I'm not naturally prone to anger. However, when it comes to family or friends, I can act impulsively. It doesn't seem to matter whether it's in public, abroad, or domestically. In America, especially since my daughter was born, I've been frequently subjected to meaningless comments about her appearance and culture, and I used to think most Americans were enemies. There was a time like that.
I went to see a children's play for my daughter's birthday. It was a children's play, and the performers interacted directly with the audience children, making it quite interactive. The 1.5-hour duration passed without any lulls. The stage setup was such that it didn't matter if the audience children were talking. It was fun.
Throughout the play, I was interpreting for my daughter where things were unclear.
Then, a problem arose. A person, about 60 years old, sitting next to our family of three, suddenly said to me, "Be quiet!" (Of course, the children around were chattering away). I had to explain things properly to my daughter, so I said, "Ah, oh, sorry," and brushed it off.
After that, I vaguely wondered, "Huh? Why is this guy only saying that to us? Is it because I'm speaking English? Why would someone say something so rude as 'Be quiet!' to a stranger out of the blue?" The thoughts simmered.
Normally, I would have judged this racist jerk, who was targeting only my foreign family, as an enemy and taken drastic action.
That day, I took a breath and thought. "This person is a racist, and probably thought I was foreign too. He probably felt good about telling a noisy foreigner to 'Be quiet!' There's no point in communicating further with this lunatic. If I get angry, it won't be a more enjoyable day than my daughter's fun birthday event today. So, I'll just ignore him." I constructively understood myself and continued interpreting for my daughter.
And then, as soon as the play ended, that lunatic, with his large frame, dashed away. He must have sensed something. It was comical.
After that, I continued to have a very good time with my family.
Yes, this might be the first time I've been able to respond like this. I felt a little proud of myself.