I’ve been thinking a lot about anger recently. So often, anger is painted in this negative light, as if the feeling itself is unproductive or irrational. But anger can be a beacon in the dark, showing us where change is needed and pushing us forward to demand it. In moments of uncertainty, I look back on history to provide context, trying to find some kind of clue or example of how to move forward. And as I sit here, thinking about what to do next in the wake of so much political and social unrest, I can’t help but think about a time in history where anger was used in the face of government inaction, where it sparked a movement that changed the world.
By 1987, the AIDS crisis was ravaging communities across the world, and yet, the then President of the United States had not even said the word “AIDS.” At that time, there were 50,278 cases of AIDS reported and 40,849 deaths, with the number continuing to rise every day. But the federal government refused to take meaningful action. The healthcare system was ignoring the crisis, the media was largely silent, and the LGBTQ+ community was essentially left to fend for itself. After all of this, there was a pivotal turning point, where anger became the driving force for change.
That same year, playwright and AIDS activist Larry Kramer founded ACT UP – the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power. ACT UP was a non-partisan group united in anger, committed to nonviolent direct action to end the AIDS crisis. Their mission was simple, but revolutionary. They demand the government take immediate and effective action to address the epidemic and save lives. And so, they did. They transformed their frustration and grief into a force that could not be ignored.
ACT UP’s direct actions were bold and unapologetic. They staged sit-ins, die-ins, marches, and political campaigns to demand attention. Perhaps most memorably, ACT UP infiltrated the New York Stock Exchange to protest the profiteering of pharmaceutical companies like Burroughs Wellcome, which was pricing the life-saving drug AZT at exorbitant levels. They interrupted mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral to protest the Catholic Church’s opposition to condom use and safe-sex education. They held the iconic “Ashes Action” in Washington, D.C., where activists threw the ashes of loved ones who had died from AIDS on the lawn of the White House – an emotional, powerful demand for action from a government that had turned its back on its citizens.
ACT UP’s actions were driven by a righteous anger, but that anger wasn’t chaotic – it was focused, calculated, and purposeful. And it worked. The movement helped push forward the research and approval of life-saving treatments for HIV and AIDS, creating a path for the medications we use today. It forced society to confront its biases, its negligence, and its apathy. In doing so, ACT UP and other AIDS activists brought an epidemic that was being ignored into the global spotlight. They saved lives. And while the AIDS crisis is far from over, it’s because of their tireless work that we now have the resources, the advocacy, and the medical advancements to fight back.
Even today, ACT UP continues to meet in cities around the world to fight for LGBTQ+ rights and health justice. The anger that fueled their activism is still alive and well, reminding us that the fight isn’t over, and that we cannot become complacent in the face of injustice.
Anger is valid. Anger is productive. It can be the spark for social change, the energy that fuels movements that shift the balance of power. Anger has changed the world before, and it will continue to do so. It’s easy to think of anger as something negative, something that should be suppressed or avoided. But what if we allowed it to be something more? What if we allowed anger to be the fire that lights the way forward, the motivation for action when things feel impossible?
When I think about the state of the world today, I think about the anger that built ACT UP and all of the other movements that have followed in its footsteps. That anger, born out of injustice, loss, and oppression, became the catalyst for transformation. And it continues to remind us that we cannot afford to be passive in the face of injustice. We cannot sit idly by. Anger may be the thing that makes us uncomfortable, but it is also the thing that wakes us up, challenges us, and pushes us to take action.
Anger is a call to action. And as history has shown us, it is a force that, when harnessed with purpose, can change the world.
