There are no good or bad people in the world: there are human beings.
And human beings are capable of the best and the worst.
As the old Cherokee fable goes, inside every person, there are two wolves, one cruel and one empathetic.
Both wolves live in a state of constant dispute. And in the end, the one that feeds the most prevails.
Macron is singled out today for underlining that social networks and violent video games influence the behavior of the youngest: they feed the bad wolf that lives inside us.
“Social networks play a key role in the events of recent days on different platforms such as Snapchat, TikTok, and others. On the one hand, we have the organization of violent gatherings and, on the other hand, the imitation of violence. In the younger ones cause a kind of flight from reality. And sometimes we feel that some of them live on the streets of video games that have intoxicated them.”
– Emmanuel Macron.
And maybe many of those kids (and not so kids) who are setting France on fire are TikTok users or play too many hours of Fortnite.
But the real problem is fear.
Fear is the favorite food of hatred of the black wolf in all of us.
My grandfather taught me that any living thing cornered is dangerous.
And the cornered of this world are so for that very reason.
Because by rejecting them, we nullify them.
And the nullification turns against us, making both the victim and the victimizer inhuman.
That is why I detest the arrogant “You don’t know who I am” of many.
Because it carries an implicit “You are nobody.”
And that leads directly to a lack of empathy and respect.
And without respect, we are only left with disagreement and violence.
So I only wish that Paris and its people – and the rest of France – have enough clarity to stop feeding the wrong wolf and return to being the city of lights and not the town of cruel wolves and bonfires.
A virtual hug
AG
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