I’m going to talk about something that might offend some people—the collective outrage of our society. It seems like every time you turn around, someone is outraged about something. You walk on eggshells and still somehow end up offending people. It’s become part of our cancel culture and I can’t take much more.

There are appropriate types of outrage and then there’s just nonsense.

What is appropriate outrage, you might ask? For example, unarmed black men are killed in cold blood—outrage is more than appropriate. Every human on the planet should feel outrage. Unfortunately, this isn’t so. There are apologists for the police—who have a very difficult job, I agree. There are thousands of good and great police officers out there. Unfortunately, the bad ones are sensationalized in the media. Regardless, no one should be able to rationalize the killing of George Floyd or Brionna Taylor or any of the hundreds of people of color who are victimized daily.

Appropriate outrage: A little white boy who is murdered in the street by a black neighbor. Outrage? Yes. Using his death to shrink the importance of the black lives matter movement? Inappropriate use of outrage.

Appropriate outrage: Child trafficking and pedophilia. No one is going to argue that these issues are rage-inducing. Inappropriate outrage? Believing QAnon conspiracies of pizzagate, Hollywood celebrity pedophile rings and please, leave poor Chrissy Teigen alone.

The movie “Cuties” has caused untold outrage in our country. I haven’t seen it yet, but what I’m hearing when I weed through the old classmates accusing Netflix of pedophilia and people threatening to cancel the service, is that it is a commentary on how the internet and rampant sexualization of our culture is corrupting young girls. While parts are said to be “uncomfortable,” it’s supposed to impart the message that the children are being forced to grow up too fast and will be introduced to sex at a younger and younger age. The girls are not engaged in sexual activity in the film, so suggestions of pedophilia are nonsense. The overtly sexual dancing is extremely inappropriate for young girls, but this movie is not celebrating that. It is pointing out that this issue exists and the viewer is meant to take away that they must do something to help preserve our children’s childhoods.

Appropriate outrage? The downplaying of the COVID-19 outbreak by our president. Nearly 200,000 people have died due to this virus. That is a fact. As a future epidemiologist, I can tell you it is a fact. Many of my classmates have chosen COVID as their research topic and I am learning a ton about it.

Appropriate outrage? People not wearing masks when out in public, not social distancing and generally proclaiming COVID as a hoax. Get rage. Those people are keeping businesses closed, our church doors closed (physically, but not spiritually) and our children out of school. Again, Get Rage.

Inappropriate outrage? Them Chinese are colluding with the democrats to get Trump out of office. That’s why we have the COVID. I don’t feel like I have to explain this.

There is appropriate outrage and inappropriate outrage. There are constructive uses of outrage—i.e. protesting and demonstrating for BLM. And there are nonconstructive ways to use outrage—i.e. blaming the democrats for COVID and blindly sharing articles you haven’t fully vetted or researched.

In this age of over-information and connectivity, we have to be able to weed through the muck and find the facts. Stop believing the conspiracies and start being outraged about the right things.