Zen Pencils by Gavin Aung Than for December 06, 2021
November 29, 2021
December 13, 2021
Transcript:
A small boy is shown being beaten by bullies. He returns home to his father who hugs him. The next time he sees the bullies, he has a hammer to defend himself. "Out of the night that covers me, Black as the Pit from pole to pole, I thank whatever gods may be For my unconquerable soul. In the fell clutch of circumstance I have not winced nor cried aloud. Under the bludgeonings of chance My head is bloody, but unbowed. Beyond this place of wrath and tears Looms but the Horror of the shade, And yet the menace of the years Finds, and shall find, me unafraid. It matters not how strait the gate, How charged with punishments the scroll. I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul. " 'Invictus' by William Ernest Henley
I am not so sure I like the message here. The guy goes out for a weapon and purposefully lures in the bullies? Really? So a hammer is okay? How about a knife? A gun? Even if the guy defeats (maims or kills) the bullies, he has still lost, because his soul has been forever scarred. It would have been better if he had risen above the level of mere violence — remained a kind and good person, in spite of the bullying.