sometimes, the fool walks into his own trap, and although you might have helped just a little bit, its just as rewardingOriginally Posted by Dark Muse
sometimes, the fool walks into his own trap, and although you might have helped just a little bit, its just as rewarding
I do not forgive those who offend me, nor do I forget the offence. I am not saying my way is good, but I am just not the turn the other cheek kind of person. I have choosen my own path, not out of ignorance of possible consequence, but it is the way which is within my nature. Could I make an effort to change that nature? Probably, but I am content however flawed others might view my apporoach.
Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there, wondering, fearing, doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before. ~ Edgar Allan Poe
I respect your views and your nature and many people in the world do hold the same idea of revenge. I am just making an attempt to promote minimum conflict in the world - our world's conflicts sometimes are triggered from revenge, for example the on-going war between bloods and crips in America.. Just imagine with more forgiving and forgetting how LA can be a safer and peaceful place.
I do not disagree with that philosophy. I happen to have a great deal of admiration for Gondi, and a great resepct for peaceful non-jugemental religions such as Buddisim. Even though I know I myself would not personally choose that path.
Oddly though I do not consider myself a pacifist I am more often then not anti-war and I am in fact not truly a violent person unless I feel forced by a situation. I will fight back if I feel I have to.
There is a time and a place, and though perosnally I will hold a grudge against a person, I do not support on going conflicts which just lead to constant blood shed.
Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there, wondering, fearing, doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before. ~ Edgar Allan Poe
no title
when you see someone smile you thought you didn’t like
because someone was nice to them, you see inside
to that grey small place inside their face, the hollowness
that makes them someone, not a thing to be despised,
that forlornness that can always be woken to pleasure
from contact, that was always rent, necessarily, with
openness and yearning, soft, blinking eyes that always
remain vacant for kindnesses, their own and those that
appear out of nowhere, but never did from you who now
sucks sourly in a sudden dry, solitary shame, remember
only that the neglect you enacted was born of another,
of your own soft eyes, emptiness and imagining mind.
This poem is by our very own blp (who is a member for Litnet). It provides interesting and useful insight
I think most of the time being offended is totally irrational (as in that famous quote by Dostervosky from Brother's Karamazov)
"You know it is sometimes very pleasant to take offense, isn't it? A man may know that nobody has insulted him, but that he has invented the insult for himself, has lied and exaggerated to make to make it picturesque, has caught at a word and made a mountain of a molehill-- he knows that himself, he he will be the first to take offense, and will revel in his resentment till he feels great pleasure in it, and so pass to genuine vindictiveness."
and revenge is even more irrational.
I also like the poster who quoted Aristotle on the last page
"We should erupt/rage at the right TIME,
against the right PERSON,
for the right REASON,
and with the right WAY..."
Last edited by PierreGringoire; 12-23-2008 at 08:32 PM.
"I am not interested in power for power's sake, but I'm interested in power that is moral, that is right and that is good." - MLK
Couple of posts back, you have said "I will strike those who strike at me." But your statement contradicts this, if you do fight back only if you feel you have the necessity to, does this mean you have a limitation of when to avenge yourself? If you believe that revenge is good/acceptable, then there is no reason to not to strike in any situation.
Back to the question whether revenge is good or bad, if the acts of revenge does lead to constant blood shed, which it usually does, do you support that revenge is indeed bad?
Personally, I am not the type of person to seek revenge. If someone hits me, I will in all probability just take the hit without retaliating. I've been like this all my life. And I don't think I've ever hit anyone earnestly, that is not in jest. Okay, that's a lie. But shortly after striking, I felt deeply sorry and guilty for my actions.
Seriously, what's the point of revenge?
com-pas-sion (n.) [ME. & OFr. <LL. (Ec.) compassio, sympathy < compassus, pp. of compati, to feel pity < L. com-, together + pali, to suffer] sorrow for the sufferings or trouble of another or others, accompanied by an urge to help; deep sympathy; pity
Dostoevsky Forum!
I only meant that I am not going to do anything illegal becasue I have no desire to go to jail. But on priciple I have no qulams with revegnge in any situation, but I know soceity and the law does not share my personal code and I am not going to get myself in trouble, so I do act within the limitiations that the legal system has placed upon me.
I am not going to cut off my nose to spite my face.
Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there, wondering, fearing, doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before. ~ Edgar Allan Poe
The plain and simple truth is, it is satisfying to me, and gives me pleasure to retaliate against someone who has acted against me.
For me if someone hit me and hit them back, then I can put the matter completely behind me and be done with it. But if someone got away with hitting me, I would hold the grudge against them until I was able to settle the score.
Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there, wondering, fearing, doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before. ~ Edgar Allan Poe
Why hold a grudge? I've been hit many times in my life (a heck of a lot more than you have, I'll wager), and rarely did I retaliate. Nor did I hold any grudge. Heck, if I'm not too hurt, I might even smile, or better yet, laugh!
com-pas-sion (n.) [ME. & OFr. <LL. (Ec.) compassio, sympathy < compassus, pp. of compati, to feel pity < L. com-, together + pali, to suffer] sorrow for the sufferings or trouble of another or others, accompanied by an urge to help; deep sympathy; pity
Dostoevsky Forum!
If revenge implies getting back on someone for the wrongs that they have done then revenge is good. Here the word "good" implies it promotes cooperation and "wrong" means acting contrary to a promise/contract made previously. I had to define them as precisely as i could to avoid misinterpretation.
Now based on the aforesaid definitions let me show how it benefits the society. Written laws cover very few human interactions and mostly they deal with commercial and formal interactions. However outside the purview of our legal system there lie many human interactions which are indispensable for the well functioning of a society. e.g You dont expect a person hitting you on the face because you asked for direction!! Therefore trust and common values are very important.
Human beings are conditional cooperator (they cooperate as long as others cooperate) and altruistic punisher (if the other person breaks a promise they will go out of their way to punish that person in essence revenge). This is an evolutionary concept and it has served us well. If most people cooperated no matter what the other did then free rider problem would have crept up in the system, in the end flooding the system with free riders. Current research in evolutionary economics suggests that society where trust have flourished are usually the society where people tend to based their action on “reciprocation” . Revenge or the more technical term of altruistic punisher helps us make sure that there is a high cost for going back on one's promise. Death Penalty/Prison Sentence is I guess a kind of societal revenge but the essence is the same.
Last edited by muazjalil; 12-25-2008 at 04:54 AM.
Yes, I am sure that in reality you will not cause such malice that will throw you in jail. My point is, when revenging, why is there a chance that we are breaking the law? This means that the act of revenge is sometimes illegal. Even the most intellectually challenged being will be able to point out that ILLEGAL=BAD. So, ACT OF REVENGE=BAD.
Because you have claimed yourself that some acts of revenge are infact illegal therefore you have just supported that revenge is bad.
There is a significant difference between supporting why revenge is good/bad and trying to convert a specific person to turn from their views on revenge. I believe that arguing about Dark Muse's own responsive nature about revenge is unnecessary. Dori, why don’t you express your view whether revenge is good or bad and elaborate it why you support it so.
That depends on how you look at it. I have my own personal code of ethics and mortality which I believe in, but it is not always the same as the legal system and what society accepts. I believe my own personal code is right, and that the legal system and society is not always correct.
I believe in personal vigilantism , but I know the law frowns on it. That does not mean I admit that it is bad, just that society has chosen to make laws against it. I do not agree with this law, but I obey because it is beneficial to myself to do so.
Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there, wondering, fearing, doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before. ~ Edgar Allan Poe
Because in my own way, being wrathful is acutally more satisfactory to me then being happy go lucky.
Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there, wondering, fearing, doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before. ~ Edgar Allan Poe
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