Let us not support or justify abuses. Let us not deny or minimize them. Let us not be “buenistas” or show indifference. Let us not be the pillars upon which evil rests.
For victimization to exist, there must be a key element: the VICTIMIZER, the perpetrator who commits the abusive acts. But there is often another important piece: the necessary ACCOMPLICES who help in different ways, support them morally, or justify their misdeeds. When a crime is committed, both the perpetrator and the accomplices who protect said perpetrator instead of the victim are criminals.
And the responsibility does not end here, as there are also CONTRIBUTORS in different degrees, who are those who contribute to the outrages without participating directly in them: from the “buenistas” who are overly sympathetic toward the aggressor, to those who deny the evils or trivialize them by downplaying the situation, to those who look the other way with lack of interest. All of them are tainted.
In contrast, those who oppose injustice are clean and bear no guilt; from lowest to highest on the ladder of involvement, they are as follows:
Read PREVENT HARM!: Let us speak loud and clear against injustice
LET US PREVENT HARM!: Let us denounce injustices
LIVING WITHOUT HARMING: Let us judge with justice
PREVENT HARM!: Let us persuade so they do not cause harm
If you look at different evils, we will normally see most of that spectrum of people for each type of cruelty. For example, in school bullying, it is said that on average, out of every 30 students in a class, 2 are the bullies, 3 are accomplices, 20 are contributors, and 5 oppose it in different degrees.
Let us take a closer look at certain forms of complicity and contribution to understand them better:
JUSTIFICATION OF EVIL
It relies on anecdotes to justify abuse, for example:
And there are much more surprising and painful narratives… read them in…
…HOW TO LIVE WITHOUT HARMING? Let us reject the narratives that justify cruelty
DENIALISM AND REDUCTIONISM
The former means denying certain outrages despite the fact that they have taken place, and the latter consists of relativizing, minimizing, or even portraying them as positive… read more in…
..FOR A WORLD WITHOUT HARM: Let us not deny or minimize evils
THE ART OF LIVING WITHOUT HARMING: Let us not be positive about injustices
INDIFFERENCE TOWARD EVIL
It consists of having internal thoughts such as:
BUENISMO
It involves being understanding, indulgent, and protective toward victimizers, almost as much as or even more than toward the victim themselves… read more in…
…THE REVOLUTION OF LIVING WITHOUT HARMING: Let us not be “buenistas,” but good people
Let us not be defenders of evil, nor justifiers, “buenistas,” denialists, reductionists, lukewarm, or indifferent!
Because all of this is the perfect breeding ground for abuses to be perpetuated. It is the moment when there is clear opposition and zero tolerance toward them that legal mechanisms (such as rules that prohibit and sanction them) and social mechanisms (such as social pressure, disapproval, and rejection) are created to prevent them, and impunity begins to disappear.
LET US NOT LET ABUSE BE FREE OF CHARGE!
And I will finish with point 10 of our Dodecalogue of Kindness:
“10. You shall do something to prevent others from causing unjustified harm, by disapproving of them, opposing them, and above all, using education to prevent them. If you can, you shall take measures to stop them and to ensure the victim is compensated with justice.”
Let us not be the fuel that feeds the fire of evil, but the water that extinguishes it.
Thank you for sharing if you believe these ideas contribute to a fairer and happier world.
Xavier Paya
Living Without Harm initiative
LET US NOT HARM ANYONE, except in legitimate self-defence against the agressor.
With the Living Without Harm initiative, we strive to prevent any kind of suffering or harm from being caused to you, your loved ones, and others.
1 Mission: A happier world
3 Goals:
1. Share scientific knowledge about wellbeing.
2. Encourage people not to cause harm.
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