There are a lot of people who wake up each morning with a mind to make every single person they come in contact with as miserable as they are. These are the worst kind of people that exist on Earth. They seek out and exploit easy targets, and dedicate entire weeks, sometimes months to reigning misery on the life of another. These are the type of worthless scum who try to get the coffee guy fired when he makes a mistake on their drink. They constantly threaten to (and sometimes do) sue their coworkers, neighbors and bosses. They create drama and try to suck everyone into it like an idiotic tornado of self loathing and anguish. You know the type. There are probably one or two of them within eye shot of you at this very moment. Take them DOWN!

There are times when I still have to take deep breaths and remind myself that sinking a bare knuckled lead right hand into their soft, over privileged and empty noodle heads is not the answer. While there are few things in the realm of the limitless human imagination that would feel better, breaking both of my fists on their faces will only be self indulgent and self destructive. In fact, they want the abuse. They invite it, both physically and emotionally, but if one were to go down the seemingly blissful road of pummeling them into ground beef, one would drop a level below said assholes. What's worse is that they'd also use that abuse against you later, and the last thing people like that need is legitimate ammunition.

So although it sounds nice, violence is not the answer. What then? Must we constantly point out these people's misery when they are forcing it upon innocent bystanders? Point out the glaring insecurities that are often the motive for such jackassery? When they begin to ruin the day of a grocery bagger, gas station attendant, coffee pourer, waiter, or calm pedestrian, must we butt in and loudly call out their folly; and ridicule them for their words and actions? Should we stand tall and get others to join in, making an example of them, by using the same words or phrases they used on their innocent victim? Then laugh? Laugh and laugh and don't stop laughing at them? Will this help all the people enjoy the moral victory of preventing some socially undeveloped, aggressive waste of oxygen from taking another undeserving person down with them?

Nope... that's not the answer either. The only answer is to not be that way yourself. The only answer is to monitor - if not your internal thought - at least your behaviour. You cannot force another person into NOT being an asshole or useless pile of donkey shit, but you can prevent yourself from being that. Then when someone who (consciously or unconsciously) devotes all their days and ways to spreading hate and unhappiness to everyone around them, you can duck those blows like Ali done Sonny Liston when he was still Cassius Clay. Let them swing as hard as they want, but keeping your own thoughts and subsequent actions in check, they find nothing to hit. It a sort of mental bobbing and weaving we must learn, and just like real boxers, it'll take heart, determination and lots of time in the gym to get to that level, but it'll be worth it.

In the mean time I guess it's OK to spit in their food when they aren't looking, or release and angry hornet in their car, or write obscenities on their yard and/or front door with something either permanently damaging or otherwise disgusting. I don't know. Get creative.