The Firm Hand

In Aurora, Promo by Aurora

“I look at you, and 1,001 platitudes enter my head. Some common, some of my own making. ‘All it takes for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing’. ‘You have to be cruel to be kind’. ‘The goodness of an act comes not from its intent, but from its consequences’.”

“You mean well, kiddo, I get that. You have dedicated your life to being a hero, yet in all that time, your teachers have failed you for not teaching you this one lesson, the most important one of all. Those who operate outside of civilised society do not play by the rules of civilised society. You cannot reason with the unreasonable, you can’t defeat hate with love, you can’t bring a glow to the blackest of hearts… And no, I’m not referring to you, despite what you may have been called.”

“Allow me to give an example. On the playground is a bully. He scouts around looking for a target, some who he can dominate, someone who he believes poses no threat to him. He sees a girl talking to the smallest kid in the year group. ‘Perfect,’ he thinks, ‘I can do what I like to those two with no resistance’. So there he goes, strutting up to them and calling them names. No sooner has he begun than the girl slaps him across his chops. However, the little boy turns to the girl, and blames her for her response rather than the bully for initiating it all.”

“Next day on the playground, he rolls up to just the boy, picking his spot. He does what bullies do, being an absolute fucking turd, but the girl returns. The aggressor and the pussy, nothing resolved. That girl once again shows the boy the way, faking the bully out, exposing his fear… But still the boy does nothing. He is still a target, and the girl is free.”

“Do I need to spell this shit out? It isn’t just Redgrave. The scum of the world won’t change their way because of some words, because that is not the language they speak in. To those who act against the innocent, the only countermeasure… Is to act. A slap to a bully, a lawsuit to a slanderer, a coup to a dictator, a bullet to an irredeemable criminal. You’ve got the heart of a hero kid, but you don’t have the head of one. Sentiment can only take you so far, but at some point you need ruthlessness.”

“There are so many Destructo Boys out there, wishing the world was fixed but unwilling to fix the world. You may have the purer heart, kiddo. You may look down on how I’ve behaved, or how I live my life… But the goodness of an act comes not from its intent, but from its consequences. I bring consequences, and people like you bring platitudes. I’m gonna teach you something your dear daddy never did – I’m going to show you how to get things done…”

“You can wash away your ‘sins’ in the pool when you’re finished.”