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12 March 2008
Love and revenge

 
"Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned." Anthea takes a look at revenge and wonders if it's really worth it.

 

Revenge. They say it's a dish best served cold. It's a dish I'd prefer to not serve at all, although women have always been labelled the worst perpetrators. We are apparently vindictive, evil and like elephants, we never forget.

Okay, I'll admit it, I never forget. I'll bring up a 6-month-old argument tomorrow night if I felt it was warranted, but I can't say that I experience pleasure in someone else's downfall or pain.

I remember an incident at university... a friend of mine, Zu, was in quite a serious relationship, but suspected her boyfriend was cheating on her. Now, in the sisterhood of tipsy university students, this was certainly not acceptable! So after a few drinks, loads of talking, and some ill-thought conclusions we decided that HE had to pay for what he'd done.

We found all his good ties in her cupboard, all of his boxer shorts, a few shirts and three pairs of socks (we wonder where he left his pants?). We found a pair of scissors, and cut each item up into itsy bitsy tiny squares. Such fun! We even got creative and started cutting out little flowers, knives and broken hearts. All while singing the Hi-Gloss' hit You'll never know, and drinking a bottle of Tassenberg (a very good year if I remember correctly). Ah, it was a night filled with memories.

But as soon as the sun started rising, the Tassies started wearing off. We were surrounded by shreds of clothing and wondered what we had really done. Zu didn't feel any better, and instead of that sweet smell of revenge we were merely hungover and surrounded by a pile of cut up clothes to clean up. It didn't seem like such a good idea anymore. Plus, it dawned on us that we weren't really sure that he did cheat on her. In fact, it's now 10 years later and we still don't know.

Sigh. It was a painful lesson learnt, but one we had to learn I suppose. A little more restraint would have served us better (click here to read more about dealing with anger).

Perhaps simply getting on with life and ditching all that resentment might have been a better option. As Joyce Carol Oates says in her six-word memoir, "revenge is living well, without you."

But for those of you who need a little more instant gratification, there's a website I stumbled upon this week, called womansavers.com. Instead of googling your potential beau's name search for him on this website and see if his past has caught up with him. Profiles are created by ex-girlfriends. And if he's a loser, you'll know. A bit creepy, but useful.

And if you're looking for creepy deluxe, check out makehimpay.net. You can read stories of revenge, post your own story or pay people to break up someone else's relationship.

Sounds scary right? Ja, I decided to give that one a skip. Anybody heard of karma before? Remember what Mahatma Gandhi said, "An eye for an eye would make the whole world blind."

What's your most harrowing revenge tale? Go on, share in the comment box below.


 
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Revenge is mine saith the Lord. Don't do it, it is not worth the effort. I believe in karma whatever one person does to you it will come back to them. Ex crashed my car, refused to pay for the damages, I did not do anything about it. After that he managed to write off 2 cars.
Kay on 06.03.2008 at 12:17

 

I disagree, check out this article, the rules of revenge, on this website. It puts it succinctly. Aint nothn wrong with getting even, is justice.
Shungu on 06.03.2008 at 17:30

 

Revenge is the worst thing one can do to themselves. It doesn't only harm u,but it lowers your confidence & self esteem .It gives power to the person who angered you and puts your happiness and ability to move on in another person's hands. Dont fall in the trap, it will be a never ending cycle. Be the bigger person & let it go.
Presh on 14.03.2008 at 17:37

 


 
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