Stranger Bedfellows

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Judgment and Revenge - strange bedfellows.

Judgment and Revenge - strange bedfellows.

Judgment and Revenge – strange bedfellows.

Judgment with revenge is an interesting survival adaptation in humans. It consists of several parts:

  1. Consideration of “evidence” in the light of negative judgment (“They did something wrong”)
  2. A sense of personal injury (“They did it to me or someone I care about”)
  3. A need for balance or personal justice (“someone must pay”)
  4. A plan to balance the scales (“I’ll get them back for this”)
  5. A behavior that satisfies negative emotions of those seeking vengeance.
  6. Satisfaction (“Now we’re even”) justice has been served – seldom actually achieved, BTW
  7. Rationalizing retributions (“They deserved what they got!!”)

Humans will track down and kill another human or another animal who they believe has harmed them or their loved ones. There are but rare examples other than humans that exhibit this type of behavior. Because of this, we no longer feel threatened by many of the predators who used to prey on us (wolves, bears, big cats, etc.). Vengeance has an evolutionary place in human affairs.

The problem with vengeance is that it is like fire – sometimes difficult to control. Thus we see vengeance (self justified vindications) appearing where it needn’t:

  • Passive-aggressive behaviors
  • Lynch mobs
  • Poor sportsmanship
  • Heart hardening and breaking
  • Mass enrollment to do harm
  • Genocide, homicide or sometimes suicide

Revenge is always the result of judgment, a cause that brings side-effects, so must be applied judiciously.

When would one use vengeance appropriately? Let’s discuss it.

4 thoughts on “Stranger Bedfellows”

  1. Evolution can be another strange bedfellow, allowing unsuccessful adaptation to carry forward along with successful ones. Humans, like animals, respond to perceived threats with no less anxiety and fear than ancient relatives did in the face of real danger. We may have shed most of our fears of predation but our response to a perceive threat is ever present. The responses of fight and flight have stayed pretty much the same over the eons. There is a need to fight or flee now, psychologically. It seems that the ego self can feel just as threatened to perish at the ego level as any physical threat. We have adapted ways for surviving psychologically against perceived threats by attacking verbally, ignoring someone, slandering a perceived enemy, flattering a perceived threat, etc. We use words, body language,  and weapons to coax or offend the enemy. The arsenal is formidable for trying to retrieve something that cannot be returned: dignity, which has to be voluntarily relinquished.

    Vengeance may be a mirror for self judgement pointed outwards. When vengeance is directed at a target, making someone suffer could be preferred over death, although they may not be mutually exclusive where justification is concerned. The intended result however, is never as satisfying  as the justification of being right.

    Revenge is the dark side of justice. If we feel offended, our ego makes us immediately, feel uncomfortable. Our response makes us think that we are being controlled at a very personal level. This response is directed at who or what we perceive is controlling our response, rather than ourselves. The response may be felt as embarrassment, anger, frustration and revenge. The justification is a driving force from ego to balance the energy books. This is a dangerous place to go unless you are very clear of the consequences. You could wind up proving to yourself that you are exactly who you thought they thought you were.

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