Monday 23 April 2012

R is for Revenge


Revenge annoys me. You see so many movies where the hero is out for revenge on a villain who has done him wrong. I don’t think this is right.

If someone purposefully did me wrong, I don’t think I would ever act out of revenge. It just feels wrong to me. I think it casts some kind of authority on yourself which is not earned. To have a wrong act done to you does not justify then doing a wrong act back.

As clichéd as this sounds, two wrongs do not make a right (and two bowls don’t make a bowling ball).

I would act more in the idea of justice. Now there is a very fine line here and possible conflict of motivations which I completely accept. If you want someone arrested and punished for a crime against you then this can easily be seen as revenge.

The key is the focus. If the focus is on the victim regaining some kind of moral high ground etc then this is revenge. If the focus is on making the criminal see why what they did was wrong and truly repent, or to protect other innocent people from suffering then same fate then this is justice.

Now the bible of course talks of an eye for an eye in the Old Testament (I think, should really have looked this up, do correct me if I am mistaken). I have issues with this because I just don’t see what it achieves. If someone takes your eye out then you take out theirs what do you get? Just double the blindness.

I don’t really believe that revenge brings closure or makes a victim feel better either, not really. Or I should say if killing someone who killed your parents does make you feel better then I think there is something wrong with you.

This is why I like Batman.

Batman refused to kill, he seeked out justice not revenge.

Lets all be a little more like Batman

DFTBA

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