Revenge: The Ugly Truth

You know how in movies or books a common theme is that the antagonist (i.e., the "bad guy") kills the protagonist's (i.e., the "good guy's") family or best friend or something, and in the end the hero kills the villain and says "This is for so-and-so"? Well, it may be romantic or cool and all, but it's not really for the dead person's benefit--it's all for the protagonist's benefit. When it comes down to it, revenge is a selfish thing. Killing the one who killed your friends can't help your friends any--they're dead! It's all about assuaging your own grief, making yourself feel better, taking something from the person who took something from you. And then the relatives of the person you killed will feel the same way and try to do the same to you, and  the vicious cycle continues. It's a shame, really, that movies and books glorify revenge and try to make it into something heroic, which it's not. Instead of saying "That's for my family and/or friends", the protagonist should say "That's for ME, because you killed my family and/or friends, so I'm going to kill you because I'm mad and sad and this will help me feel better". Of course we all feel sorry for the hero because he is the hero and usually he's been wronged, but then we blindly accept everything he does as good and okay--it has to be, because he's the hero. And we end up sympathizing with a cold-blooded murderer, which is what villains are! Think about that--we've been cheated and tricked by the movie industry! We're on the side of the bad guy now!

Revenge: The Logic of Hate
Source: www.patheos.com