I’ve Accepted Violence and Aggression as the Evolutionary Tools We Need
A piece about the many levels of chaos that need V and A to maintain order
I don’t want to mislead any of you too far, so I’ll start by saying that this was a social media nonsense situation. It’s trolling and SJW shit at it’s finest. So, if that’s not of interest, exit now.
But, it definitely led me forward another step pertaining to the balance that keeps us progressive, regardless of the immature nature of what I’m about to tell you. Even on my part…I’m definitely no angel or ‘the bigger man’ in this situation.
I’m an athlete.
I’ve proven that to myself repeatedly, and I’m the only one that needs to validate it to me. By being one, it also means that I’ve seen so many different facets of training the body. Powerlifting, bodybuilding, crossfit, strongman, marathons, iron man…
Through this engulfment of athletes I’ve learned to respect all of them. Regardless of bias and what I think is ‘right’ or ‘healthy’, I only now want people to love what they do because it makes them feel good and feel confident and feel powerful…and just feel joy.
But somehow so many others — mostly men in this case — just can’t stand to keep their opinions to themselves. The problem lies within not just personal insecurity and jealousy, but gender expectations, close-minded ideology, and ignorant understanding of how the masculine and feminine relate to our biological sex. We have a lot of work to do..
I have a close group of friends that are all either powerlifters, crossfitters, or bodybuilders. I enjoy them all. And they’re a huge reason why I respect all the sports. Because they’re just human…and they’re just doing what they love. Why would I care how they get to physical health?
One of my friends in particular is a female powerlifter. She has tens of thousands of followers. She’s also been a cross country runner and even more so an impressive bodybuilder before she started powerlifting. She has a better physique then I do. She has massive shoulders, great legs, and is more lean than any of us. And all of us are supportive and proud as fuck of her.
Unfortunately in the phenomenon of social media, the trolls of the world find their digital pedestals in which they can terrorize and make themselves feel better by ignoring their own problems and insisting on telling others what theirs are.
If I remember correctly…yes. A man decided to comment on my friend’s post and say something like, ‘you look too manly. you have no t*tties. Is there a penis?’
Listen…
This woman needs no help from me. She’s a very tough human inside and out. And her husband, which is one of my closest friends would rip a man in two if things like that were said in person…but they aren’t are they? Because man-boys now how to hide behind the walls of digital media. Instagram is a playground for them to show what they really think of the world(theoretically, probably more of what they think of themselves).
In this moment, I’m not the bigger man. I didn’t take the high road…and I honestly don’t give a fuck that I didn’t. I’m single and have spent years analyzing and attacking my own psyche. Go ahead and try to do to me what you did to my friend.
I’m in love with human behavior, psychological health, and improving myself and others where I can. I don’t feel a necessity to use energy on people that disgust themselves or think that the world revolves around their ideas of how men and women should look and act.
But not today.
The two man-boys I returned fire on deleted their comments.
I don’t feel proud because of that. However, I don’t feel bad for what I said either…
The round-a-bout point to all this is that we’re horrible at treating each other with any sort of respect on social platforms. We have two major problems:
- Individual mental, physical and spiritual health is low in a staggering amount of humans causing a lot of people to project their own insecurities and jealousy onto people.
AND
- We have an instinctive tendency to judge and label all of who someone is through a one-dimensional view of them. We objectify because of the lack of intimacy and thorough experiences we truly need to love and and accept and empathize humans that lie outside of our own ideals, perspectives, and beliefs.
Jordan Peterson has two fantastic books that discuss Order and Chaos.
I’m not asking you to be a fan. It doesn’t matter to me whether you like him or not…but what I would ask of anyone is to try to understand his philosophy of the world and the need for balance in everything that exists.
I understand that the world is crazy, chaotic and has huge pockets of evil in it. I won’t deny that. And at the opposite end, we also have issues with order, restriction, and control. But what exists, is that in a world so large that encompasses so many different cultures and beliefs, lies a necessary balance between order and chaos.
The world is full of extremes, or necessary opposite ends: black and white, order and chaos, men and women, life and death, venom and antidote, love and hate. Within these ends there lies a spectrum. One that creates fluidity and balance and understanding between any of them. Its where all of us live; somewhere within that pendulum swinging back and forth in this world that demands progress.
For some, there is a utopian idea. An image that is rid of crime, violence, and overall evil; a place where peace and harmony exist always. Sounds beautiful…and impossible.
Why?
Because it lies outside of balance.
It’s opposite would be…what? Dystopian? A dark, cruel, violent, unfair world. It’s definitely not welcoming…but for progress and survivability, it also is impossible to exist. Not that we would want it to.
I don’t believe trolling social media trolls is going to change anything. I don’t expect it to. And there probably is truth to ignoring the hecklers so that they get bored; so that they don’t receive a high that would push them to continue. But social media is not understood completely and takes very little investment. It’s potential is staggering whether negative or positive.
So, could that possibly mean that without threat, people will continue to use these platforms to terrorize? Where there is no reprimand? Most of us adults can handle ourselves, but what about adolescents? What about any person just trying to seek out love and support? Poor self-esteem is susceptible to depression, habits like cutting and drug use, and suicide.
What if the digital world is incapable of hiding such destructive damage toward individuals? What if our lack of psychological understanding of dopamine dumps and social entitlement and drama is fucking up our ability to love ourselves and others? What if having an endless supply of “elite” people to compare ourselves to is also endlessly damaging to so many of us that struggle with our own status, success and reality?
I’m not a violent human, nor do I plan to be.
Actually, I’ve spent most of my life being timid, shying away from conflict, being passive, assuming others’ superiority over me…and I was a speck of a human because of it.
“A harmless man is not a good man. A good man is a very dangerous man that has it under voluntary control.” — Jordan Peterson
I will never stop working on becoming my best self. I want to physically and mentally be capable of defending myself to the best of my ability. I refuse to be helpless and incapable of creating waves. I’m no celebrity, but within my own friends, family, and community I’m respected and loved. Not because of my timid character and passive nature, but because of my ability to create boundaries, maintain confidence, speak my mind, and put a stop to anyone trying to take advantage of me or threaten me….but also being compassionate and empathetic.
It’s my belief that violence and aggression are necessary. They have their place. At times they are the Order that creates boundary around the Chaos.
I also believe the stronger we become as individuals, the more it becomes our responsibility to protect those who can’t or can’t yet do it for themselves…necessary violence and aggression.
Would any man or woman stand by as a woman was being kidnapped or abused? Would we any of us truly stand by as a violent drunk tried to beat his son in public??? All for the sake of avoiding aggression and violence? Is that not in itself creating order by using aggression and violence to stop these things?
The world would and does not exist without the necessary confinement built by the relationship of our extremes. One cannot exist without the other.
My SJW actions on Instagram don’t do anything. Not really. But it is does create a small idea that we need each other at times. It creates the idea that we can support and protect each other from tyranny and destruction. It creates the idea that to do nothing is to be nothing.
It means that the inescapable aggression and violence and blood of chaos will reign if not fought with the aggression and violence and blood of order.
Real progress it seems to me, is done at it’s best by maintaining balance…and maybe our evolutionary tools to do so.
Can we evolve out of such things? Can there be a utopia? Can we dissolve the need for natural aggression and violence? Where do you stand?
