Photo/Illutration U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during the Saudi Investment Forum at the Kennedy Center on Nov. 19 in Washington. (AP Photo)

It is infuriating to be treated unfairly. You might let it go at first. But later, your anger will start a slow burn while your blood boils.

Anger is a tricky emotion. You think you’ve managed to hold it back to avoid a confrontation. But it shows on your face and someone tells you so.

And if you swallow your anger with superhuman effort just so you won’t upset the applecart, you might end up hating yourself later.

But anger can also be a positive or facilitative force, according to Karin Wahl-Jorgensen, the author of “Emotions, Media and Politics.”

Reasonable and legitimate anger, she says, can unite and rally people. History shows that democracy progressed through the anger of people calling for change.

But a major transition was set in force by the emergence of Donald Trump as the president of the United States.

Wahl-Jorgensen argues to the effect that, by making anger the dominant political momentum, Trump has boosted negative emotions (such as discrimination, intolerance and hatred) that are not compatible with democracy.

As a result, she concludes, the world has entered into an “age of anger.”

And anger does seem to prevail in our daily lives. “Rage bait” has been chosen as the Oxford Word of the Year 2025 by the publisher of Oxford English Dictionary. It is defined as “online content deliberately designed to elicit anger and outrage.”

Its literal Japanese translation is “ikari no esa” but the closest equivalent may be “enjo nerai,” which denotes social media posts that aim to provoke a “fiery” controversy.

According to the publisher, the usage of “rage bait” has grown nearly threefold in the past year, fueled by social media hosts’ greed for more clicks.

On English-language social media platforms, I often see posters urging others to refrain from reacting to certain threads that appear to be rage baits.

Anger, which once united people who fought injustice, has been reduced to a political weapon and even a ploy for making money.

Anger must be trembling with fury.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Dec. 7

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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.

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