You and Your Enemies

I don't know if I have any enemies. I have opponents, and most of them live in my head.

I have had only one person who qualified as an "enemy" in my life and that is my middle sister's 4th husband. I commented to my sister, due to her loopy behavior, some six years ago that she really should consider seeing a therapist. That suggestion precipitated the "mother of all poison pen emails" that tarred both my father and myself in extremely unflattering psuedo-psychological baffle-gab. I actually phoned the police over it to see if anything could be done due to a bold faced threat made in the email. Sadly, they explained that they could only act if he threatened to come by and kick in my stereo or windscreen. *sigh* They recommended I get a lawyer, lol. I was thinking more along the lines of hiring some unemployed and extremely large Hell's Angel's aquaintences to make my point indelibly. One friend offered to "blow his head off", actually, but I felt that was a tiny bit "over the top" -- no pun intended.

But... life is strange... I am now living 15 minutes away from my sister and her delightful hubby and we are now becoming "fast friends". Oddly, we share some ideas in common, so he now treats me with a distinct measure of respect. It is a long story that will supply a lot of cannon fodder for the "ordinary" part of my autobiography.

The bottom line is the best way to deal with enemies is to make them your "friend". It is both a triumph and quite delicious. Even though we talk amicably enough now it simply would not occur to me to trust this wretched little weasel as far as I could throw him. The amusing part is that he doesn't see it. It is sweet, I assure you. And no... you do not want to tick me off. Trust me. I have the patience of a glacier, but one should expect that from a retiring frost giant.

Quagmire said:

I don't know if I have any enemies. I have opponents, and most of them live in my head.

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I don't have friends, I only have students, servants, and enemies.

Francine said:

I don't have friends, I only have students, servants, and enemies.

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Wow. You have "servants"? :sarcastic

Seyorni said:

I spread the rumor that I'd moved to Christchurch.
My enemys are futiley (?) scouring New Zealand!

(don't let them know...)

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So THAT'S why that guy was looking at me strangely on my flight from Dunedin to Christchurch! And here I was thinking he was gay and I was sexy!

Willamena said:

Do you have enemies? Who are your enemies? :slap:

(I don't have any, so I'm curious what it's like.)

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Enemies? No enemies as such.

There are people who create an oppressive feeling for me, such as those who engage in gratuitous abusive ad hominem comments on Ayn Rand or Objectivists anytime Rand's name is even mentioned. This has caused me to leave one message board, and I just might leave this message board over that issue as well. But these people are not my enemies in any real sense. I wish them long life and happiness -- though somewhere I am not.


eudaimonia,

Mark

If I have any personal enemies, I'm unaware of it. There are people who dislike me, and people who have screwed me over in one way or another, but that's not really the same thing.

I'm with Christine: If a person considers me an enemy then it is their problem not mine. It is not a problem which I wish to possess for myself. My belief is also the product of therapy .

I believe in and strive for universal unity and so I guess the mentality of identifying enemies is my problem in this sense. It certainly is not a problem which I feel a need to contribute to, however.

It's been my experience that mostly only women and gay men have "enemies". I don't know why that's so, though.

PureX said:

It's been my experience that mostly only women and gay men have "enemies". I don't know why that's so, though.

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Don't forget gay women.

Francine said:

Don't forget gay women.

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They're everyone's enemy! (just teasing)

Willamena said:

Do you have enemies? Who are your enemies? :slap:

(I don't have any, so I'm curious what it's like.)

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I don't know if I consider enemies or what. I realize any time you make a statement about people ( for example, " ALL African-Americans are X"), you literally have to know ALL of that group to make your statement true. I personally believe that "Normal"(non-disabled") people generally have a lot of myths about people with disabilities, and based on there faulty information have made a lot of statements and actions that have left serious scars and wounds on the larger disabled community. I believe like Saint Martin Luther King that should " judge person based on their character, not the color of there skin"

I hate everyone until they give me something. After that, I despise them for their spinelessness. They all sicken me! Hwak-Ptoo!

Enemies.....oh, I have enemies.
I loathe the people who try to cheat me.
If one is in business or has siblings, it's bound to happen.
I imagine how to kill them or otherwise exact revenge.
But alas, I don't do such things.
Go ahead....say it.
Wimp!

ChristineES said:

I don't really have any personal enemies. If people hate me, that is their problem and not mine. (5 years of therapy helps for this kind of attitude). The worst anyone could do is kill me.

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Killing you is definitely not the worst they could do to you. Boring you to the point of wishing you were dead is much worse. LOL

I'm a firm believer in "hate the sin but not the sinner", but I will admit that my emotions can sometimes get the better of me. Fortunately, I have never been able to hold grudges for long, although that's probably due to my propensity to forget.

YmirGF said:

I have had only one person who qualified as an "enemy" in my life and that is my middle sister's 4th husband. I commented to my sister, due to her loopy behavior, some six years ago that she really should consider seeing a therapist. That suggestion precipitated the "mother of all poison pen emails" that tarred both my father and myself in extremely unflattering psuedo-psychological baffle-gab. I actually phoned the police over it to see if anything could be done due to a bold faced threat made in the email. Sadly, they explained that they could only act if he threatened to come by and kick in my stereo or windscreen. *sigh* They recommended I get a lawyer, lol. I was thinking more along the lines of hiring some unemployed and extremely large Hell's Angel's aquaintences to make my point indelibly. One friend offered to "blow his head off", actually, but I felt that was a tiny bit "over the top" -- no pun intended.

But... life is strange... I am now living 15 minutes away from my sister and her delightful hubby and we are now becoming "fast friends". Oddly, we share some ideas in common, so he now treats me with a distinct measure of respect. It is a long story that will supply a lot of cannon fodder for the "ordinary" part of my autobiography.

The bottom line is the best way to deal with enemies is to make them your "friend". It is both a triumph and quite delicious. Even though we talk amicably enough now it simply would not occur to me to trust this wretched little weasel as far as I could throw him. The amusing part is that he doesn't see it. It is sweet, I assure you. And no... you do not want to tick me off. Trust me. I have the patience of a glacier, but one should expect that from a retiring frost giant.

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Wow, a post from seven years ago. I'm impressed with how diplomatically I put this whole sordid affair.

Now, on to the happy news...

This peaceful period ended quite abruptly due to my efforts to get my sister some much needed help. I made the mistake of taking her useless lump of flesh of a husband into my confidence, as he himself had said in front of my sister, his wife, and our mom that his wife was abusing her prescription drugs. Well, that didn't go very well, as he went home to his dear wife and spilled the beans that we, my mom and I, were now plotting against her. Plotting? *sigh* We were trying to figure out how to get her help that she so obviously needed. Well, things got worse and worse over a period of months and all ties were eventually severed between us. Keep in mind we had all moved to the same island to "be together". *the mind reels*

Finally, long after this period had settled into the forgotten underbrush I got a call from my sister at about 2:30am. Her husband was dead on the floor and would I bring mom over to console her. *the mind still reels* *sigh*

I cannot fully express the sheer delight of that trip. I was truly one of the weirdest experiences I have ever been through. There was a distinct sense of triumph in being called in the moment he croaked, finally, thank the gods... I remember one hilarious moment, when a police officer I was talking to in the kitchen asked me as I was walking away from her, "What is your relationship to the deceased." I muttered, "I'm his brother-in-law." Then, as I walked, I turned and with a grin and chuckle said, "Well, ex-brother-in-law"

I won't bore the reader with other tedious details, but now several years after this point I am happy to say that my sister is now BEGINNING to show signs of the person I used to know and love so dearly. Her husband murdered a part of her and it has taken her five years since his death to begin to come back to reality. There is hope...

YmirGF said:

Wow, a post from seven years ago. I'm impressed with how diplomatically I put this whole sordid affair.

Now, on to the happy news...

This peaceful period ended quite abruptly due to my efforts to get my sister some much needed help. I made the mistake of taking her useless lump of flesh of a husband into my confidence, as he himself had said in front of my sister, his wife, and our mom that his wife was abusing her prescription drugs. Well, that didn't go very well, as he went home to his dear wife and spilled the beans that we, my mom and I, were now plotting against her. Plotting? *sigh* We were trying to figure out how to get her help that she so obviously needed. Well, things go worse and worse over a period of months and all ties were severed between us. Keep in mind we had all moved to the same island to "be together". *the mind reels*

Finally, long after this period and settled into the forgotten underbrush I got a call from my sister at about 2:30am. Her husband was dead on the floor and would I bring mom over to console her. *the mind still reels* *sigh*

I cannot fully express the sheer delight of that trip. I was truly one of the weirdest experiences I have ever been through. There was a distinct sense of triumph in being called in the moment he croaked, finally, thank the gods... I remember one hilarious moment, when a police officer I was talking to in the kitchen asked me as I was walking away from her, "What is your relationship to the deceased." I muttered, "I'm his brother-in-law." Then, as I walked, I turned and with a grin and chuckle said, "Well, ex-brother-in-law"

I won't bore the reader with other tedious details, but now several years after this point I am happy to say that my sister is now BEGINNING to show signs of the person I used to know and love so dearly. Her husband murdered a part of her and it has taken her five years since his death to begin to come back to reality. There is hope...

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I have a similar story but mine is still ongoing. Thanks for the hope.

My enemy is Satan.I have to be careful not to fall into his snare.

metis said:

I'm a firm believer in "hate the sin but not the sinner", but I will admit that my emotions can sometimes get the better of me. Fortunately, I have never been able to hold grudges for long, although that's probably due to my propensity to forget.

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I believe in hating the sin & the sinner.
Grrrrrr!