And just like that,
In the middle of lunch,
She realized that
Every time she felt
Like a loser it was
Because she had heard
That message over and over
And, not having the
Life experience to
Do anything else,
Had labeled herself
As deficient in some way
Because, after all,
They couldn’t be wrong.
Left to his own devices,
Which really just means
That he can do whatever
He wants, and that leads
To nothing that anyone
Else is happy with,
An out-of-control asteroid
Careening toward anything
In its path, unable to
Get out of the way.
None of them
Have any interest
In helping the
Less fortunate,
Although a couple
Of them talk
A good game to
Give their cronies
The cover they
Need to do
Heinous things.
He has a high tolerance
For the suffering of others,
Doesn’t seem to mind any
Kind of imbalance between
People, unless he’s on
The losing side of it,
But as long as it’s about
Some other person or group,
He couldn’t care less.
Preferring to have the
Whole world go up in flames
Than to admit wrongdoing,
Disturbingly fragile ego.
People don’t matter,
Only self-preservation,
Maintaining implausible
Illusion of invincibility.
Requiring constant attention,
Craving supremacy,
Staggering insecurity
Consuming everything.
The most eloquent
Argument, based on
Critical thinking,
Empirical evidence,
Objective reality,
Reason,
Is no match for his
Emotionally-driven
(Fear-motivated to be specific)
Vituperations on pretty much
Any topic he decides
To inflexibly defend.
She had a hard time understanding
Where his cruelty came from,
Until she met his family:
An ominous group of harsh
Belittlers who extolled the
Virtues of survival of the fittest,
Mercilessly putting each other down
To prove who was king,
Roughhousing and competition
Behavioral staples – requirements,
Women shown their place in the kitchen,
Encouraged to keep quiet
About important stuff,
Attitudes formed through
Severe indoctrination –
Ubiquitous punishment.
Sure, there was some perfunctory
Level of compassion for people
They knew personally, offset by
A scorching empathy desert
For anyone they considered other,
Which meant pretty much everyone,
Especially foreigners,
Freeloaders and softies.
That’s why she bid him goodbye,
A person of her nature could
Only take so much horror.
You’re valuable,
Important,
Unique,
Extraordinary,
Wonderful,
Worthwhile,
Amazing,
Marvelous,
Magnificent.
You matter.
He has no answers,
So he surmises that
All one can do is
Judge coldly,
Based on no information,
A twisted perspective
Instilled by inculcation:
Rigid, inflexible,
Devoid of reason,
Disturbingly harsh,
One-dimensional.
