(C) Daily Kos
This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered.
. . . . . . . . . .



Poisoning the Soul. [1]

['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.', 'Backgroundurl Avatar_Large', 'Nickname', 'Joined', 'Created_At', 'Story Count', 'N_Stories', 'Comment Count', 'N_Comments', 'Popular Tags']

Date: 2022-07-05

Welcome to the Street Prophets Coffee Hour.

Anyone who really knows me, knows that I can be very, very sweary. Obscene, profane, and offensive. When I've got my Irish up (and I have a lot, being of Irish descent) I tend to cuss in a way that might make some of my ancestors proud...while making others of them cringe. It's my opinion that swear words exist to function as a verbal safety valve of sorts; a way to let off steam. Used properly (meaning, when needed and not habitually) they work. I'm also pretty good at juicy insults that avoid actual swear words entirely.

I wanted to get that said. Because I'm not Miss Manners, never have been, and never want to be.

However...

There's something I've noticed a lot lately. (Not just here. Everywhere.) It really troubles me. I want to try to explain why, without coming off as a finger-wagging, preachy termagant. And that something is, using the other side's words and behaviors to get back at them. I have no doubt that it probably feels good, for some of us at least, to be just as hateful and ugly to them as they have been to us. But have you ever noticed how the people who spew their hate at us look? I mean, in a physical sense, their outward appearance? Even when relatively calm, a lot of them look just awful. Unhappy, unhealthy, like they haven't slept well or enjoyed a really good meal in years. Poisoned.

We've all seen the pictures of raving, raging Trump supporters. Red faced, bulging eyed, spittle-spraying and looking like they could collapse at any moment of a heart attack or a stroke. If you've ever actually known such people, you've probably noticed how deeply angry and fearful they are. It certainly doesn't help that so many of them indulge in a daily diet of Fox News and similar programming. My dad did that; he went from a basically mostly cheerful guy to someone I no longer recognized. A complete rageaholic. There was no conversation that he couldn't turn into a litany of offendedness. He went to his grave convinced that "the liberals" wanted to destroy him personally, along with the country. He died a desperately unhappy man, and possibly sooner than he might have otherwise. He'd spent the last years on his life immersed in resentment, fear, and outrage. Those have a terrible effect on anyone's health and well-being. It will be a lasting sorrow for me, that I was unable to wean him away from his addiction to outrage. I don't blame myself for what happened to him; I do wish I could have done something for him.

That regular, habitual indulgence in hatred, slurs, slut-shaming, body-shaming and reducing his perceived enemies to mindless, conscienceless animals took a terrible toll on him. It had poisoned his very soul. Because that is what happens when people repeatedly, habitually deride their adversaries, their opponents, their enemies as being somehow less. Less than themselves. Less than human.

It can actually do less harm to your "enemies" as it can to your self. It can leave you angry, enraged, and fearful... without an actual, workable solution. People who are constantly enraged are fearful. And fearful people rarely make good plans or take effective actions. They just spew their bile, sometimes to the point of violence. That ramped-up, adrenaline pumping state is somewhat like a drug; it can feel really good, even empowering for a while. And like a drug, a person eventually needs more and more to achieve that feeling. It's unsustainable. Left unchecked, it can eventually destroy even the strongest person. It leaves scars in the body, scars in the mind. It poisons the thing that ought to define a human being. Their soul.

I know that there are many people who will disagree with me on this. Those who believe that the time has come, it's open season on Republicans, conservatives, the GQP. Time to be just as hateful towards them as they have to us. I would only ask them all to please take great care not to become themselves that which they despise. Because it can be addictive. And like any addiction, once it takes root it will hurt you. I ask this as one who is on your side; an ally. Maybe even a friend.

It's not about taking the high road, or proving that we're better, that we're smarter, more moral, or proving our superiority. It's about self-preservation. Because a poisoned soul is a difficult thing to heal. It's a truly terrible thing. And it's often avoidable. We have seen, by watching them, what a slippery slope it is, how easy it is to fall into, and how damaging it can be.

I'm not asking anyone to not be angry. I'm not advocating for just lying down and taking their abuse. I am suggesting that we all be vigilant of how we use that anger, and whether the ways we channel it could actively harm ourselves.

Thank you for reading. This is an open thread, all topics are welcome.

[END]
---
[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/7/5/2107126/-Poisoning-the-Soul

Published and (C) by Daily Kos
Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified.

via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/