From ‘The Avengers’ movie:
Steve Rogers: Doc… I think now is the perfect time for you to get angry.
Bruce Banner: That’s my secret, Cap[tain America], I’m always angry.
Cap was suggesting Banner to transform into the Hulk there and then to help save the day. Right after Banner says the above, he immediately morphs into the Hulk. It is as if he has been constantly suppressing his rage all along, which also means he can let it loose at any time. Now, the tricky thing is, Banner looked incredibly calm most of the time. How then, could he be angry all the time? He must be in great control! Suppression incidentally does not dissolve rage, which is what Banner should do if he really wishes to uproot his anger problem. The cultivation of the opposite quality of loving-kindness is the cure.
But if he keeps his angry in control, it is no longer anger, because we can only have one thought in each moment. Where there is calm, there is no rage; where there is rage, there is no calm. Alas! This is a logical error in the script! Something else interesting to note is that rage is useful only when it is transformed to energy with mindfulness, and for there to be mindfulness, there must be calmness. In this sense, the assumed unbridled rage of Hulk cannot actually be skilful. This I have to say, much of a Hulk fan as I am!
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I agree that suppression does not get rid of anger. For a long time I believed that its expression did: there’s the school of thought that proposes screaming and yelling (and bashing a harmless substitute target for the anger) is a good way to get it out of the system. These days, I have found–as you say–that the cultivation of loving-kindness through the practice of metta is the best way to address it. (I’m new to your blog, by the way, and have added you to my blogroll at The Buddha Diaries.)
Anger is a poison. It poisons your mind, your beliefs, your faith and all the good that is ever done in it’s name no matter how righteous it may seem.
Since anger is also a form of energy, it is better to transform it than to suppress it. Loving kindness is also a form of energy. It is better to invest in it, grow it and to live it in the place of anger.