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<p>I've started this thread a good half dozen times. Each time I come to the end of it I realize that I'm not sure what it is I'm trying to say or to ask. So I'll start this one with the end and see how it goes this time.</p>
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<p>I felt paranoid about something for the first time in a long time this weekend, and it blew me away in its intensity. I didn't like the feeling. </p>
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<p>It got me thinking about the banality of evil. Most of us have thankfully not been touched by true evil in our lives. Our family was brushed by it a few years ago and that was the source of the paranoia this weekend, not for us but for a new friend who has found herself caught up in something far beyond her. </p>
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A few years ago we asked one too many (innocent) questions and found ourselves in a situation that seemed out of a Kafka novel. We could have continued to fight, and golly gee it's the right thing to do ain't it? But when your family is threatened, idly with no real focus from the evil party... and you're told by other victims and the police to just drop it "Because you don't know what you're dealing with..." you listen if you know what's good for you.</p>
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<p>I found myself saying "Don't ever mention that you know us, if you know what's good for you..." and not feeling ashamed at the melodramatic tone. Looking at this woman's eyes and seeing the "I'm caught in the headlights" look brought it all back to me. Hard.</p>
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<p>It's easy to be a comic book film hero in our dreams and say "I'll fight this injustice!". The reality is that it doesn't work that way. It just doesn't. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>I felt paranoid about something for the first time in a long time this weekend, and it blew me away in its intensity. I didn't like the feeling. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>It got me thinking about the banality of evil. Most of us have thankfully not been touched by true evil in our lives. Our family was brushed by it a few years ago and that was the source of the paranoia this weekend, not for us but for a new friend who has found herself caught up in something far beyond her. </p>
<p><br>
A few years ago we asked one too many (innocent) questions and found ourselves in a situation that seemed out of a Kafka novel. We could have continued to fight, and golly gee it's the right thing to do ain't it? But when your family is threatened, idly with no real focus from the evil party... and you're told by other victims and the police to just drop it "Because you don't know what you're dealing with..." you listen if you know what's good for you.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I found myself saying "Don't ever mention that you know us, if you know what's good for you..." and not feeling ashamed at the melodramatic tone. Looking at this woman's eyes and seeing the "I'm caught in the headlights" look brought it all back to me. Hard.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>It's easy to be a comic book film hero in our dreams and say "I'll fight this injustice!". The reality is that it doesn't work that way. It just doesn't. </p>