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My Son Josh

 My son is learning about kindness, turning the other cheek, etc. And that's maybe fine? But I'd like to say a word for Hammurabi.


There are issues with "an eye for an eye." But, as the philosopher Scott Hershovitz observes, the lex talionis is sometimes dismissed too quickly, too smugly. If you have a reputation for well-crafted revenge, then other people won't fuck with you. Also, there is a nice symmetry in revenge: If you steal from me, I will help you to understand my experience. Why should a transgression "go unchecked"?

For months, I've been at war with a terrorist racoon. He has shredded my trash bags. He has pierced a dog-food delivery and scattered kibble through the yard. He has gained access to my Amazon Fresh cupcakes--and he has dribbled his germs on my pita chips.

I respect this raccoon; he is the opposite of neurotic. He understands his own wishes, and he is methodical and disciplined. Also, I want him to suffer.

Right now, my enemy is hibernating (I think), and there seems to be a detente. I'm not as dumb as I once was; I watch my trash like a hawk, and I don't have Amazon visiting before 7 AM. 

Still, I know this war isn't over. Eventually, spring will arrive.

I don't want to destroy the raccoon's habitat--but a *little* compensatory scheming seems in order. I'm certainly not going to offer hugs and lollipops, like some kind of Pollyanna. 

Stay tuned.
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