You are of course spot on, Lakitha.

When I am a touch more kind, which happily does occur, the way I manage it is to see them an infants- in that sense that at one point, they were utterly without such prejudice, such reckless hate. That creates a space which allows me to remember that they were capable, at one point of pure acceptance. It speaks to how much external influence creates monsters among us, although there is significant argument (over my pay grade) that some people come out of the womb severely twisted. And when it comes to animals, you speak for me. Since I work with animals, and I have far more trust in an elephant, camel, tiger or horse to express themselves purely, I wouldn’t insult my fellow creatures with a comparison.

Perhaps what troubles me most is that the cowardice seems to be growing and expanding in direct relationship to the fear of losing power. But that’s a whole other story. Thanks for your response. Very thoughtful.