CONSEQUENCES OR THE JUSTIFICATION OF BAD??
It’s a beautiful thing how humans with their inherent nature of selfishness can go to any length in order to achieve anything, be it positive or negative.
We’ve all heard sayings at least once in our mingling with people that insinuate the repercussions of actions, be it physically or orally and this is where the real gist comes in.
I was having a conversation with an acquaintance and the person made a statement:
“In life there are consequences for what we do, and he got what was due to come to him.”
They’re not wrong yet it got me thinking, which brought me to the realization of the toxicity that exists at times in playing the card game of “consequences”.
Why do we have to justify evil by accounting for it as a ripple effect?
Mind you, this applies to those who use “consequences” as a justification for intentional evil done in return.
There’s a thin line between retaliation and a consequence.
Why do we neglect the projector of said consequential action just because the receiver had put themselves in a position in the circle of life that makes them a victim of calamity?
I may sound like God at the moment but i urge you to rid your mind of it’s stereo-typicality and think about it from a different perspective.
If we all think a person deserves bad because bad was done to a person, aren’t we all hypocrites by advocating for bad to fight bad against the bad we want to avoid or stand in defiance of?
I shall give three different examples:
- A couple is in an argument and as a result of a statement made by the lady, the man proceeds to hit her across the face.
- 2. A man rapes a girl and the brothers plan to get back at the man by raping his daughter in return.
- 3. A teenager boy steals a bag of chips from a store, he’s caught and beaten to death.
Is the man justified by hitting his spouse?
Is the girl healed or redeemed by the vengeance of her brothers?
Is the store therefore protected by the boy’s death?
Let me answer it all for you, NO.
The man hitting his spouse is not a consequence of her words, but his inability to express his opposition to her hurtful words without resolving to violence.
The brothers raping the rapist’s daughter is not a consequence of him raping their sister but their lack of reasoning to hold the man responsible for his deed by ensuring legal action is taken so it’s established such doesn’t occur again to any other female and the rapist learns from his mistake.
The boy’s death is not a consequence of his stealing a bag of chips but the inability of the people to not take justice in their own hands rather than taking him to the local authorities or police and perhaps, emphasis on perhaps, get him a meal.
Instead of consequences, i favor for accountability.
In this context.
Why?
Because consequences only birth more consequences which leads to an endless chain of bad, pain, heartbreak, death and much more.
It’s like an earthquake, it takes almost everything from a person and their affiliations.
While accountability addresses harm, acknowledges impact, incurs responsibility, taking actions to repair the harm and if not physically but emotionally to the degree possible, and not committing similar harm.
Yet,
We are not going to negate the fact that for every action there’s a reaction and vice versa and not everyone will be kind enough to ensure you’re held accountable the right way.
This simply means be good, be kind, be emotionally intelligent, be psychologically aware.
Not just to and for yourself but to and for others.
