{"id":54531,"date":"2024-01-26T12:03:18","date_gmt":"2024-01-26T11:03:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/institutodelbienestar.com\/let-us-reject-narratives-that-justify-cruelty\/"},"modified":"2026-03-19T10:01:06","modified_gmt":"2026-03-19T09:01:06","slug":"reject-narratives-that-justify-cruelty","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/institutodelbienestar.com\/en\/live-without-harming\/publications\/reject-narratives-that-justify-cruelty\/","title":{"rendered":"REJECT NARRATIVES THAT JUSTIFY CRUELTY"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-page\" data-elementor-id=\"54531\" class=\"elementor elementor-54531 elementor-20243\" data-elementor-post-type=\"page\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-6cdcf16 elementor-section-height-min-height elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-items-middle\" data-id=\"6cdcf16\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-background-overlay\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-21b9639\" data-id=\"21b9639\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-0fb6a68 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"0fb6a68\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">LOVE THE TRUTH! DISMANTLE NARRATIVES THAT JUSTIFY CRUELTY<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-2cff17b elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"2cff17b\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-2d5b21f\" data-id=\"2d5b21f\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-b32f636 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"b32f636\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><a href=\"https:\/\/institutodelbienestar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Herulos_y_gepidos_contra_romanos_en_Chalons.png\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" title=\"REJECT NARRATIVES THAT JUSTIFY CRUELTY\" src=\"https:\/\/institutodelbienestar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Herulos_y_gepidos_contra_romanos_en_Chalons-300x175.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"291\"><\/a><\/p><p style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> <\/p><p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One major contributor to abuse is the narratives that justify it\u2014carefully tailored to our selfish interests to excuse our exploitation and wrongdoing, just like when we choose shoes in a shop that fit our feet perfectly.<\/p><p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For example, the ancient Romans considered all other ethnic groups (except the Greeks) to be barbarians, characterized by letting their minds be driven by their irrational bodies instead of the opposite, as supposedly happened among Romans and Greeks. Therefore, they believed they had the right to conquer and enslave them. And with slaves they could do whatever they wanted, as if they were mere objects\u2014even torturing and killing them.  <\/p><p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They even talked about the Germanic peoples as if they were wild animals that walked on two legs and only resembled humans in the voice they made. <span style=\"background-color: var(--base-2); color: var( --e-global-color-text ); font-family: var( --e-global-typography-text-font-family ), Sans-serif; font-size: var( --e-global-typography-text-font-size );\">The descendants of the Germanic peoples and other Europeans have been just as manipulative, since to justify our enslavement of Africans we have put forward arguments as absurd as the following:<\/span><\/p><ul style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><li>Black slaves are happy on the plantations. Oh! How moving! You kidnapped them in Africa, tore families apart, transported them packed into slave ships where many did not survive due to deplorable conditions\u2014all to make them happy.   <\/li><\/ul><p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">Thank you for your altruism! But if that were so, how do you explain rebellions such as Haiti\u2019s, in which they risked atrocious repression? Do you really think having your freedom and dignity stolen, being whipped and abused, would make you happy? Would you like me to give you all that happiness?   <\/p><ul><li>Africans cannot fend for themselves, because they are like children. Again, thank you for that solidarity that lets you live an aristocratic lifestyle. However, if that is the case, how have they survived for thousands of years in Africa? <\/li><\/ul><ul><li>They are inferior because they are not human. Then how is it that slave owners had sex with Black women? And that your wives used them to nurse their children?  <\/li><\/ul><ul><li>It is God\u2019s will, because the Bible says that the descendants of Ham (Black people) will serve Shem (the Semites) and Japheth (Europeans). Oh! You did it all so that the Lord\u2019s will would be fulfilled. How saintly! I would canonize you and kneel before you if it were not for the fact that there is no evidence is there that that verse comes from God, or even that he exists.    <\/li><\/ul><ul><li>The economy will not be viable if slavery is abolished. Of course it will! What happens is that you will no longer be able to live like an aristocrat.  <\/li><\/ul><p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And the same happened with narratives used to justify imperialism: it is a noble cause because it is to evangelize, to fulfill a civilizing mission, or, as Queen Victoria of Great Britain claimed, to apply good government. But behind such a noble appearance of disinterested generosity and benevolence toward the colonized lay plunder and exploitation on a massive scale, forced labor, and a high level of oppression and repression accompanied by wars, genocides, torture and other atrocities. What hypocrisy!  <\/p><p>Especially egregious was King Leopold II of Belgium in the Congo. Under the pretext of civilizing and educating, and with the appearance of a philanthropist who would spend his own money to carry out that commendable task, he maintained an extremely cruel system of rubber exploitation that greatly enriched him and the concessionary companies. To achieve excessively high productivity from the Congolese, a system of terror was implemented, whose hallmark practice was the amputation of the right hand of anyone who failed to collect enough rubber, including children (in a single day, more than 1,000 hands could be cut off). Other practices included beatings to death or the kidnapping of women to force their male relatives to go into the forests to obtain the required rubber. In a few decades, the population fell from 20 million to 10 million.    <\/p><p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com\/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTchUFNvRoAER1LL45qtVd1j-_iYXrDQGZlcA&amp;s\" alt=\"A child in the Congo who has had his... - The African History | Facebook\">   <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"\" style=\"background-color: var(--base-2); color: var( --e-global-color-text ); font-family: var( --e-global-typography-text-font-family ), Sans-serif; font-size: var( --e-global-typography-text-font-size ); font-weight: var( --e-global-typography-text-font-weight );\" src=\"https:\/\/rarehistoricalphotos.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/father-hand-belgian-congo-1904-1.webp\" alt=\"Colonial Belgian Congo: A Slave Father Gazing at His Daughter's Severed Hand and Foot, 1904 - Rare Historical Photos\" width=\"314\" height=\"217\">  <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"\" style=\"background-color: var(--base-2); color: var( --e-global-color-text ); font-family: var( --e-global-typography-text-font-family ), Sans-serif; font-size: var( --e-global-typography-text-font-size ); font-weight: var( --e-global-typography-text-font-weight );\" src=\"https:\/\/preview.redd.it\/a-congolese-child-amputated-for-not-meeting-quota-congo-v0-rwuavcrlr5ad1.jpeg?width=1080&amp;crop=smart&amp;auto=webp&amp;s=820ce9bdcedb2c2ffb0dd2cb9518cfc61924fdae\" alt=\"A Congolese child amputated for not meeting quota - Congo-Leopoldville, 1904 : r\/HistoricalCapsule\" width=\"151\" height=\"245\">   <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"\" style=\"background-color: var(--base-2); color: var( --e-global-color-text ); font-family: var( --e-global-typography-text-font-family ), Sans-serif; font-size: var( --e-global-typography-text-font-size ); font-weight: var( --e-global-typography-text-font-weight );\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-87TyI7oKCDQ\/V-IYRkJMnKI\/AAAAAAAALHU\/WGivB3Lf3o8tOKhbmZEvOEmXxkXCIKtjwCLcB\/s1600\/cong_hands_1904_2.jpg\" alt=\"Colonial Belgian Congo: A Slave Father Gazing at His Daughter's Severed Hand and Foot, 1904 - Rare Historical Photos\" width=\"191\" height=\"110\"><\/p><p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Nazis did something similar, as Hitler claimed he was doing Europe a favor by exterminating Jews and that one day they would thank him. And the same with Dr. Mengele, who claimed he was doing his fellow human beings a favor with his painful experiments on Jews. Many thanks for thinking of us! How kind of you!   <\/p><p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sometimes the narrative that justifies cruelty is disguised as pseudoscience, as was the case with Gobineau, the social Darwinists, and the eugenicists of the 19th century, who\u2014together with that century\u2019s romantic essentialist nationalists\u2014were philosophical forebears of the Nazi racism that has caused so much suffering. <\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-1337181 elementor-widget-laptop__width-initial elementor-widget elementor-widget-toggle\" data-id=\"1337181\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"toggle.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-toggle\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-toggle-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div id=\"elementor-tab-title-2011\" class=\"elementor-tab-title\" data-tab=\"1\" role=\"button\" aria-controls=\"elementor-tab-content-2011\" aria-expanded=\"false\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-toggle-icon elementor-toggle-icon-left\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-toggle-icon-closed\"><i class=\"fas fa-caret-right\"><\/i><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-toggle-icon-opened\"><i class=\"elementor-toggle-icon-opened fas fa-caret-up\"><\/i><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"elementor-toggle-title\" tabindex=\"0\">Read more...<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<div id=\"elementor-tab-content-2011\" class=\"elementor-tab-content elementor-clearfix\" data-tab=\"1\" role=\"region\" aria-labelledby=\"elementor-tab-title-2011\"><p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nowadays, deeply intellectually and scientifically impoverished narratives justifying cruelty are applied, especially to the exploitation and mistreatment of animals, such as:<\/p>\n<ul style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\n<li>Animals are inferior because they are less intelligent. However, science has shown that species such as cows and pigs have intelligence equivalent to that of 4-year-old children. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400; padding-left: 40px;\">Therefore, does that mean we can lock children in factory-farm cages to exploit different parts of their bodies? And to be consistent with this narrative, does a highly gifted person have the right to use and abuse someone with an average level of intelligence? And does that person have the right to do so to someone with Down syndrome?  <\/p>\n<ul style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\n<li>God created animals for our use and enjoyment, as the Book of Genesis preaches. But that book has no scientific value whatsoever. Objectively, no animal (human or non-human) is born to serve anyone; it is simply born, biologically oriented toward its own survival and that of its genes. Period.   <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">It comes into the world with DNA that drives it to satisfy, above all, its own needs and desires and those of its loved ones and its group. No genetic, biological, physical, chemical or any other law says that anyone is destined for use and abuse by human beings. <\/p>\n<ul style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\n<li>They belong to us. But what law of the Universe says so, apart from the law of our selfishness? <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\n<li>Since factory-farm animals have lived in cages since they were born, they are used to it and therefore they are fine. Does that mean we can do the same with our children when they are born? We lock them in cages and give them food and water once a day, and in this way we save a great deal of money, time, and energy. And they will be just fine for their entire lives, right?  <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\n<li>They do not feel. But then, why do they scream if you hurt them? Science has shown that they feel pain (and that its intensity is similar across different types of mammals, including us) and the same emotions as humans.  <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\n<li>A specific justification for barbaric festivities involving animals is that it is tradition. But then should the Roman tradition of throwing Christians to the lions have been preserved? Or the tradition of the Holy Inquisition burning heretics?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\n<li>And the most heartwarming of all\u2014typical of cruel medical experimentation on animals, most of the times without anesthesia so as not to affect the results\u2014is: it is justified because it is to save my loved ones. Oh!  I cannot help but cry when I witness so much love and care for others. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">So that means that when you need a medical treatment for yourself that is the result of experimentation on animals, you will refuse it, right? Because you only want it for your loved ones, but not for yourself, correct? <\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400; padding-left: 40px;\">And, on the other hand, if your generosity toward your loved ones justifies abuses\u2014even major ones such as those committed against laboratory animals\u2014does that mean we can steal a car or a valuable piece of jewelry to give it to our loved ones and please them? Because such selfless goodness toward our loved ones must be demonstrated in everything. <\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400; padding-left: 40px;\">Or if our son is frustrated because he likes a girl and she does not like him back, can we kidnap her so that he can rape her? Or if a teacher gives our daughter a failing grade, can we beat them or threaten them to change the grade because it is for the sake of our dear child? Does the sake of our loved ones justify everything?  <\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400; padding-left: 40px;\">In reality, these are easy and absurd excuses that people make up in a few seconds, without thinking and much less checking whether they are true. And when I talk about verifying them, I do not mean writing a doctoral thesis, but simply spending five minutes searching on Google whether, for example, animals feel or do not feel. <\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400; padding-left: 40px; text-align: left;\">If those five minutes are not spent, it is due to <span style=\"color: #3366ff;\"><a style=\"color: #3366ff;\" href=\"https:\/\/institutodelbienestar.com\/en\/live-without-harming\/publications\/strive-for-excellence\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><u>laziness<\/u><\/a><\/span>, traditionalism, following the herd, irrational dogmatism, indoctrination, <span style=\"color: #3366ff;\"><a style=\"color: #3366ff;\" href=\"https:\/\/institutodelbienestar.com\/en\/live-without-harming\/publications\/reform-the-harmful-part-of-religions\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><u>harmful religiosity<\/u><\/a><\/span> and above all <span style=\"color: #3366ff;\"><a style=\"color: #3366ff;\" href=\"https:\/\/institutodelbienestar.com\/en\/live-without-harming\/publications\/enjoy-positive-self-interest-and-avoid-the-negative\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><u>self-interest<\/u><\/a><\/span>: the current status quo suits me, so it is not in my interest to look even slightly deeper into whether it is right or unjust.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #3366ff;\"><em><a style=\"color: #3366ff;\" href=\"https:\/\/institutodelbienestar.com\/en\/live-without-harming\/publications\/preserve-the-good-and-change-the-harmful\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read &#8220;LIVE WITHOUT HARMING!&#8221; Preserve the good and change the harmful <\/a><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #3366ff;\"><em><a style=\"color: #3366ff;\" href=\"https:\/\/institutodelbienestar.com\/en\/live-without-harming\/publications\/do-not-follow-the-herd-to-cause-harm\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">LIVE WITHOUT HARMING: Do not follow the herd to harm<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #3366ff;\"><em><a style=\"color: #3366ff;\" href=\"https:\/\/institutodelbienestar.com\/en\/live-without-harming\/publications\/oppose-venomous-dogmatism\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">HOW TO LIVE WITHOUT HARMING? Oppose poisonous dogmatism <\/a><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #3366ff;\"><em><a style=\"color: #3366ff;\" href=\"https:\/\/institutodelbienestar.com\/en\/live-without-harming\/publications\/be-rational-avoid-dogmatism\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">FOR A WORLD WITHOUT HARM: Be rational<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #3366ff;\"><em><a style=\"color: #3366ff;\" href=\"https:\/\/institutodelbienestar.com\/en\/live-without-harming\/publications\/think-for-yourself-and-say-no-to-toxic-indoctrination\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">THE ART OF LIVING WITHOUT HARMING: Think for yourself and say no to toxic indoctrination<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400; padding-left: 40px;\">However mediocre it may be, the positive side of foolish self-justification is that we tend to do it because a part of our brain knows that harming innocents is wrong. Because if it were right, why would we need to justify anything? <\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400; padding-left: 40px;\">Since that part of our mind knows it is immoral, it has to provide some kind of basis for the abuses committed, even if it is with arguments that have no solidity whatsoever. Even if it is by building a mere house of cards that collapses with a simple puff of air. <\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400; padding-left: 40px;\">Specifically, that area of the brain is the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, where scientists locate our innate sense of justice\u2014the same one that has led millions of people to remedy abuses and even to fight against them.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400; padding-left: 40px;\">And that is why I have hope that these messages will activate that area of the brain and, as they sink in, translate into more ethical behavior\u2014like the button on a remote control that, when pressed, turns on the air conditioning to create a more pleasant environment. <\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400; padding-left: 40px;\">Would you like to do the same with the people around you to help create a better world? <\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400; padding-left: 40px;\">Thank you for sharing,<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-0833833 elementor-share-buttons--view-icon elementor-share-buttons--shape-circle elementor-share-buttons--align-center elementor-share-buttons--skin-gradient elementor-grid-0 elementor-share-buttons--color-official elementor-widget elementor-widget-share-buttons\" data-id=\"0833833\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"share-buttons.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-grid\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-grid-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"elementor-share-btn elementor-share-btn_whatsapp\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\trole=\"button\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\ttabindex=\"0\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\taria-label=\"Share on whatsapp\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-share-btn__icon\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<i class=\"fab 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class=\"elementor-share-btn__icon\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<i class=\"fab fa-linkedin\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-11aeb4d elementor-section-full_width elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"11aeb4d\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-no\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-dfd0262\" data-id=\"dfd0262\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-background-overlay\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-3e7021e elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"3e7021e\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"color: #ffffff;\"><strong> Xavier Paya <\/strong><\/span><\/p><p style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline; color: #e5ac1b;\"><a style=\"color: #e5ac1b; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/institutodelbienestar.com\/en\/live-without-harming\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/institutodelbienestar.com\/no-danes\/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1705739656386000&amp;usg=AOvVaw16_2c-ZFmOVsyPyFe5Mli0\">AVOID HARM!<\/a><\/span><\/p><p style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline; color: #e5ac1b;\"><a style=\"color: #e5ac1b; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/institutodelbienestar.com\/en\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/institutodelbienestar.com&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1705739656386000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0r_zOrwTRU9jKMsNGkX-Vn\">www.institutodelbienestar.com<\/a><\/span><\/p><p style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #ffffff;\">LET&#8217;S NOT HARM ANYONE, except in legitimate self-defense against an aggressor.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><p style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-family: var( --e-global-typography-text-font-family ), Sans-serif; font-size: var( --e-global-typography-text-font-size ); color: #ffffff;\">Read:<\/span> <span style=\"font-family: var( --e-global-typography-text-font-family ), Sans-serif; font-size: var( --e-global-typography-text-font-size ); text-decoration-line: underline; color: #e5ac1b;\"><a style=\"color: #e5ac1b;\" href=\"https:\/\/institutodelbienestar.com\/en\/live-without-harming\/publications\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/institutodelbienestar.com\/no-danes\/publicaciones\/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1705739656386000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1Y-BstuMG-ZGz1yLfoAV21\">other articles from DO NO HARM!&#8230;<\/a><\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-53fcc16 elementor-invisible elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"53fcc16\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-settings=\"{&quot;_animation&quot;:&quot;fadeInDown&quot;}\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #ffffff;\"><strong>Through the <\/strong><\/span><span style=\"color: #ffffff;\"><b>Live Without Harming initiative, <\/b><\/span><span style=\"color: #ffffff;\"><strong>we strive to prevent any kind of suffering or harm from being done to you, your loved ones, and others.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>LOVE THE TRUTH! DISMANTLE NARRATIVES THAT JUSTIFY CRUELTY One major contributor to abuse is the narratives that justify it\u2014carefully tailored to our selfish interests to excuse our exploitation and wrongdoing, just like when we choose shoes in a shop that fit our feet perfectly. For example, the ancient Romans considered all other ethnic groups (except &#8230; <a title=\"REJECT NARRATIVES THAT JUSTIFY CRUELTY\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/institutodelbienestar.com\/en\/live-without-harming\/publications\/reject-narratives-that-justify-cruelty\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about REJECT NARRATIVES THAT JUSTIFY CRUELTY\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6836,"featured_media":0,"parent":56575,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"elementor_header_footer","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-54531","page","type-page","status-publish"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ 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