Retaliation: 'Did You Mean to Hurt?'

"Retaliation is motivated by anger and includes the intent to harm. Aggression from you leads to aggression from me. Your aggression comes back at you from me. Retaliation thrives on opposition, the opposite of the oneness and harmony that make for a trustworthy love. It is reciprocated aggression-aggression-provoked aggression with the intent to even a score, to show payback in kind. The aggressive behavior can be anything from criminal assault to snubbing."

"For instance, some people are mean or aggressive toward us just because they don't like us or because they envy us. Some people are dead set against us because of their bias toward us. They feel the need to react aggressively to us just because, for instance, we are of a certain color, religious or political view, sexual orientation, or gender, or for any other reason. We aroused a hostile, bigoted, or envious ego, and it hit back at us for being us."

"We all know what retaliation is: You hurt me, so I hurt you. Retaliating is something like playing a game of dodgeball in which you hit me and then I hit you-but in that game, there is no intent to harm. Retaliation is motivated by anger and includes the intent to harm. Aggression from you leads to aggression from me. Your aggression comes back at you from me."

Retaliation is motivated by anger and includes intent to harm and functions as reciprocated aggression intended to even a score. It thrives on opposition and inference, undermining oneness, harmony, and trustworthy love. Aggressive responses can range from criminal assault to social snubbing. Perceptions of offense are subjective, and individuals judge guilt and justify retaliation through interpretation. Some hostile actions stem from bias, envy, or dislike, and can appear retaliatory even without prior provocation. Controlling individuals may retaliate when defied. Retaliation erodes trust and perpetuates cycles of aggression.

Read at Psychology Today