104: Trapped in Bottom of the 9th (2)

【Raw Emotions】
“Retaliatory killings in the name of self-defense” translates into “Willfully accepting the inevitable killings of the innocent people.”
 
As a result, there is no end to this self-defense logic.
 
The same can be said in light of the Russian military’s abhorrent invasion of Ukraine.
 
As a direct consequence of the Russian military’s barbarism, many innocent Ukrainian lives have been lost forever. In response, the Ukrainian military explains, “They killed us first, so us killing them back is self-defense” and attacks Russia.
 
Yet, by carrying out this faulty justification, the Ukrainian military retaliates, and among those killed are Russian people who are truly innocent; those who had nothing to do with the initial killing of Ukrainian people by the Russian military. In fact, some of them may have been voicing opposition against the war, advocating for peace, or rejecting Putin’s ruthless policies.
 
And what follows? Next up, the innocent Russian people use the same logic, “They killed us first, so us killing them back is self-defense.”
 
In this way, the more retaliatory killings are unleashed, the more innocent people get caught up in these attacks. And the once-innocent people become the next aggressors, thereby no longer innocent themselves.
 
In all fairness, “Retaliatory killings in the name of self-defense” might buy us some time. It may even stop the bleeding for a little while. When pressed into constant fear for life, that can mean everything.
 
But make no mistake--it’s at best temporary. In no time, it’ll resume and wreak havoc all over again. It’s because tit-for-tat is a short-sighted emotion that leads to destruction and insanity. In the long run, there is no end to this self-defense logic.
 
If in doubt, study and think about the unspeakable cruelties in wars/conflicts that are repeated, seemingly endless, throughout the history of mankind. Look at the current atrocities unfolding in Ukraine/Russia and Israel/Palestine, among other places. The facts speak for themselves; the truth proven many times over.
 
Truth be told, many innocent Palestinian people have been and continue to be mercilessly oppressed by the past/present Israeli administrations, subjected to inconceivable violences, unjustly prisoned in hideous conditions for decades without legal due process, and forced upon a life of humiliating poverty.
 
For those reasons, the innocent Palestinian people use the same logic, “They did it to us first, so us doing them back is self-defense.”
 
And regrettably, among them are the once-innocent people who become the next aggressors, thereby no longer innocent themselves, as they begin to profess false justification in gruesome terrorism and join Hamas.
 
The indescribable sorrows brought on by the murder of our loved ones.
The raging anger and unforgivable feelings against the killers.
 
This crushing sorrow, the anger, the hatred. Being a part of nature, humans carry these raw emotions that direct us to the faulty justification of “Retaliatory killings in the name of self-defense.”
 
As in the Bottom-of-the-9th-inning-with-2outs situation, when we’re on the brink of elimination with our backs against the wall, many of us allow our raw emotions to take over.

​Read Next: Trapped in Bottom of the 9th (3)【Can't Kill Our Way Out of Killings】
Read Previous: Trapped in Bottom of the 9th (1)【Is it Justice?】
 
Complete Series: Trapped in Bottom of the 9th (1)～(5)
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Read Theme: Violence/Peace