Revenge is Bittersweet.

An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind. - Mahatma Gandhi
 
This quote from Gandhi is the reason why I try not to take revenge on people. If everyone lived by "An eye for an eye" everyone would be able to take revenge on whoever wronged them, everyone would become blind because there isn't anyone out there that hasn't wronged another person somehow and the entire world would be bent on destroying each other. Vengeance makes losers of us all. We are pitied if we fail. We are looked down in disgust if we succeed. There is nothing to gain by taking revenge but the satisfaction of doing so. But that, for some people, is enough. Even if it lands them in jail.

Revenge is never beneficial. All you're doing is showing that you cannot be the bigger person and forgive, but that you allowed your passion to make rash judgments you're surely going to regret when you calm down. Just look at the news. "Angry Wife Kills Cheating Husband in Revenge." How many times do we see some variation of that plastered on the newspaper or talked about in our nightly news shows? All these people allowed their passion to seduce them into thing they will never get caught or they will feel much better when they take their revenge. Ultimately, while they are able to take revenge and get their "Haha, this is what you get when you screw around with me" thought, in the end, they end up being caught and regretting everything they did.

Granted, not everyone murders another to enact revenge. There are smaller revenges that could or could not be harmful.  Jackie's example of Sally stealing her pencil is a perfect example of a harmless revenge. While she could be seduced into stealing one of Sally's belonging, she is being the bigger person by not doing anything and not aggravating the situation. Stealing someone's belonging isn't putting the person in extreme danger, but it still is wrong to steal, even if that person has stolen one of your belonging. Yet, not doing anything sometimes frustrates people and the unwillingness to forgive is what spurs on revenge. However, forgiving and forgetting is usually the better route to go than being hell bent on taking revenge on someone. There is no situation in which revenge is justified. But when enraged, people create justifications for what they are about to do. "I'll feel much better when I do this." "S/He deserves this." and the most overused and dangerous excuse, "No one will find out." This isn't their conscience talking, but their emotions.

BUT, sitting here and talking about how revenge is wrong is easier than when you have been wronged yourself. One of the most common examples is a boyfriend/girlfriend/wife/husband cheating on their partners. Someone  can sit in front of a computer and say "I DON'T BELIEVE IN TAKING REVENGE." but when they find out that their boyfriend/girlfriend/wife/husband cheated on them... they could completely lose it and try and take revenge on the cheater. I'm not going to sit here and pretend I have never taken revenge on someone before. I'm only human. Saying one thing doesn't necessarily mean you're going to follow it. That is why I say I try not to take revenge on people. I try to not let my emotions get the better of me. I remember a situation with my brother, Alan, in which I let my emotions get the better of me. I clearly remember my thought process before deciding I was going to take revenge. It's a bit too long to describe here, but quite simply, "Are you f---ing serious? I can't believe you did that. Oh you are so going to get it." I was beyond furious at him and I let that get the better of me. Sure, I got the satisfaction of taking revenge on Alan, but I also was grounded for 2 weeks because of it.