How to...- Anya Slepyan

An unknown person once said "If you're not outraged, you're not paying attention." I'm not sure how true this statement is given that the root of some people's outrage clearly comes from their fundamental ignorance of various situations, but this point still stands: if you have any values or opinions, even ones that seems so fundamental as "racism is bad" or "men and women are equal," I can promise you that somewhere out there right now, there are people who are speaking or acting in a contradictory manner to your beliefs. Given that fact, being outraged is somewhat inevitable. All it requires is a conviction (any conviction) and the wherewithal to find and vocally disagree with someone.

A note of warning-- people are, of course, entitled to their opinions. No matter how wrong they are, your outrage should never lead to violence or threats. Rather, use your outrage to a) try to change people's opinions using nonviolence and sass or b) fuel your motivation to protect what you care about and change what you despise.

Now, we get to the part where we're actually outraged.
First, choose a conviction. This could be anything from women's equality to racial justice to LGBTQ+ rights to youtube commercials that play in the middle of the video instead of at the beginning like a normal commercial, goddamnit. I specialize in political outrage, but really you can be mad about anything.

To get you in the mood for outrage I  recommend sixties protest songs as background music. This includes artists like Pete Seeger, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Phil Ochs, Crosby, Stills, and Nash, Helen Reddy, Bruce Springsteen, and the entire soundtrack of the musical Hair.

Some people can go straight to the outrage part just from thinking about an unjust or upsetting situation, but others require more prompting. If you are in the latter category, just wait until you hear people heartlessly discussing one of your convictions. Or, if you want to be outraged RIGHT NOW just look up an article about your given issue on the internet, and then read the comments section. You can also expose yourself to hostile media outlets that guarantee a good amount of anger. For me, this includes Fox News and Republican debates, among others (no offense to anyone!).

From that point forward, your outlook can range anywhere from mild annoyance to blind rage, depending on the strength of both your convictions and your opponent's provocation.

Remember, just being outraged in and of itself does none any good. For outrage to be productive, you have to channel it and use it to create progress. Best of luck!