Reasonable Anger

I’m an angry woman. Not the best type of manager to be, I’ve learnt - much to my chagrin. But I’ve also found out that since I am an angry woman - with reasons to be - then I’m all right. But, on the other hand, I’m still no better than an unreasonably angry man.

Now you’re going to ask me what makes me so reasonably angry. Simply put, I am upset that I was raised with three elder brothers and had to work ten times harder than the sum of them to get the family at large to listen to my voice of reason.

I thought I had died and arrived in heaven when I went to an all girl’s school and gender inequality was never mentioned.

I've been called every name in the book from b***h, Hitler, black widow and, recently, vampire.

In university however I was brought back to earth with a thud but wore a suit and tie and sucked on an unlit pipe all through, to make a statement.

But the workplace took the cake…. Whether it was Bombay, Bali, Bahrain or Bujumbura I found out that although my bosses (male and female) loved my innate strength, my male colleagues (believe me they came in all shapes, nationalities and colour) found it very hard to deal with me because I got reasonably angry when they were unreasonable.

I’ve been called every name in the book from b***h, Hitler, black widow and recently vampire and I was expected to be unemotional.

If and when I was promoted it was said "because you are cosy with the boss" and it really didn’t matter what gender they belonged to and I was expected to be unemotional.

When my daughter was born I raised her to work ten times harder than her brother who was perceived to be the charmer. I’m angrier now that I have raised a strong, talented daughter who gets angry when she has a reason to be and she gets called names like b***h, Hitler and black widow. She hasn’t been called vampire yet but she is still very young and her time will come.

Until then I will continue to be reasonably angry.

Nirmala Janssen
editor@alnisrmedia.com
www.xpress4me.com/letters