Not everyone likes a decent man

There is an elephant in the room.

Why do seemingly good people embrace faulty and toxic logic and reason?

I find it really strange.

But there is also something that I have learned late in life. It is that the political and social extremes, informed or not, hate subtlety, universal applicability, and reason. So if your language includes expressions such as ‘it depends’, ‘on the other hand’ and ‘but from another perspective’, your arguments will be derided and your right to an opinion frequently denied.

Reasonable people who approach situations with logic, fairness and calmness can sometimes be misunderstood, disliked or hated for various reasons. This paradox often arises from human psychology, social dynamics and emotional responses.

Not everyone understands that dislike or resentment toward reasonable people often has less to do with their qualities and more to do with how these qualities interact with the emotions, insecurities, and expectations of others. It highlights a tension between logic and emotion, individual and group dynamics, and the complexities of human relationships.

But this isn’t only a case of the conventional extremes. Some liberal thinkers are equally as immovable, unreasonable and offensive when push comes to shove. In normal circumstances, this never comes to anything tangible. Still, there are times when people will cross redlines when it comes to shutting down non-conformist thought and expression. They will take the law into their own hands, either as lone wolf figures or at the service of political power, military might and imperialist ends.

Reactionaries consider that rational people are emotionally detached and indifferent, especially in highly emotional situations. They are the antithesis of groupthink, which reactionaries adore because by being logical, they inadvertently expose the toxic biases, irrational behaviours, and flawed reasoning of reactionaries.

In any crisis, the reactionary stance is that out goes reason and in comes high emotion, polarization and a pack of lies. This is highly problematic when it comes to social cohesion, decency and honesty.

So, we might fool ourselves into thinking that we have complete freedom of expression, without fear or favour, when journalists, opinion piece writers, social commentators, reporters and even bloggers can be threatened with violence and retribution for simply holding and expressing a view.

It’s not an exaggeration. Audrey Azoulay, UNESCO Director-General, stated that “In 2022 and 2023, a journalist was killed every four days simply for doing their vital job to pursue truth. For the vast majority of these cases, no one will ever be held to account. I call upon all our Member States to do more to ensure that these crimes never go unpunished. Prosecuting and convicting the perpetrators is a major lever to prevent future attacks on journalists.”

But countries and state agents do and will continue to get with murder, whether that’s the murder of journalists, doctors or humanitarian aid workers. The redlines are there to put countries in their place. The ability to cross redlines with impunity is only in the purview of the powerful, the violent and the corrupt.

For as honourable, just and reasonable a person may be, it doesn’t free them from being placed in the crosshairs of amoral, disinhibited and degenerate psychopaths.

Lloyd falls into this category. He is a champion of the underdog, the repressed and the disenfranchised. Lloyd is a global standard bearer in the fight against inequality, marginalisation and illegal and immoral appropriation. He is righteous in his wrath, articulate in his condemnations, and detailed when It comes to the guilty men and their crimes.

Lloyd himself is almost impervious to criticism and takes a laconic view of verbal threats. He treats a lot of things as simple conspiracy theories lacking in anything really substantial and tangible. Lloyd is also quite unaware of just how many enemies are in front of him, where they are and what is behind and in front of those enemies. What is even more worrying is that he is totally unaware of just how far his enemies will go in shutting him down.