Rise of the 'Rage Donation'

Someone I know told me recently that he's picked up a new habit since the election of Donald Trump: Every time he gets angry watching the news or reading his Facebook feed, he makes a donation to a nonprofit whose cause he believes in. He likes to choose donation recipients that help "offset" whatever's pissing him off. These days, he says, sometimes he finds himself donating to Planned Parenthood; other times, the American Civil Liberties Union.

He's made at least five donations this month.

It's not the first story I've heard that combines hopelessness or blind fury (or wine-drunk despair) with contributions to charity. Someone I know in New York told me she donated to the Council on American-Islamic Relations when she was feeling frustrated that she couldn't attend the protests at JFK International Airport. ("Made me feel like I was at least doing something," she said.)