Of course I'm bitter. Aren't you?

You know that bumper sticker, "If you're not outraged, you're not paying attention"?

I propose that we de-stigmatize bitterness in the same way. Being bitter is not necessarily a bad thing. But really, I can't dissect this nearly as well as someone else (namely, Heo Cwaeth) already has:

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that an anti-feminist jackass in possession of a public forum, must level charges of bitterness. To be fair, the charge is often correct. This does not win anti-feminists any awards for perspicacity, however. I'm afraid it doesn't take a brain surgeon, or a dental hygienist for that matter, to deduce that those who are protesting what they perceive to be the ills in society are at least momentarily disgruntled, if not thoroughly embittered. Unfortunately for anti-feminists, while declaring that one's opponent is bitter may be a valid observation, it isn't the "look at me, Ma" hands-down argument-stopper they present it as. "I've sussed you out, person with a complaint, and I've decided you're dissatisfied" really isn't that stunning a point to make. If feminists were completely happy with the status quo, we'd be off somewhere doing things other than pointing out how unhappy we are with the status quo. We're smart like that.(emphasis mine)

It's a long post, but very very worth the read.

Oh, and don't forget this invaluable gem:

And all that anger is good for her, because it tells her that she has not internalized the poor self-esteem that our society works so very hard to instill in her, and that she has a chance to bring up children (or not, as she pleases) that will also regard themselves with an eye to reality, rather than patriarchal fantasy.

Ranks right up there with Twisty's indispensible definition of the Patriarchy (and the patriarchy). And that says a lot.