Reply #94: There are situations

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where the perpetrators will never pay. I have had it happen and seen it happen to others. There are cases where there is no protection under the law or anywhere, and to extract immediate or direct 'payment' is not possible. All you have left is a profound knowing that you were right and a big festering wound. But provided the abuse is not completely paralyzing, you can build up resistance to future attack and translate personal anger to power.

Also IMO if you have been victimized and consciously choose not to carry a burden of hatred because of the negative effects, you also do NOT have to forgive. It might seem like a fine distinction, but I've found it to be important in managing anger. Why forgive those you don't care about? Forgive those you do care about. Why give abusers any credit or make any excuses for them? Draw a line in the sand, and once that's drawn never never look back. That way you feel stronger and you can work more objectively against the form of abuse they represent. Works for me...don't know if it's for everybody. People have different methods of keeping the balance.

Thoughts: People who abuse and exploit others are like a bacteria that makes you sick. You wouldn't waste energy hating a bacteria. Some people are really sick and depraved and beyond any help or change. They make others sick. Unfortunately some of them are running the government right now. We will need to work on the damage they've done long after the current perps are gone. Their kind are all around us, as perennial as blood-sucking ticks. We must institute safeguards in future if we want to see true democracy in America, at least something resembling what we thought it was. This is the hard lesson of these times IMO. I laugh when I hear them talking about "keeping America safe and secure." The biggest threat is within.

We who don't abuse and generally play fair have endured a profound loss of trust in govt, in everything from the Justice Dept to cat food. I'm not at all surprised that there is a lot of anger & frustration. It's part of the process of acknowledging the Truth, no matter how bad it is. But productive things are happening now & it's encouraging. We need to stick together and patch up squabbles and treat each other well. We will harness our power and prevail over this rogue government. We have no other choice. Give me liberty or give me liberty. Death is not on the table.