless you like going overboard, making a fool of yourself, and alienating people.

rcocean said...

The speech Continued:

What’s happening right now is the direct results of decades of unaddressed prejudice an inequality. The truth is, when it comes to all those tidy stories of hard work and self-determination that we like to tell ourselves about America, well, the reality is a lot more complicated than that. Because for too many people in this country, no matter how hard they work, there are structural barriers working against them that just make the road longer and rockier. And sometimes it’s almost impossible to move upward at all. Because what if you’re required to work during a pandemic, but don’t have enough protective equipment or health insurance from your employer, or paid sick leave? What is more essential: your work or your life? If you don’t feel safe driving your own car in your own neighborhood? Or going for a jog, or buying some candy at 7-11, or birdwatching? If you can’t even approach the police without fearing for your life, then how do you even begin to chart your own course?”


Talk about inflaming racial tensions! But don't worry, if we elect Biden, then all this will go away.

rcocean said...

BTW, if you're going "For a Jog" to an unfinished construction site to pick up some tools or whatever, its a good thing not to grab the barrel of the shotgun being pointed at you. Just sayin'

PM said...

Encourages the kind of behavior that has exacerbated encounters btw A-As and police for decades.

Jupiter said...

The Crack Emcee said...
"I don't let Michelle Obama tell me what to do."

Yeah, me neither. Imagine if you were married to the bitch!

Doug said...

This is the general topic area where the Hostess (hostette?) shows her affinity for marxist feminism.

Michael K said...

What’s happening right now is the direct results of decades of unaddressed prejudice an inequality.

David Goldman has an excellent essay on this in Asia Times.

For white liberals, a black identity shaped by rage is not only to be condoned, but celebrated. All politics is identity politics to liberals, because the whole object of their existence is to invent one’s identity according to therapeutic needs. That is why the progressive movement took up the cause of transgender rights with such passion: To change one’s gender is the ultimate expression of self-invention in defiance of nature and tradition.

The possessors of these newly-invented pseudo-selves know that they are imposters, and that everyone is laughing at them behind their backs. As Mephisto told Faust, “Wear a wig with a million hairs, and stand in heels as long as your elbow, and you still remain what you are.”


Blacks hate that the white society knows how self destructive the black men are.

AZ Bob said...

Where would the Obama's be without the Straw Man?

Skeptical Voter said...

I'm still waiting for the time when I can say that I was proud of Michelle Obama. It's been a long wait, and Hell may freeze over before that time comes, but I'm hoping. She's got the angry black woman role firmly under control.

mikee said...

Being told you're too angry, and lessening your anger, are two different things.
Michelle Obama is a censorious scold.
She has no power over anyone else, thank goodness.

Lurker21 said...

She's stereotype surfing. Tough trick. You have to know when to play the "angry Black woman" and when to be angry at being stereotyped as an "angry Black woman." It's like the "code switching" that people from one language or accent to another. You have to know when to play the angry rebel, and when not to, and when to shame others for being angry.

Is anger an American trait? It's certainly a modern trait. In a world where people aren't automatically slotted into some place by fate or tradition, it's easy to be angry about where you do end up. And it's very much characteristic of politics in the modern world. Somebody is always up in arms about something.

Howard said...

It takes solid brass balls to be married to a strong intelligent woman... No wonder you Cucks are afraid of her

Big Mike said...

@Althouse, you believe that Trump is angry? Well bless your heart.

Jupiter said...

I wonder. She was told that she was going to get into an Ivy League school, and get a great education, and then a great job, and then marry a proud black man and have beautiful black children and he would be President and she'd get to fly all around the World with a humongous posse of her wonderful, glamorous friends and stay at expensive hotels and own a huge house by the sea and go to parties with famous people and ... and it all came true!

So, why does everything suck?

Tina Trent said...

Goldman's a gem. Referencing a post of a few weeks back, I agree with AA that PJ Media's news content is sort of lame, but their stable of columnists includes Victor Davis Hanson, David Goldman, the great Richard Fernandez, and, until his death, Barry Rubin. If you want to learn about the geopolitics of Israel, China, and SE Asia, it's an embarrassment of riches. That was a great essay, MK.

The rule of Lemnity said...

"When I read Obama's advice, the first person I thought of was Donald Trump."

Me too.

Achilles said...

Craig said...
Commenter Achilles, you heard Michelle O. Don't ever let anyone tell you that you're too angry.

I am not angry. I am resigned.

It is more like taking out the trash.

You don't really look forward to it. You just do it.

Ken B said...

Michael K
I guess you have never been to a feminist meeting, or a campus political meeting. There rage is sanctified, worshipped, stoked. And it seems to have burst out from those places. What are a Keith Ellison's tweets but the tending of anger?

Jim at said...

It's almost as if they didn't have eight, full years to fix these so-called problems.

narciso said...

what is that line from the stones or is it leonard cohen 'confortably numb'

n.n said...

re: comfortably numb

Pink Floyd?

n.n said...

unaddressed prejudice an inequality.

Diversity and affirmative discrimination, and an established Pro-Choice, selective, opportunistic, politically congruent religion (or its relativistic cousin: ethics).

Drago said...

The Crack Emcee: "Yesterday, a French white woman who supports BLM told me I was too confrontational.
I showed her this quote today."

Well, the French are kind of like that to everyone, aren't they?

The French are allowed to hang around by the Germans because the Germans need the French votes to keep the rest of the EU under their thumbs.

Ken B said...

Prediction. If you work at a big company, or in Blue city in a Blue state, you will be “asked” to kneel at work.

JAORE said...

Henceforth,until at least November, your anger knob shall be dialed to no lower than 7.

[Six is the point where we can up and turn you loose.]

pious agnostic said...


Wrath is a mortal sin.

wildswan said...

At the end of Obama's Presidency the black community was poorer than when it began. The reason was that many members of the community do not graduate from high school and manufacturing jobs which can be done by non-high school graduates continued to flow away into China. That's something to be angry about. And, people should not shut up about it.

Michael K said...

Ken B said...
Michael K
I guess you have never been to a feminist meeting, or a campus political meeting.
<

Before you were born. It was fun .

Michael K said...

Maybe not the feminists you mean.

I do remember "Lucky Lager Dance Time" which always played at 11:55 PM on Saturday night. We had to get the girls to the dorm by 12. Good times. You have no idea.

Michael K said...

Howard said...
It takes solid brass balls to be married to a strong intelligent woman... No wonder you Cucks are afraid of her


I would be afraid of an NFL linebacker that size. You're right, Howard. I'm not sure the "balls" are brass though. You'd have to open the case to see.

Madero said...

Interesting, Ken B. I could easily imagine the Karens in HR devising something like that.

Carl said...

I'm a little surprised you didn't make the connection to your "civility bullshit" tag. It's similar to saying "don't let anyone tell you to be more civil".

Rusty said...

IHMMP
I'm using that. I hope it becomes a meme.

Rusty said...

Howard said'"It takes solid brass balls to be married to a strong intelligent woman... No wonder you Cucks are afraid of her"
Your wife tell you to write that?