Let's be honest, all of us here have had violent imaginings of how we would treat the people who harmed us. Whether it's someone in real life like a rapist or murderer or just an asshole, or an oil company CEO or police department head or politician, whatever, there is some desire for revenge in most of us here. I have that, I personally get really angry at white folks and want revenge for what they've done to Black folks.

I am a strong believer in second chances, restorative and transformative justice, addressing systemic causes, and holding people accountable for their actions. I don't like punishment, or revenge, or rage, but I can't deny that it is a part of what I desire on an emotional level. How exactly do we deal with those feelings? Do we, the victims, deserve to see our perpetrators suffer? What do we deserve exactly in order to psychologically recover and move on from what has happened to us? My "friend" used to say that we should cause rapists physical pain for what they have done, and I remember thinking, "Isn't the anarchist idea to end the cycle of hurt?" but at the same time, I'm also like, "Don't rape victims deserve that peace of mind or whatever?"

What is the right way to approach this? I intellectually don't support punishment, but emotionally, yeah, I fucking do and I don't like it. I don't want to live in a world where we hurt people in endless cycles, I want us to deal with people humanely. I don't think antisocial behavior SHOULD be responded to by more antisocial behavior, but perhaps I'm wrong or making excuses for/protecting perpetrators? I'm not sure. I just need some anarchist takes on punishment, retribution, and revenge in the context of justice, anarchism, and morality.