It's never easy to take the high ground. Even if you're largely disconnected from a lot of these messes like I am, even if you did manage to dodge a good number of the bullets, even if you've developed that oh so valuable ability to laugh at the derision and keep on going, it's not easy. There's always that nagging feeling that comes with being in the crosshairs, that knowledge that if someone genuinely tried hard enough, they might just find the way to upend everything. That difficulty only increases in cases like yourself, Grim, and Raggi, where the impacts of garbage like this was and still is significant.
It's not easy, but it is necessary. There must be people willing to break the cycle in one way or another or we'll never get those brief moments of quiet and peace. Trying to stop the pendulum at the zero-point isn't the most satisfying thing. It won't quiet the anger or make the experiences already had feel less bitter, but neither will getting back at the people who did this. It'll feel more satisfying in the moment, but that satisfaction will be short lived and come at the cost of perpetuating the cyclical nature of such conflicts. What's done is done and nothing will change that. This isn't to say we should forget, and I'm of the opinion that we also shouldn't necessarily forgive depending on the severity of the situation, but we should try to find ways forward that put a stop to the whiplash inducing swings of that pendulum without perpetuating more of the same.
Maybe what I'm saying makes sense, maybe it doesn't. It's early, I'm tired because I slept bad, and I'm spending half my morning fighting rain leaks in my shop. Point is I'm largely with you, Grim, and Raggi on this - more overt conflict will ultimately perpetuate the mess further.
It's never easy to take the high ground. Even if you're largely disconnected from a lot of these messes like I am, even if you did manage to dodge a good number of the bullets, even if you've developed that oh so valuable ability to laugh at the derision and keep on going, it's not easy. There's always that nagging feeling that comes with being in the crosshairs, that knowledge that if someone genuinely tried hard enough, they might just find the way to upend everything. That difficulty only increases in cases like yourself, Grim, and Raggi, where the impacts of garbage like this was and still is significant.
It's not easy, but it is necessary. There must be people willing to break the cycle in one way or another or we'll never get those brief moments of quiet and peace. Trying to stop the pendulum at the zero-point isn't the most satisfying thing. It won't quiet the anger or make the experiences already had feel less bitter, but neither will getting back at the people who did this. It'll feel more satisfying in the moment, but that satisfaction will be short lived and come at the cost of perpetuating the cyclical nature of such conflicts. What's done is done and nothing will change that. This isn't to say we should forget, and I'm of the opinion that we also shouldn't necessarily forgive depending on the severity of the situation, but we should try to find ways forward that put a stop to the whiplash inducing swings of that pendulum without perpetuating more of the same.
Maybe what I'm saying makes sense, maybe it doesn't. It's early, I'm tired because I slept bad, and I'm spending half my morning fighting rain leaks in my shop. Point is I'm largely with you, Grim, and Raggi on this - more overt conflict will ultimately perpetuate the mess further.
Funny, you posted that while I was writing another article with the same thesis statement.