The aswer to ending hatred is not more hatred. The answer to ending violence is not more violence. The answer to ending pain and suffering is not inflicting more pain and suffering.
I have been following posts related to politics, animal rights and acts of violence committed against innocent humans. Some of those posts are so sad and raw it's only natural they will elicit strong emotion. They are supposed to. "The heart won't grieve what the eye can't see."
What I see that disturbs me is an undercurrent of pure hatred and vitriol against the perpetrators of the pain and suffering.
Hey, I get it. When I read about the Stanford rapist, I could have easily neutered him myself, given the chance. And when I see some of the heinous crimes commited against innocent animals, I want to see heads roll. The heads of the humans responsible for the acts that is. It's normal to want to seek revenge and justice.
But some of the things I read make me turn my attention to the writer - in concern. Do we really think it would be appropriate to, for example, "drag the person behind a moving truck" because they did that to a beautiful, sweet dog? Jail time - yes. Equally horrible retribution - uh, no. As much as we think the crime dictates the punishment we are forgetting one fundamental thing - all life is sacred.
I am so angry at the rapist and the judge who gave him practically no consequence whatsoever, but the answer is in changing laws and attitude - not distributing vigilante justice. There is little hope for us if:
A) Donald Trump and his small minded, muscle flexing becomes president because he has stirred up the hatred buried deep inside many people.
B) We don't stop and realize hatred is not the answer. It never was and it never will be.
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