Is Anger Immoral?

 I don't believe that it's intellectually or morally valid to be angry at anyone else, no matter what fucked up shit they do. 

That's a big statement. That's hard to accept. I know. 

But I really believe that people become who they are because of the shit they've been through. In most cases, the worse the person is, the harder the past they came from. If someone stole from you, they're probably going through terrible deprivation in an environment that doesn't give much credence to bodily autonomy. That's a hard environment. They're going through a lot. In all honesty, they should probably be forgive for stealing, because it's probably the best choice they had in a world of shitty choices. They probably deserve empathy before anger.

And if a person murders, then -- Jesus. What kind of life have they known? What drives a person to that? Not a wholesome adolescence. The murdered likely hates themself, and hates the world, and sees every action as some cosmological joke where nothing matters and they will likely never be able to experience true happiness ever again. The can kill because every day of their life is a kind of death in itself. 

I don't think true evil exists. Only truly damaged people in horrific circumstances.

Does that mean I wouldn't have them arrested? Try to stop them? No, of course I will. Even if I don't think they deserve anger, I don't want someone that damaged to ruin our world. But (if I were intellectually or morally perfect) I wouldn't be angry at them, only sad for them. I'd do what I could to help them while I take them out of the situation they're in, or any situation where their damage will cause harm to others.

I'm using "moral" here to mean adherence to a system of values a person chooses. Don't start thinking I've started to believe in absolute morality or some shite. 

But I also realize that if someone burned my house down or killed my dog, I'd be pissed the fuck off. And I'd have a right to be, because I'd have been wronged. No one should judge me for being angry any more than they should judge the dog-killer for what he did. We're all just responding as best we can to terrible circumstances. BUT I also want to acknowledge that I believe a better version of me wouldn't get angry. Sad, absolutely. But anger implies someone could have chosen otherwise, and -- given different circumstances, or a different personality, or a different past -- someone could have. But not that person in that situation. They're fucked up in a certain way, and they lash out at the world as the only catharsis they have left. They're to be pitied, and helped even, and yes, restrained. But they're not worth my anger.

This is why I love the Phantom of the Opera. Poor guy who's never known love tries to love someone, fucks it up, lashes out... and still learns what love is in the end, even though it's too late. He's a monster, but he's just a fucked up human trying his best to feel something real and good and wholesome and he doesn't have any idea how. In other words, he's like a lot of us.