RUSH: Ellen in Essex, Connecticut. We had Ellen on the phone yesterday, when we ran out of time, and she let us call her back. Ellen, thanks for letting us do that. Great to have you back with us today.
CALLER: Great to you talk with you again, Rush. It’s a rainy day here and I’m glad to talk to you about it again.
RUSH: All right. Let’s get started from the very beginning of what you were talking about yesterday.
CALLER: Yeah. Well, you were talking on and off over the course of several days about the ‘anger,’ and I had a theory. I don’t know why you’re surprised about the anger.
RUSH: Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Whose anger?
CALLER: Michelle Obama’s and Sotomayor’s.
RUSH: Michelle and Barack Obama. Right.
CALLER: Right. I grew up in New York. I grew up in — I spent part of my life in — the projects as well. And, by the way, I wouldn’t call Co-op City the dregs of the projects where Judge Sotomayor lived, but that’s a separate issue. Michelle is younger than I am. Sotomayor is sort of my age-group. We were brought up to basically, you know… You have bright people. They’re going to go on to college. They’re going to get great jobs. The difference was, my peers were coached to be angry, you know, ‘When all things were equal, you know, you’re a minority. You know, get angry about it. Don’t let the opportunity slip away. You know, build on the anger.’ So they got the scholarships, they got the internships, they got their first jobs, and so anger became a part of their tool set — and it’s so much a part of their success… You know, like we all do, if you behave in a certain way and it’s successful and you get rewarded for it, you know, continue to use it. So we have a whole generation of folks who are sort of coming up that have been coached this way, you know, post the civil rights era to leverage their anger on their mistreated historical status. I don’t know why anybody is surprised they continue to behave angry. They’ve been rewarded for being angry.
RUSH: Well, let me clarify. I’m not surprised that they’re angry, and I’m not surprised to hear you say that they’re coached. I would say they’re taught.
CALLER: Taught, okay. Yeah.
RUSH: They’re raised, and when they get to school, it’s affirmed.
CALLER: Yes.
RUSH: They are taught to be angry. They’re taught that they’ve been cheated. They’re taught they’ve been discriminated against. They’re taught this country’s unfair. They’re taught this country is unethical. They are taught that this country is discriminatory. They are taught that this country is immoral and unjust. They’re taught this.
CALLER: But, Rush, there’s a nuance there. Don’t stop at taught. It’s been reinforced with success. That’s the key here. You can be taught a lot of things but if you try it and it doesn’t work…
RUSH: Oh, I remember. I remember, because I did probably say, ‘Michelle Obama’s first lady. What in the world is she angry about?’
CALLER: Angry about.
RUSH: Okay, so you’re saying the success then promotes or confirms the anger, did you say?
CALLER: Yes. In other words, the anger became a viable tool. It worked. It got me to that next step. It got someone’s attention. You know, it nudged me into the right spot. So, like I said, if you use a tool like we all do coming up in our professions — like I learned not to get too pissed off at people, excuse my language —
RUSH: That’s all right.
CALLER: Because in business you can’t go around doing that. But, you know, using that as an edge, they became successful. And, like I said, ‘If you learn to be successful using certain techniques, you’re not going to throw them away all of a sudden.’
RUSH: Okay, this is pretty good. So anger…
CALLER: Has been reinforced.
RUSH: … is a tool.
CALLER: Correct, that’s right.
RUSH: It got them where they want. It got them where they want and —
CALLER: Exactly.
RUSH: — in order to stay there they have to stay mad?
CALLER: Exactly.
RUSH: Now, here’s the big question. Is the anger an act or is it still genuine?
CALLER: I don’t think it… Half my friends it was never genuine. It was a tool. You know, most of them are like, ‘Hey, you know, I got it, I’m going to move on,’ and grew out of it but some of my friends didn’t grow out of it. It actually became part of who they were.
RUSH: Fine. That’s all I need to know. Whether the anger is genuine or whether it’s a tool, the fact of the matter is, it is still being used. It’s why I’m right about Obama being mad. I know I’m right about him being an angry guy; a cold, angry guy. The danger is that even those who are acting angry who really aren’t, they’re inspiring and encouraging rage and anger in those that support them. And that’s why half this country is so bent outta shape all the time about the supposed unjustness and immorality in the country. And that makes everybody else mad.