Retaliation: 'Did You Mean to Hurt?' |
We all know what retaliation is: You hurt me, so I hurt you. Retaliating is something like playing a game of dodgeball in which you hit me and then I hit you—but in that game, there is no intent to harm. Retaliation is motivated by anger and includes the intent to harm. Aggression from you leads to aggression from me. Your aggression comes back at you from me. Retaliation thrives on opposition, the opposite of the oneness and harmony that make for a trustworthy love. It is reciprocated aggression—aggression-provoked aggression with the intent to even a score, to show payback in kind. The aggressive behavior can be anything from criminal assault to snubbing.
In some instances, there is no aggressive action on our part, but, still, there is what feels like retaliation coming at us. For instance, some people are mean or aggressive toward us just because they........