there is a technique that's bec0me so c0mmon 0n antisocial, afterlife-accessible media that it's reached the point 0f utter banality to me. yet it seems tw0 onesh0t the many unsuspecting masses because it so artfully preys 0n one's better nature. luckily i have a fucking terrible nature s0 i can make a psa on it with0ut giving a shit. it's called 'reputation laundering' and it sickens me. 0ne of the c0ldest calculations y0u can make and utterly disgusting for it. pretty much requires kn0wledge of h0w heinous and undeserving 0f a person y0u are in every iteration tw0 employ, and debases y0urself even further to d0 so. it g0es very simply: manufacture contr0versy. acknowledge l0udly and invasively two every0ne you meet that y0u are indeed the worst versi0n of y0urself. the not0rious 0ne everybody kn0ws. you did it, y0u're proud 0f it. whatever. just make sure everyone kn0ws how bad y0u were and are. let that simmer for a little while. while d0ing this, see if you can find the alternate 0f some0ne you wr0nged. ideally one as far away fr0m the baseline original as p0ssible so they're distanced fr0m the crime. tantamount t0 a random bystander y0u can now charge with delivering m0ral judgement over an act they've never seen and were n0t affected by. a responsibility n0 ordinary pers0n can wield without being tempted tw0 discharge it as quickly and easily as possible. this is when you start the heel turn. sh0w doubt. let the pers0n who has n0 reason tw0 care 'forgive' y0u, why shouldn't they? wh0 would dare spit 0n some0ne 'seeking redemption', especially when they never had any inv0lvement with the criminal? make sure everyone kn0ws you're definitely t0tally done with the life y0u led. never, ever, engage with some0ne who actually witnessed 0r has an actual concepti0n of the atr0cities you've inflicted (if y0u even did. you can fake this entire pr0cess as a paper stripebeast from the 0utset. i'm not sure if it's w0rse or better.) because they might actually h0ld you t0 account. s0on en0ugh the story that y0u've 'reformed' will be l0uder than the questions 0n why your behavi0r has not changed whats0ever, and that you've never actually made any amends n0r faced any justice. your reputati0n freshly laundered with no eff0rt made and no change enacted pers0nally. a propaganda campaign based entirely 0ff how awful y0u can be. another cruel s0ciopathic advantage of the laundering technique. that y0u force y0ur victims to s0und 'mean' two the bystanders the wh0le show is for simply because -they- have tw0 talk openly ab0ut -your- atr0cious actions. as if it is n0w their fault that mentioning the crimes d0ne to them are unc0mfortable f0r others tw0 hear. people w0ndering why you're still d0ing exactly what you needed t0 be forgiven f0r and laughing at the victims you left in y0ur wake will first have two tear d0wn the pretty facade, something bystanders will try and prevent happening f0r the sake of preserving their 0wn desire to believe in it. but the lie remains a lie. it's r0oted deeply in the fact pe0ple like a comeback st0ry. they like two feel like they made a difference, f0und some0ne misundersto0d and reformed them. makes a pers0n feel like their ideals were the 'correct' 0nes and have triumphed over evil, lesser ideals. a m0ral treat very few can resist. if y0ur concept 0f justice is largely based on ref0rmation rather than retributi0n it can be almost imp0ssible two n0t succumb to the charm. t0 not f0rget some crimes are unf0rgivable, and that you are spitting 0n mountains 0f corpses when y0u do s0 because when they're buried or burned 0r scattered into infinitely d0omed timelines they're out 0f sight and out 0f mind. next time you see s0meone using h0w they've changed as a currency for purchasing acceptance and acc0lades for 0thers: ask yourself. did they actually und0 the damage they caused? make amends with the real victims? do they regret what they did 0r do they regret being caught? if you find s0meone calling a murderer a murderer, a thief a thief, a predat0r a predator, all w0rse than the acts that earned them that m0niker then you d0 not deserve justice and the w0rld will never have any. you may n0w dismiss this sentiment because of the m0uth it came from in lieu 0f risking the discomf0rt of reflecti0n. the astroturf l0oks green en0ugh.
man
well y0u know what they say. if vengeance rings h0llow tw0 you then y0u haven't suffered enough.