@GottaLaff Trump’s push for a third term is not a “distraction”. It’s another awful thing that sits alongside all of the other awful things he and his party are trying to do.

We have to #resist all of it.

I think to the scene in Les Miserables where Jean Valjean is forgiven by the priest and saved from the soldiers, and decides to turn his life around.

In this case, Valjean wasn't really an abuser type. He wasn't stealing because he craved power, but because society had put him into a powerless place where he had to steal, and then abused him heavily and repeatedly for it.

Conversely an abuser type, like Thenardier, would not have learned anything from the priest's kindness, and would've taken the silver as a victory. As he later shows when Valjean lets him go after seeing how he'd abused Cossette.

So it's important to know the signs. How do you tell the difference between Valjean and Thenardier when deciding how to handle wrongdoing?

Kindness to an abuser type will only be seen as defiance if it goes against what they *really* want even if it complies with literal orders (malicious compliance) OR if it comes towards them when they have been utterly defeated.

In the latter case, kindness undermines their worldview and the basis of the power they once held. If you can act from free will to be kind to them when you've got the chance to pwn them, what does that say about how much freedom they really had when they were top dog?

In this class, kindness is better known as "mercy." Mercy requires a power imbalance, and can only come from the person with the most power in a situation. Even a powertripper can show MERCY, and in their case, they get off on it, because they know they had the ability to choose the opposite. It becomes evidence of their power.

As such, unlike in the movies, they will be unlikely to learn any actual lessons from being shown mercy, and will return to powertripping the second they can. The moment they can save face through revenge, they will.

Thus, any kindness shown (to them MERCY) needs to NOT allow them back into power or positions of causing harm. That is not, in fact, kind, because it puts someone undeserving in harm's way.

@hejo

Yes, he's beyond the pale and does immeasurable harm. And ought to be tried for it.

But posting this kind of "jail him" stuff indicates either lack of knowledge or care about the centrality of due process and rule of law for democracy.

Not saying the US is a democracy; it's gone fascist.

Echoing fascist rhetoric ain't the way to beat them

#generalstrike #resist .