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Adam Borowski

History of humanity is one big revenge cycle

I’m pleased to see my post about Israel striking Iran and the global consequences likely resulting from that strike, has joined the pantheon of the popular posts. While it’s a speculative article, the point is to get the brain working by exchanging views (with an occasional ad hominem here and there; some people just can’t help themselves). Mission accomplished.

History of humanity is replete with examples of revenge – both in interpersonal and international relations, at times both interlink and influence one another. Revenge after revenge is the name of the game, of human history, and all that talk about turning the other cheek doesn’t reflect reality which is far more complex and bloody.

Symbols are often targeted as part of the revenge. In my Kyiv Post article, I explain:

It’s been known for thousands of years that symbols imbued with historical and sentimental significance are a fundamental part of a shared identity of a group, be it a family, a tribe, a city-state, a nation-state or an empire. Symbols can be statues, momentous events such as battles, famous people, even entire cities and regions. The same symbol can cause one nation to beam with pride and another nation to erase any mention of that symbol.

Germany, of course, is the most famous case. Swastika monuments in Germany getting blown up at the end of the Second World War as the symbol of domination of the Allies over Nazi Germany. Germany was warlike and lost the First World War, leading to its first humiliation (which included the sinking of its own ships, doesn’t get more demeaning than that). That, of course, paved the way for the Nazis who promised to avenge the wounded pride of the German people. And then, after twelve years, another defeat and more catastrophic consequences for the nation, though WWII could have ended far worse for Germany. 

Poland and Nazi Germany signed a non-aggression pact in 1934. It was supposed to bring ten years of cooperaton and peace. Well, we know how that turned out – let it be a lesson for appeasers and Chamberlainists (doubt the lesson is going to be understood, but still) that negotiating and diplomacy with totalitarian regimes is only used by these regimes to buy time to arm, rearm, and hit hard. History tells us so.

Japan, an imperial power, was forced to surrender after getting hit by two nukes. A terrible weapon with terrible consequences. What was the alternative? A bloody invasion of Japan. Sometimes, no matter how the policymakers choose to proceed, they can’t avoid catastrophic consequences. That’s why good leaders must call on their inner sociopath if need be and turn off their conscience when faced with paralyzing moral dilemmas.

China’s Century of Humiliation. How did the century of humiliation shape the Chinese psyche? Is there, a subconscious perhaps, desire for revenge?

The humiliation is particularly painful when a defeated state was an empire or a state with the potential and aspirations to become an empire. When the defeated and puppetized state didn’t express imperial ambitions before its defeat, the blow to the defeated population’s national pride isn’t as dramatic as when an imperial power is essentially turned into a pawn of others.

There are cases, as you likely know, when colonizers are fondly remembered, even missed.

What does a humiliation of a nation mean? That the defeated nation is defeated to the point of being the pawns of the victor. Any kind of armed resistance is virtually impossible. Even partisan movements are almost gone. Then and only then can the defeated nation be reshaped in the victor’s image. After several generations, hardly anyone is going to question the status quo of the defeated. As we know, history is (re) written by the victors.

Can you imagine how different Russia would be after a century of humiliation that would include international occupation? Russians would either forget their imperial idée fixe, or the opposite – the Russian desire for revenge would be burning like a supernova. Whether the defeated Russians would have the wherewithal and the will to act on their hatred and actively resist the international coalition controlling the country, that’s another matter.

I’m a fan of the multiverse so there surely is a defeated (denuclearized, demilitarized and humiliated) Russia out there. As I write in my article, Beware of the Z-Cult Among us, my mind conjures up the painful image of my double’s aka the so-called evil twin’s fate in the defeated Russia in some other universe.

”I shudder to think there’s my evil twin in some alternate reality with Z-mentality. I hope she gets captured and forced to dance K-pop.”

That would indeed make me furious and vengeful like you’ve never seen before and I’d be carefully plotting my revenge (listening to K-pop is one thing, but dancing, that’s where I draw the line).

In light of the above, when will the revenge cycle in the Middle East stop? It’s going to take a long, long time. Hundreds of years of grudges won’t disappear overnight. Sometimes all you can do is fight to the, figurative or literal, death, until the winner emerges. Sometimes, that’s the only way.

On a serious and not directly related note, if you’re interested in the rich linguistic landscape of Poland (including Yiddish that, sadly, is now but a memory), go to:

Poland Didn’t Always Speak Polish: The Lost Linguistic Diversity of Europe | Article | Culture.pl

About the Author
Adam Borowski is a technical Polish-English translator with a background in international relations and a keen interest in understanding how regime propaganda brainwashes people so effectively. He's working on a novel the plot of which is set across multiple realities. In the novel, he explores the themes of God, identity, regimes, parallel universes, genocide and brainwashing. His Kyiv Post articles covering a wide range of issues can be found at https://www.kyivpost.com/authors/27