Preston Xanthopoulos: Nothing entertaining about 'angertainment.' It's destructive.

I saw a new word the other day, well, new to me: “Angertainment." I thought, well, that nails it. That’s exactly what going on in society now. We are allowing ourselves to be entertained, and entertaining ourselves, with anger.

I think the word and concept started with the likes of angry radio and podcasts like that of conspiracy theorist and general whacko Alex Jones. (Please don’t write me to defend Alex Jones. He’s a hate-mongering lunatic and a jury in Texas just agreed with me to the tune of nearly 50 million bucks.)

However, now, it is everywhere — angertainment — a concept engaged in by seemingly way too many people and the “cancel culture” is the result of it.

The idea of it is simple: I’m going to get angry at something, and get other people to get angry with me.  We entertain ourselves and each other with the communion of anger and because we are united, we can take that anger and together take someone else down. How entertaining!

As a society, we get angry, really, really angry, at the most mundane things.

This week, it was the scandal surrounding Hailey Bieber. Hailey is a model, “influencer" and the wife of pop star Justin Bieber.  The scandal? She posted on the social media platform TikTok, putting on what she called her “go to” fall lip make-up style and titled it “Brownie Glazed Lips.”  Try stay with me here. Apparently, the style of outlining your lips with brown lip liner and then putting on lip gloss is “not a white thing," so Hailey, who is white, can’t name what she wears on her lips and she is "culturally appropriating” “communities of color” and “co-opting Black and Latino women.”

There are literally thousands upon thousands of foul-mouthed comments, from people of all races, attacking her in this vein. I don't know when that style of lip design was created or by whom, I will tell you, as a teenager in the ‘80s and ‘90s, I was wearing this “new trend."  Although, the liner was a little more mauve than brown.  I probably once saw it in a copy of Cosmo or something. It is not a new style, Hailey didn't say it was, and it is not owned by any culture. Publications from Glamour Magazine to ABC News are covering this “scanda." Who cares what she wears for make-up? Why would people spend their precious emotions getting angry over something so completely trivial?  It’s all part of this “angertainment.”

Why is anyone paying attention to the fact Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine texted naughty things to someone other than his wife? Why do we care? And, are we really angry about his texts outside of marriage? Why? No, despite your calls, I am not boycotting his music. And, I can't even repeat in mixed company what seems like a million social media comments about him. I don't care, and I’m not wasting my anger on him anymore than Hailey Bieber and I don't think either should be “canceled." It's silly.

I do care about what this anger-culture is causing people to do, however.

A Massachusetts member of the National Guard tailed a tour bus of senior citizens in the Bay State last week because the tour bus they were on had a Florida license plate. So, he decided they were illegal immigrants, stalked them then confronted them and streamed it online with his angry narrative. Now, the post has been removed so I can't see the comments, but he posted the video to crowd source the anger and provide his audience … you guessed it … with the entertainment of his aggressive pursuit of seniors out on tour. It is possible that the National Guard may want to "cancel" him because he's clearly not stable.

“Angertainment” is being used everywhere to invoke a unity in emotions. Look at political ads and campaign mail. Look at the January 6th Committee and hearings. Yes, I'm going there. The committee put the very first hearing in primetime and hired an ABC executive to produce the “show." Why? To get the biggest audience from which to evoke the emotion of anger. Hiring a network executive is absolute proof of the “entertainment” portion of this. The anger came in the carefully conducted substance. Now, I am not saying whether I agree with the hearings and the committee or not. I am saying I am opposed to the theatrics of the production of our government and now I have found a new word to use for it: “Angertainment."

Look at headlines.  They are trying to have us join in anger.  They’re literally peddling it to us. “Battle Erupts…”; "Brands Blast Twitter…”; Republicans Slam Dems…”; Pat Sajak Ripped for Photo…”; “Florida Weatherman Slammed on Twitter…”. Battle. Blast. Slam. Ripped. Slammed. Those are some pretty angry words and that was one morning.  We’re the ones feeding off of it. The problem is, like the National Guardsman in Massachusetts, it’s seeping out of the internet and into the streets. It is making us an angry society.

Think of all the attacks on airplanes and on restaurant workers.  We’re are so surrounded by conflict and controversy it is consuming us — to the point, it is a form of entertainment.

Why would one enjoy being angry? I can't answer that question, as it is well above my academic credentials, but I think just posing the question to ourselves is important. I think we should all pose it to ourselves before we join in on an anger-train or try to be the conductor of one. I think we’ll find that what’s far more entertaining than anger, is joy.

Alicia Preston Xanthopoulos is a political consultant and member of the media. She’s a native of Hampton Beach where she lives with her family and three poodles. Write to her at PrestonPerspective@gmail.com.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Preston Xanthopoulos: Nothing entertaining about 'angertainment'