Chapotraphouse

I am constantly thwarted by the generosity I extend to my enemies despite considering myself entirely cynical and ruthless when it comes to them.

FR, I feel this way constantly. I think it is ultimately a good thing to empathize even with the people you might believe should be wiped from the face of the earth. Many are simply misguided and misled even if they ultimately might have to be done away with by one means or another for the greater good.

We are the bearers of this burden and while I believe that violence as last resort is inevitable, hurting others hurts us. I've thrown down many a time and even in the most justified instance hurting another being always hurts me too. Whether it's a tick or another human it never feels good to take a life or harm another being. When it comes to another human it is less so, as I have always tried to reason before coming to blows it doesn't lessen the lingering impact much.

I've hurt a lot of people that definitely "deserved it" but each time I feel like it kills a part of myself. The important thing to do is to remain aware of these things and not allow vengefulness to completely consume us. That is where it gets dangerous. We must cling to our empathetic instincts like we would a life raft in a violent storm. We are all the hope in the world and if we let that righteous fury consume us it can lead to something terrible even with the best of intentions.

Sorry to reply to you in three different places, but I thought it would be worth mentioning that while I absolutely reject the idea of anyone "deserving" to suffer because "deserving" is a counterproductive and moralistic framework, it might be possible from what you say that you are effectively respecting them too much on an intellectual level, whatever affectation you have on a moral level. It took me a long time to really internalize that feeling respect for shitlibs is an error that will derail how you think and how you approach things. Speaking respectfully and believing in human potential are broadly good things, but one needs to simultaneously cement in their mind that there is nothing too foolish or despicable for them to say, no lie too blatant, no rhetoric too underhanded, no low too low. It's all just a matter of if you happen to draw it out or not.

I dislike "normie" talk. Regardless, you are right that the general public isn't familiar with blood libel as a term, or at least very many are unaware of it. You know what a very effective way of making them aware of it has been? Connecting it to current events! Many more people know the term now than in 2020, and more learn each day, and it serves basically no purpose but to encourage people to view Jews as historical villains, i.e. to make people fascists.

I don't care if Fartlow lives or dies in someone's Central Park fantasy, so let me be clear that I'm only arguing this for the sake of the broad ability to assess people. Fartlow can be reformed. Humans are capable of changing massively, even if old habits die hard. It is not as visible to us, but she does not just exist with this malignance in a vacuum, she is a minor appendage of a massive cultural apparatus.

Rehabilitation principally isn't a matter of taking people with negative karma meters and making them positive (speaking in terms of shitty ps3/4 era video games), it is a matter of taking them out of the environments that facilitate a positive feedback loop for bad behaviors and attitudes and putting them in environments that reward being constructive instead.