Newsletter from Jay Wilcox - January 2023: On Completely and Totally Annihilating Your Enemies

Good morning/afternoon/evening,

At some point or another, we've all probably delighted in another's bad karma. Don't get me wrong, I love witnessing a good comeuppance and have gotten thoroughly high on righteous anger. Still, I think often about overkill and what revenge (and the desire thereof) does to our brains.

Have you ever read The Road, by Cormac McCarthy? If you haven't read it, have you seen the movie? Skip this paragraph if you don't want spoilers. There's a scene, near the end, where our protagonist meets another survivor along the titular post-apocalyptic road--and this other survivor is the same guy who stole our protagonist's cart full of supplies earlier. Anywho, our protagonist trains his pistol on the thief and, after stealing back all his own supplies, demands the thief strip down and give him the clothes off his back, as well. Our protagonist leaves the thief completely naked, sure to die. I think about this scene a lot when I think about my enemies.

Do I have enemies? Honestly, no--but it's easy for the brain to manifest aggressors and lust for Judgment Day. We are the Little Guy, and THEY are Legion, the wasp nest awaiting our holy flamethrower. I write to examine not only the source of such oversized wrath but also the implications this wrath can have for our society. Anything intoxicating is dangerous. It's easy to get drunk on Main-Character Syndrome, the belief that things are happening not just to us but against us, and then to live and shop and drive and vote accordingly. People who feel powerless often unwittingly wield tremendous power to hurt others--a weapon borne of compensation, like trying to throw a punch in a bad dream.

Have you ever snapped at someone?

I have. I remember the powerlessness and frustration of such moments, as well as the resulting shock wave from my words. So often, I hate my problems before I even fully understand them, and I'll probably spend the rest of my life grappling with such impulses. We all will. We want our enemies not just defeated but also humiliated--enemies that are almost certainly smaller than we think, locked in battle with their own insecurities. We're all more capable of hurting people than we realize, which means we're stronger than we think.

It's a new year, and in the spirit of optimism and new beginnings, I sincerely hope you're well. As I say to my students, onward and upward!

Infinite Regards,

Jay