Anger, Affective Injustice, and Emotion Regulation

Abstract

Victims of oppression are often called to let go of their anger in order to facilitate better discussion to bring about the end of their oppression. According to Amia Srinivasan (2018), this constitutes an affective injustice. In this paper, we use research on emotion regulation to shed light on the nature of affective injustice. By drawing on the literature on emotion regulation, we illustrate specifically what kind of work is put upon people who are experiencing affective injustice and why it is damaging. We begin by explaining affective injustice and how it can amount to a call for emotion regulation. Then we explain the various techniques that can be used to regulate emotions and explain how each might be harmful here. In the penultimate section of the paper, we explain how the upshot of this is that victims of affective injustice are left with a dilemma. Either they try to regulate their anger in a way that involves ignoring the fact of their oppression or they regulate it in a way that is likely to be harmful for them. Finally, we consider whether there are any good solutions to this dilemma, and how this issue opens up the possibility for further research into emotion regulation and moral philosophy.

Passionate Speech: On the Uses and Abuses of Anger in Public Debate

“…Unless this unwillingness to face injustice is tackled, it is hard to see how progress can be made in addressing systemic social injustice. Hence, even when one can predict that apt anger is going to be counterproductive in the short term, there might be a reason to express it nonetheless in order to shift the burden of emotional distress on those responsible for wrongdoing (Archer and Mills, 2019).…”

“…Hence, the burden of control should be fairly distributed. Especially in those cases where their anger is apt, people should not also have to shoulder the responsibility for regulating their emotions (Archer and Mills, 2019; Liebow and Glazer, 2019).…”

White Fragility: An Emotion Regulation Perspective

“…Affective injustice occurs when people of color are called on by White interaction partners to regulate feelings of anger triggered by perceived injustices (Archer & Mills, 2019;Srinivasan, 2018). By regulating their anger, people of color might prevent their White interaction partners from feeling uncomfortable, thereby helping ensure that the interaction goes smoothly.…”

“…By regulating their anger, people of color might prevent their White interaction partners from feeling uncomfortable, thereby helping ensure that the interaction goes smoothly. However, these calls for people of color to manage their situation-appropriate emotional reactions can lead them to engage in emotion regulation strategies that adversely impact their psychological wellbeing and reduce their willingness to change the status quo (Archer & Mills, 2019). In addition, engaging in such forms of extrinsic emotion regulation shifts attention away from the racial injustice and prioritizes the White individual and alleviating their discomfort (Bryant-Davis, 2005).…”

“…Furthermore, emotional acceptance can also be applied extrinsically, as White people accept the negative emotions of Black community members experiencing racism and therefore avoid the affective injustice of expecting or encouraging Black people to manage these emotions (cf. Archer & Mills, 2019;Srinivasan, 2018).…”