When Evil Enters the Scene

A new age of denial?

Image by Gemini AI

Appeasement is not a word we generally hear at barbeques or birthday parties.

It’s a word we see bandied about, mostly in political circles. But the concept behind it can be found in everyday circles as well.

The bully neighbor with the bully dog for example. We let him have his own section of the Dog Park and we play in the rest. It’s just less stressful that way.

Recently the word came up again in some articles concerning the new Trump approach to peace between Ukraine and Russia. Let them keep parts of a country so maybe they’ll go back to their own.

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Bullies understand appeasement and what it might mean to them. Even fourth graders who run the schoolyard, like inmates run the prison yard at San Quentin.

Suddenly there’s a major shift in wealth as lunch money migrates from many pockets into one.

Or the Nerds in high school, sectioned off into “no man’s land,” a small corner of the cafeteria, while the Jocks reign over the rest.

It happens. It’s part of life. Inevitable.

But little bullies grow up. Little kids run out of lunch money. And eventually, countries start running out of land to give away.

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Recently the DOGE has been in the news as well. The Department of Government Efficiency.

Young men trimming the fat of government sounds like a good idea. Governments waste. It happens. Someone needs to cut things back.

But Congress was left out of the process. Programs are being cut that were originally passed as laws. Everyone is clutching their pearls, writing to their representatives, and addressing their concerns on social media and in the news.

But the cuts continue. People are being fired. Agencies are being threatened with closure. The USPS, our 250-year-old postal service is in danger of going away.

Are $2 first-class postage stamps in our future? Every business has to be profitable or they’ll soon disappear.

All the while executive orders from the Oval Office are issued in record numbers, like memos from a CEO.

Do this. Stop doing that. You’re fired.

Is it legal?

Some judges say no and put things on Pause. Others say, sure why not and let it continue.

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Fat continues to get trimmed. But whose fat?

Threats keep being made, toe the line or else.

If you recall, fourth-grade bullies seldom ask politely, “Please give me your lunch money.” They threaten. “I’ll box your ears in.”

So, younger kids go hungry over lunch and keep quiet. Even nine-year-olds are taught when to stay silent and get along.

Bullies know from watching other bullies, perhaps those at home, that you never ask permission, you take. And keep taking, always acting like it’s the right thing to do.

Bullies also tend to be smarter than everyone else, that’s written somewhere. So, they know what’s best and just do it.

And if no one tells them no…

If no one says, hey, you can’t do that…

Then bullies are known to keep doing what they’re doing until they’re stopped.

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But not all bullies are success stories. A few years ago, some in Europe started strong but ended badly.

It seems somebody said no. Bullies hate it when that happens.

How do we know what to do with bullies? It’s not that hard to figure out.

Just look to the past. History tells us exactly what we should be doing.

In the end, all it takes is… no. Imagine that.