A message of righteous vengeance often boils to the surface in conversations about how to respond to horrific attacks. “Our enemy (person/ group/ leader) is evil,” say the aggrieved. “I'm sorry, but we have to kill them.” 

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Creative alternatives are available if we are open to them. This is the charge of the Lighght Brigade: to outwit the eons of social programming that suggest we have no other options for fighting fire than fire.

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Dr. King's quote above, which I've typed again below for easy copy-paste, guides me in this conviction. I'm amplifying it here as a balm for the toxic vortexes of comments on social media and elsewhere.

 

My proposal: add it as a contribution to those conversations where good people are advocating for a violent solution to violence. Let’s outwit the eons of social programming that convince us we have no options for fighting fire than fire.

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Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.

~ Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.