REVENGE...THE CYCLE OF VIOLENCE

TYPICAL REACTION TO BEING 'WRONGED'.

WHY?
HASN'T HISTORY TAUGHT US ANYTHING?

"An eye for an eye will only make the whole world blind.” 
― Mahatma Gandhi

REVENGE ALWAYS PROVES TO BE ITS OWN EXECUTIONER...

HERE'S HOW THE CYCLE OF REVENGE IS PLAYED OUT...

John kills Bob.   

Bob's brother kills John.  

John's brother kills Bob's brother and his wife and son.  

Bob's cousin kills John's brother, his parents, his children and his wife and family dog.
The cousin of Bob is killed by a distant cousin of John's, who also kills Bob's cousin's neighbors.
The relative of one of the neighbors gets together a few pals and goes and kills the entire population of the county John's distant cousin lived in.
Civil war erupts in the state where John and Bob lived as people take sides.  
The fighting spills over into adjoining states.  

That spreads across the country.
Neighboring countries, also affected by the violence, also losing citizens to this mess, attack the two murdered men's home country.  
Other nations "take sides".

World war erupts.

THAT MAY SEEM SILLY, IMPOSSIBLE, BUT IF YOU THINK SO, YOU ARE PROBABLY NOT FOND OF HISTORY SO DO NOT REALIZE HOW EASY IT IS, HAS BEEN, TO PROVOKE WIDE SCALE WARS.

“Revenge, the sweetest morsel to the mouth that ever was cooked in hell.”    
― Walter Scott, The Heart of Midlothian

MOST PEOPLE ARE TOO GIVEN OVER TO NONPRODUCTIVE, POINTLESS EMOTIONALISM AFTER EVEN THE SMALLEST SLIGHT.THINGS 'ESCALATE'.

HUMANS KILL OTHER HUMANS OVER THINGS AS STUPID AS A PARKING SPACE.
THAT HAS HAPPENED MORE THAN ONCE!
SEE <HERE> AND IN THIS CASE <HERE>, THE VICTIM WAS A TODDLER.

“Anger, resentment and jealousy doesn't change the heart of others-- it only changes yours.”    
― Shannon L. Alder, 300 Questions to Ask Your Parents Before It's Too Late


NOW, TO THE FAMILY OF ONE WHO IS KILLED, TO HIS FRIENDS, IT DOESN'T MATTER A HILL OF BEANS IF THE KILLING WAS JUSTIFIED, IF THE ONE KILLED WAS A MURDERER HIMSELF, OR IF THE DEATH WAS AN ACCIDENT.

REVENGE JUST SEEMS TO AUTOMATICALLY BE CALLED FOR, NO MATTER WHAT.

“The paradox of vengefulness is that it makes men dependent upon those who have harmed them, believing that their release from pain will come only when their tormentors suffer.”    
― Laura Hillenbrand, Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption

IN THE PREVIOUS BLOG, WE SAW THAT...
"Since the 1960s, 83% of terrorist organizations that ended, ceased to operate due to policing or politicization.

Only 7% ended due to military intervention. [2014 Global Terrorism Index]"

ONLY 7 %.

MILITARY INTERVENTION...GOOD OLD WONDERFUL WAR!
WE ALL LOVE WAR, RIGHT?
IT BUILDS NATIONS, KILLS OUR ENEMIES AND IS GREAT FOR A FAILING ECONOMY.

WAR HAS A BLOODY POOR RECORD FOR SOLVING ANYTHING, HOWEVER, EXCEPT MAYBE OVERPOPULATION , A LITTLE.

HAS ANY WAR CREATED LASTING PEACE?

HAS ANY WAR CAUSED THE "ENEMY COMBATANTS" TO SEE THINGS IN A DIFFERENT LIGHT?

WHOM DO WE TRUST AFTER WAR?
ANYBODY?

WHOM DO WE EXPECT TO FIGHT WITH AGAIN?
EVERYBODY?

EVERYTHING DONE IN WARS DEMANDS REVENGE.

BOTH SIDES OF CONFLICT NEVER CEASE THINKING OF THE WRONGS COMMITTED AGAINST THEIR SIDE.
EACH SIDE FEELS SOME NEED FOR REVENGE, PAYBACK, TO "SEE JUSTICE DONE",   NO MATTER WHO STARTED THE WAR, NO MATTER WHY, IT'S ALWAYS GOING TO BE ABOUT REVENGE... THAT DELICIOUS "PAYBACK".

THERE IS JUST NO WAY TO BREAK IT TO REVENGE-SEEKERS GENTLY...
REVENGE CREATES THE NEED FOR FURTHER REVENGE.

NOT WANTING TO BE HYPOCRITICAL, IF SOMEONE KILLED ONE OF MY CHILDREN, ON PURPOSE OR BY ACCIDENT, WOULD I WANT TO SEE THAT PERSON SUFFER...OR WORSE?

ABSOLUTELY!

SO WE SEE WHAT WE'RE UP AGAINST.

EVEN THOSE OF US WHO LOATHE WAR WOULD GO TO WAR TO GET "REVENGE" FOR THE LOSS OF A LOVED ONE...OR THE VAST MAJORITY OF HUMANS WOULD.

SO, WHAT HOPE IS THERE?
WHAT CAN STOP THIS CYCLE OF VIOLENCE THAT HAS BEEN ONGOING SINCE BEFORE HISTORY WAS WRITTEN ABOUT?

WELL, THERE IS HOPE... HOPE IN THE FORM OF BETTER "WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION".

SLOWLY BUT SURELY, WE HUMANS HAVE DEVELOPED BIGGER AND 'BETTER' WEAPONS, WEAPONS CAPABLE OF KILLING MORE AND MORE HUMANS AT ONE TIME.

BIG EARTH-SHAKING HORRIFYING WEAPONS THAT CAN KILL MILLIONS IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE ARE MUCH TO BE DESIRED.

WE MADE THEM RADIOACTIVE SO EVEN DECADES AFTER THE INITIAL KILL, PEOPLE STILL DIE BECAUSE OF "THE BOMB", OR BECAUSE OF ARTILLERY MADE WITH DEPLETED URANIUM.

WE'RE GETTING 'BETTER AND BETTER' AT OFFING ONE ANOTHER IN VERY IMPRESSIVE HIGH NUMBERS, AND HAVEN'T WE ALL THOUGHT OF THOSE LONG "NUCLEAR WINTERS" WHEREIN OUR ENEMIES DIE SLOW AGONIZING DEATHS FROM STARVATION AND RADIATION SICKNESS?

SURE WE HAVE!

THE GREAT HOPE IS THAT 'OUR GUYS' WILL DEVELOP A "WEAPON TO END ALL WARS", ISN'T IT?

HOW CAN WE FAIL TO SEE THAT THE ONLY WEAPON THAT WILL EVER END ALL WARS IS THE ONE THAT SPLITS THIS PRETTY LITTLE BLUE PLANET WIDE OPEN, SENDS FRAGMENTS OF IT IN ALL DIRECTIONS AND LEAVES NOTHING BEHIND BUT MAYBE A BAD ODOR FOR A FEW MINUTES?

MAN'S REAL HOPE FOR ENDING WARS, FOR AN END TO REVENGE KILLINGS?

THE ABSOLUTE END TO ALL HUMANITY.

UNLESS WE CAN ATTAIN SUCH A WEAPON, ONE THAT WILL WIPE US ALL OUT, ONCE AND FOR ALL, WE HAVE NOT ONE WEE HOPE FOR AN END TO WARS...
OR TO REVENGE.  

AND THAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HUMAN BEINGS AND THE "LOWER ANIMALS".

WHICH MAKES US...WHAT?

REALLY, REALLY STUPID?
PATHETICALLY BAT GUANO INSANE?
INCAPABLE OF LEARNING?

HOW ABOUT ALL OF THE ABOVE?

AN END TO ALL WARS?

AN END TO HUMAN BEINGS.

WANT SOME REVENGE?

HOW SWEET IT IS, THAT REVENGE, RIGHT?

THAT'S WHAT 'THE OTHER GUYS' ARE THINKING RIGHT NOW, TOO.