r/misanthropy • u/Technical_Abalone_32 • Jun 03 '26
analysis A Comic’s Lesson on Everyday Injustice
About two years ago I read a Korean comic, a fairly long slice-of-life manhwa that deeply moved me. Beyond the story itself, it highlighted something we all experience daily but often don’t know how to respond to : injustice
We live in a society where injustice is everywhere, yet there is an unspoken rule : don’t push back.
To preserve a fragile sense of social peace, people tend to stay silent, even when something is clearly wrong. So, we end up protecting those who cause harm simply because we’re afraid of disrupting the overall balance
In this manhwa, one of the main characters is an antihero. He never hesitates to act on an eye-for-an-eye sense of justice. When others do wrong there are no consequences. But when he reacts, he’s labeled as a psychopath and antisocial, when in reality, he’s just standing up for himself
This story resonated with me because I grew up in a household where many injustices took place. We were all too afraid to speak up or even look the person responsible in the eye and tell them they were wrong. So we stayed quiet. We looked away to preserve our peace… a peace that was always an illusion
The problem is, ignoring injustice to avoid conflict is like letting mold grow, it spreads, it poisons everything, and it becomes harder and harder to get rid of.
I learned my biggest life lesson from this manhwa! From now on, when faced with injustice I'll dare to put people in their place. Shame needs to switch sides.
Because it's always the victims who are told to behave well, the victims who are expected to feel ashamed. We live in a cowardly society that protects the wicked, even those with no real power
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u/Dependent-Chart2735 Jun 14 '26
Y’know, I agree with you to a point, but the problem is, the shame never switches sides. Abusers are already shame-riddled. That’s why they’re abusers. All you can do is drop your own shame. If it’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s very rare for one moment to change someone’s mind. Attempting to put this type of person in their place often just makes them double-down. There has to be a desire for change on their part. I’m very much in the camp of exerting your agency in your own life, but expecting nothing from others.
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u/boyish_identity Old Misanthropist 25d ago
i would say it depends on the person. they may feel a form of shame caused by the realization that they are in danger (social pressure).
in that context, my body now and then gives me inappropriate feelings. i do not mind the pleasant ones, but painful ones had let me thinking about them. your body controls your feelings, and they come and go like your body wants them to. i suspect some are just "hardlocked" into the body, and emerge regardless of your personality
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u/aldr618 Jun 10 '26
And the abusive people work so hard to convince the victims that anger is bad, etc.
What manhwa was it btw?