I am a self proclaimed pacifist, one who chooses flight rather than fight, and sickens at the sight of violence or the scream of an angry raised voice. To back up this self image I surround myself with the obvious choices in music; country, folk, opera, and Broadway musicals. No heavy metal or angry rap for this woman. I admit, however, that I do allow Pink to slip into my earphones on a regular basis. I never really thought much about this until someone challenged me this past weekend with the question: "If you don't like angry people, why do you love Pink?" The truth is Pink is one angry violent woman and it shows in her music!
I had no immediate answer to this challenge, but I continued throughout the day to reflect on the apparent chink in my pacifist armor. I believe I have come up with a slightly disturbing realization. I love Pink because she is the woman I cannot be. The one who pushes back when she is assaulted and in fact fells her opponent to the ground. The one who screams" Fuck You" when she is sworn at or rudely attacked. The one who dares to answer her ex lover with "You're a tool and I don't need you tonight" instead of standing by mutely accepting the painful loss. In other words, she defends herself.
I continue to cling to the belief that anger is a dangerous emotion that harms no one so much as the person who holds on to it. I know that peace is the better way. But now I wonder. Am I truly a pacifist or simply a coward?
2 comments:
I don't believe you are a coward, but rather you choose your battles. You may be more inclined to choose not to fight, but when the stakes are high you have fought in the past with all the strength that anyone can hope to have. For if you are a coward then so am I.
The glory of being a singer/artist is they have a true outlet for their feelings/emotions that is constructive.
Thanks MG for your moral support and for your insight on having a constructive outlet. Guess mine is writing.
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