Although it's my blog, and I can write about anything I want, I plan to generally avoid politics. I don't believe my opinion is worth any more than anyone else's, and everyone is entitled to their own politics.
However, as I hear about political things going on the same things strike me. Extreme action leads to extreme reaction. Extreme reaction gives justification for the original extreme action, and makes another extreme reaction seem justifiable (which it isn't).
I tend to boil down politics and compare them to real relationships. Let's say that out of the blue, someone intentionally trips you, and then laughs. You have a lot of options at this point. It's not serious enough to call the cops. Some people will react by getting up and hitting the person. Some will react by going to get a bunch of friends and beating up that person. Some will walk away, hurt. Others will yell at that person. There are all kinds of reactions that people will have to intentional cruelty.
Here's where the problem comes in. An action like that inspires an equal reaction. But the first action wasn't logical, so the reaction is unlikely to be logical. And, by reacting violently, you are more likely to spur the first person to become more aggressive in later attempts. This starts a chain, with no ending except possibly death.
I'm not going to even attempt to try to tell anyone what to do in this kind of situation, but I will say, that a reaction based on emotion, especially the emotions of hurt, fright, and anger are unlikely to go well.
It's my opinion that the first person is looking for attention. They are looking for someone to make into an enemy. They are hoping for a fight, or for a victim. This is what extremism boils down to for me.
I am very good at unexpected responses that might change these dynamics, but as a whole, I don't think that we, as people entirely know what to do.
We need to stop reacting to the bullies of the world, and put on our big boy or big girl underwear. We need to give another option than 'victim' or 'enemy.'
The circle of extreme actions causing extreme reactions has got to stop. The circle of generalizations dehumanizing real people has to stop too.
