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On Revenge

There certainly is something to be said for revenge or vengeance. Its as old as the hills and ingrained into our society. Even “The Good Book” says ,in its many passages, NOT to take revenge and leave it to God. I caution against taking revenge, it is better to let the LAW,courts, Karma or God to sort it out. Turn the other cheek , move on……….

Still here? Yeah that shit never works for me either, I blame my mother’s Scottish ancestors for having a sweet tooth for revenge. Well we’re all sinners, and myself I think revenge is cathartic. Throughout this article I have provided links and highlights in the whole debate of pro’s and con’s of vengeance. Should you find yourself in a situation demanding revenge, feel free to read all the debates before deciding a course of action.

Granted it can and has lead to much more harm to others outside of the aggrieved parties (reference blood feuds, wars,etc) because let’s face it the person seeking revenge was fucking sloppy. Revenge is personal and should remain that way. It should remain between the aggrieved and the perpetrator. NOBODY ELSE. PERIOD! I’ve noticed there is a serious lack of structure or rules out there when someone does set out for vengeance. Probably because it’s one of those things that goes wrong more often than not. Business is Business. Revenge is Revenge. Don’t confuse the two!

When someone deliberately does another wrong or brings strife, grief or harm emotional or physical to another (especially when they had no cause to and could have chosen not to) then they have opened themselves up to revenge/vengeance. Granted revenge should be proportional to the wrong done. For instance situations where people don’t know how to mind their own business and take it upon themselves to involve themselves in your personal affairs uninvited (where no laws are broken or harm caused to others) and cause strife… yup fuck them too. They have a comeuppance on the way.

There are some situations that should be left completely out of the revenge area.

Anything to do with family or former family. For instance a divorce situation- revenge is not an option in this situation. Break up of an intimate relationship– the couple should not seek revenge between one another. As all is fair in love and war after all. Let’s look at the situation again. Lets say a relationship break up was due to infidelity. One partner should not go after the other. But if someone was a friend and that person fucked your husband or wife then they have set themselves up for payback. I knew a fella who’s girlfriend was fucking his friend, he blew them both away with a shotgun and this is after they had already broken up. That is NOT revenge ITS MURDER. So now there are two families without their daughter and a son. A child without a father and a family whose son is locked up for about the next 20 years. Sounds like lose lose lose to me. Remember the rule about love and war? About family and intimate relationships? If you find yourself in this kind of situation walk away. He/She is NOT worth it. In this kind of case the best revenge really is to live well and/or look good.

If your own kid or spouse does something stupid, say stealing from you or marrying the “wrong person” or a billion other things that might piss you off- take a step back, revenge is again NOT AN OPTION. The whole honor killing in some cultures is reprehensible. Its your job to control yourself not others. This falls under the family and intimate relationship domain. Kind of like the hit-man “no woman no kids rule”. You just don’t break it.

Ok now that that is out of the way let’s take a look at some situations where revenge may be an option. If someone ,especially a stranger, does you or yours wrong- fuck yeah they have it coming. Ever have a co-worker set out to fuck you over and you never saw it coming until after the fact? Well they got it coming. Really these people chose to screw you over, you did them no wrong and they deliberately set out to do you harm. Now the reason there is a justice system, litigation and laws is to prevent the one seeking revenge from going to extremes in exacting justice. Take a look at some famous situations where revenge got completely out of hand – The Hatfield and McCoy feud or Scottish history from the get go.

“When you begin a journey of revenge, start by digging two graves: one for your enemy, and one for yourself.”
― Jodi Picoult, Nineteen Minutes

Out of all of the quotes about revenge this one I feel is the best. It shows the implications and potential harm of taking the path of vengeance as well as the level of commitment one should have if they take the path. In the course of being wronged once an associate had noticed the situation and my reaction to it, “you can really be a cold motherfucker cant you?”. Yeah I can and so should you. Revenge needs to be served cold -metaphorically,ethically,spiritually and in it’s execution. Otherwise it’s not really revenge. Also in being cold and calculating one can ensure the proper revenge has been extracted (and any implications are thought through). Really for those who fuck you over the best revenge is to do nothing. Inaction in a situation where the perpetrator has put themselves in a bind when you could have acted to help them is probably for the best. The old ,”if I saw you drowning I’d throw a brick instead of a life preserver”.

10 Rules for Revenge- EvS list

1/The only people that should be involved is YOU and the person that did you the wrong. No collateral damage.